Body mass of wild ring-tailed lemurs in Berenty Reserve, Madagascar, with reference to tick infestation: a preliminary analysis

Koyama, Naoki; Aimi, Mitsuru; Kawamoto, Y.; Hirai, Hirohisa; Go, Yasuhiro; Ichino, Shinichiro; Takahata, Yukio

doi:10.1007/s10329-007-0051-4

Cited by 17 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…In total, 18 animals surpassed the mean body mass range for free-living ring-tailed lemurs of 2-2.5 kg (Sussman 1991;Drea and Weil 2008), yet our age-body mass graph ( Fig. 1) largely resembled that given by Koyama et al (2008), and only two animals appeared to be of excessive weight for their age, being distinctively above maximum weights recorded in the natural habitat of 2.6 kg by Simmen et al (2010). These findings suggested that obesity was not a major factor in the study populations.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 64%

Macroscopic digestive anatomy of ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta), including a comparison of frozen and formalin-stored specimens

Clauß

Truempler

Ackermans

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Digestive tract measurements are often considered species-specific, but little information exists on the degree to which they change during ontogeny within species. Additionally, access to anatomical material from nondomestic species is often limited, with fixed tissues possibly representing the only available source, though the degree at which this material is representative in terms of dimensions and weight is debatable. In the present study, the macroscopic digestive tract anatomy (length of intestinal portions, and tissue weights of stomach and intestines) of n=58 Lemur catta (from neonates to 25 years of age) was quantified, of which 27 had been stored frozen and 31 fixed in formalin. Particular attention was paid to the caecum and the possible presence of an appendix. The intraspecific allometric scaling of body mass (BM)0.46[0.40;0.51] for total intestine length and BM0.48[0.41;0.54] for small intestine length was higher than the expected geometric scaling of BM0.33, similar to literature results on interspecific scaling. This difference in scaling is usually explained by the hypothesis that the diameter of the intestinal tube cannot increase geometrically, to maintain optimal absorption. Therefore, geometric volume gain of increasing body mass is accommodated by more-than-geometric length scaling. Literature describes L. catta as being variable with respect to the presence of an appendix. No appendix was found in specimens of the present study. The proportions of length measurements did not change markedly during ontogeny, indicating that proportions developed in the foetus are already representative for the adult animal. By contrast, width and tissue-mass scaling of the caecum indicated a disproportionate growth of this organ during ontogeny that was not reflected in its length. Compared to overall intraspecific variation, the method of storage (frozen vs. formalin) had no relevant impact on length or weight measurements.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 64%

Macroscopic digestive anatomy of ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta), including a comparison of frozen and formalin-stored specimens

Clauß

Truempler

Ackermans

et al. 2020

Preprint

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“…Thus, we cannot rule out the possibility that social dominance is associated with increased energy input or energy conservation at other seasons or that inter-individual variation in TEE within each sex was accidentally confounded with the particular social status of the focal animals. For example, Koyama et al [69] found in a large sample at Berenty that, in autumn, body weight of ring-tailed lemur males varied across hierarchical ranks, suggesting different TEEs were mediated by social relationships. However, they did not find significant differences in body weight among females of different status.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Total Energy Expenditure and Body Composition in Two Free-Living Sympatric Lemurs

et al. 2010

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BackgroundEvolutionary theories that account for the unusual socio-ecological traits and life history features of group-living prosimians, compared with other primates, predict behavioral and physiological mechanisms to conserve energy. Low energy output and possible fattening mechanisms are expected, as either an adaptive response to drastic seasonal fluctuations of food supplies in Madagascar, or persisting traits from previously nocturnal hypometabolic ancestors. Free ranging ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) and brown lemurs (Eulemur sp.) of southern Madagascar have different socio-ecological characteristics which allow a test of these theories: Both gregarious primates have a phytophagous diet but different circadian activity rhythms, degree of arboreality, social systems, and slightly different body size.Methodology and ResultsDaily total energy expenditure and body composition were measured in the field with the doubly labeled water procedure. High body fat content was observed at the end of the rainy season, which supports the notion that individuals need to attain a sufficient physical condition prior to the long dry season. However, ring-tailed lemurs exhibited lower water flux rates and energy expenditure than brown lemurs after controlling for body mass differences. The difference was interpreted to reflect higher efficiency for coping with seasonally low quality foods and water scarcity. Daily energy expenditure of both species was much less than the field metabolic rates predicted by various scaling relationships found across mammals.DiscussionWe argue that low energy output in these species is mainly accounted for by low basal metabolic rate and reflects adaptation to harsh, unpredictable environments. The absence of observed sex differences in body weight, fat content, and daily energy expenditure converge with earlier investigations of physical activity levels in ring-tailed lemurs to suggest the absence of a relationship between energy constraints and the evolution of female dominance over males among lemurs. Nevertheless, additional seasonal data are required to provide a definitive conclusion.

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“…As a result, the animals forage on over 15 species of flora that grow in the enclosures [Ganzhorn, 1986]. Furthermore, the average weights (2.32 kg for females and 2.36 kg for males), and thus, net caloric intake of the adult lemurs at DLC were comparable to those of wild ringtailed lemurs [2.21 kg both genders, Sussman 1991; 2.27 kg females, 2.22 kg males, Koyama et al, 2007].…”

Section: Subjectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of food, proximity, and kinship on social behavior in ringtailed lemurs

Sbeglia

Tang‐Martínez

Sussman

2010

American J Primatol

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Efforts to understand the variation in primate social systems and their underlying interaction patterns have focused on both intrinsic and extrinsic factors. In the socioecological model, food distribution and abundance have been argued to be the primary influences on the social behavior of primate species. We examined the relationship of food resources and two intrinsic factors-kinship and proximity-with patterns of affiliative and agonistic relationships in two semi-free ranging ringtailed lemur, Lemur catta, social groups (N=14) at The Duke Lemur Center in Durham, NC. In analyzing these three factors concurrently within the same system, we attempt to establish their relative power in explaining the characteristics of social relationships. Patterns of affiliation and high-intensity agonism were best explained by kinship. Proximity also explained affiliation but did not explain agonism, which varied considerably between groups. The influence of food on social interactions was highly variable between the two groups and, therefore, did not convincingly account for the social behavior patterns we observed. Finally, different intensities of agonism have different patterns and should be analyzed individually. The variation between social groups makes it difficult for us to conclude that any one factor is primarily and universally responsible for patterns of social behavior in this species.

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Body mass of wild ring-tailed lemurs in Berenty Reserve, Madagascar, with reference to tick infestation: a preliminary analysis

Cited by 17 publications

References 30 publications

Macroscopic digestive anatomy of ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta), including a comparison of frozen and formalin-stored specimens

Macroscopic digestive anatomy of ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta), including a comparison of frozen and formalin-stored specimens

Total Energy Expenditure and Body Composition in Two Free-Living Sympatric Lemurs

Effects of food, proximity, and kinship on social behavior in ringtailed lemurs

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