Beyond the Gallery Forest: Contrasting Habitat and Diet in Lemur catta Troops at Bezà Mahafaly Special Reserve

Abstract

Ring-tailed lemurs have been studied intensively in the Parcel 1 gallery forest of Bezà Mahafaly Special Reserve. Here, we report on lemur groups in a mixture of deciduous dry forest and spiny forest just 5 km to the west. Compared to Parcel 1, Parcel 2 (P2) has a lower density of Tamarindus indica, a major dietary plant species for gallery forest lemurs. Recent studies in drier habitats have called into question the association of lemur density and tamarind presence. In order to address this question, we measured forest structure and composition of plant plots between parcels and conducted lemur feeding observations. The trees and shrubs within the parcels did not differ in height or diameter at breast height, but the frequencies of plant species that were common between parcels were significantly different. Numbers of feeding observations on foods common to both parcels did not differ, but their relative rankings within parcels did. Frequencies of food plants corresponded to earlier reports of lemur population densities. However, we found that the ring-tailed lemur diet is a mixture of plants that are eaten in abundance regardless of frequency and those that are locally available. In terms of their reliance on Tamarindus, P2 animals appear intermediate between those in gallery forests and nontamarind sites.

Ring-Tailed Lemur (Lemur catta) Health Parameters across Two Habitats with Varied Levels of Human Disturbance at the Bezà Mahafaly Special Reserve, Madagascar

“…Some P1 lemur troops reside in the western part of P1, where the habitat has more spiny forest influence. A study by Yamashita et al [2015] indicates some similarity in forest structure between P1 and P2, as would be expected in distant parcels within the same continuous habitat. Specifically, trees and shrubs did not differ significantly in height and diameter at breast height between P1 and P2 (although P2 trees tended to be smaller than P1 trees).…”

“…During the dry season (April to October), lemurs in P1 and P2 fed primarily on Tamarindus fruit (60% of feeding time). However, during the wet season (November to March), the relative rankings of these favored food items differ between P1 and P2, with P1 lemurs relying more heavily on Tamarindus fruit than P2 lemurs [Yamashita et al, 2015]. The current study was conducted during the middle of the dry season, when lemurs in both parcels were spending the majority of feeding time consuming the same food items.…”

“…At this time, the Sakamena River in P1 was dry, thus eliminating an important water source for lemurs in P1. While data indicate that lemurs spend the majority of feeding time consuming tamarind fruit [Yamashita et al, 2015], it is unknown what proportion of total time is spent feeding or looking for food. It is possible that lemurs in P2 are spending more time searching for and ingesting lower amounts of food, which could impact the hydration level.…”

The seasonal feeding ecology of the javan slow loris (nycticebus javanicus)

“…While the response of a male may vary, female strepsirrhines in general tend to increase their protein intake seasonally more so than males (Gould et al, 1999(Gould et al, , 2011LaFleur & Gould, 2009;Meyers & Wright, 1993;Overdorff, 1993;Rasamimanana & Rafidinarivo, 1993;Sauther, 1994;Vasey, 2002;Yamashita, Sauther, Cuozzo, & Youssouf Jacky, 2015). While the response of a male may vary, female strepsirrhines in general tend to increase their protein intake seasonally more so than males (Gould et al, 1999(Gould et al, , 2011LaFleur & Gould, 2009;Meyers & Wright, 1993;Overdorff, 1993;Rasamimanana & Rafidinarivo, 1993;Sauther, 1994;Vasey, 2002;Yamashita, Sauther, Cuozzo, & Youssouf Jacky, 2015).…”

Ring-Tailed Lemurs: A Species Re-Imagined

“…Certain ring-tailed lemur habitats do appear to have protein advantages, however, as seen by LaFleur and Sauther [2015] who note that, compared to spiny forests, ring-tailed lemurs living in gallery forests dominated by Tamarindus indica (an important food in some gallery forest habitats) ingest higher crude protein, which could be at the potential expense of higher fibre content in their diets. Comparisons across habitats, such as that of Yamashita et al [2015] comparing gallery forest and dry and spiny forest at Bezà Mahafaly find that ring-tailed lemur diets in different habitats comprise a mixture of 'core' plants which are eaten regardless of their abundance and availability. Their study also adds to the growing consensus that high lemur population densities may not be as tightly tied to T. indica densities as previously thought.…”