Body weights of wild and captive lemurs

Abstract

The mean body weight of a species is often used as a summary measure of size in evolutionary and functional studies. Additionally, body weight is often used to assess the health of captive animals. Contrasts of the captive and wild body weights of a species can be used to examine the effects of captivity on the species. We provide an analysis of adult body weight in nine taxa of Malagasy lemurs. We compare weights of wild and captive lemurs and provide analyses of relationships between captive weight variation and management actions. Body weights are derived from a number of sources, the majority from the Duke University Primate Center (DUPC) capture and husbandry records. Captive animals are, on average, heavier than wild conspecifics.However, the difference is significant in only three taxa (Hapalemur griseus griseus, Eulemur coronatus, E. macaco flavifrons). Based on a retrospective analysis of DUPC records, we assess patterns of adult weight relative to caging conditions and evaluate changes in mean weight over a period of approximately 20 years. Cage type appears to have no effect on body weight. Mean weight has decreased for some taxa housed at the DUPC over time. We calculate a weight-based criterion for identifying obese animals and demonstrate that obesity is not currently a prevalent condition in DUPC lemurs. Examinations of the physiological correlates of excessive weight, and especially relationships between weight and reproductive success, await further analysis. These analyses need to be based, in part, on reliable measures of body weight. We suggest that systematic weighing of wild and captive animals is important for further examinations of the overall health of captive animals as well as for studies ranging in scope from evolutionary to clinical.

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

“…In contrast, there are few sexual differences in the body masses of prosimian species, regardless of their social systems (Kappeler 1990(Kappeler , 1991Terranova and Coffman 1997;Wright 1999;Müller 1999;Sauther et al 2002;Cuozzo and Sauther 2004). In the present study, we found no sexual difference in the body mass of adult ring-tailed lemurs; this is consistent with observations from previous studies (e.g., Kappeler 1991).…”

Vocal Tract Morphology Determines Species-Specific Features in Vocal Signals of Lemurs (Eulemur)

“…obs. ; Terranova and Coffman 1997). Eulemur rubriventer has a head-body length of 35-40 cm and a tail length of 43-53 cm.…”

“…Eulemur rubriventer has a head-body length of 35-40 cm and a tail length of 43-53 cm. Body mass is 1.6-2.4 kg (Glander et al 1992;Terranova and Coffman 1997).…”

Litter size, infant mortality and female body weight in captive black-and-white ruffed lemurs Varecia variegata

“…Females known to have been pregnant at the time of weighing were excluded from analyses. The possibility of pregnancy of some females in the dataset acquired through the questionnaire could not be excluded (available data did not provide reliable information on pregnancies); however, neither Schaaf & Stuart (1983) nor Terranova & Coffman (1997) found differences in captive lemur body weights among seasons, which suggests that differences in weight between pregnant and non-pregnant females of these seasonally breeding species may not be significant.…”

“…Cousins 1972, Walike et al 1977, Savage et al 1993, Schwartz et al 1993, Encarnación & Heymann 1998, Araújo et al 2000, Chen et al 2002, Schmidt 2004, Videan et al 2007), particularly in Malagasy lemurs (Schaaf & Stuart 1983, Pereira & Pond 1995, Schwitzer & Kaumanns 2001a, Willis et al 2009). Terranova & Coffman (1997) conducted a quantitative study on a large sample of lemurs and found significant differences in weights between wild and captive individuals, with 9 species and subspecies showing obesity rates of between 17 and 95% in captivity.…”