Determinants of terrestrial feeding in an arboreal primate: The case of the southern bamboo lemur (<i>Hapalemur meridionalis</i>)

Eppley, Timothy M.; Donati, Giuseppe; Ganzhorn, Jörg U.

doi:10.1002/ajpa.23034

Cited by 24 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 131 publications

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“…Observations were conducted on three groups of southern bamboo lemurs (Hapalemur meridionalis) (Fausser et al 2002). These relatively smallbodied primates (1.1 kg) live in small social groups (Eppley et al 2015c) that are characterized by maintaining a folivorous diet (Eppley et al 2011(Eppley et al , 2016a) and strict territoriality with minimal home range overlap (Eppley et al 2015b(Eppley et al , 2016c.…”

Section: Study Site and Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Given the various hunting strategies of these raptors (Brockman 2003) and that playback experiments of aerial predators have shown Hapalemur to descend in the canopy in response to raptor calls (Karpanty and Wright 2007), we considered our canopy exposure method as an acceptable proxy as they should theoretically try to minimize the amount of time they are exposed from above. Additionally, terrestriality is presumed to increase the perceived risk of predation by exposing individuals to potential predators (van Schaik 1983), e.g., fossa Cryptoprocta ferox (Donati et al 2007b), feral dogs (Canis familiaris; Eppley et al 2016a), and Dumeril's boa Acrantophis dumerili (Eppley and Ravelomanantsoa 2015). As such, we used the daily proportion of time the southern bamboo lemurs spent on the ground as a proxy for terrestrial predation risk.…”

Section: Behavioural Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Increased terrestrial feeding by H. meridionalis in Mandena is due to a greater dietary quality pay-off when the perceived risk of predation was less than or equal to the risk when feeding arboreally (Eppley et al 2016a). While our model does not support terrestrial activity as influencing changes in diurnality, canopy exposure was found to be a significant factor, i.e., on days when canopy exposure increased southern Ultimate determinants of Hapalemur cathemerality 16 bamboo lemurs were more diurnal, though against our prediction of avoiding diurnal aerial predation.…”

Section: Anti-predator Strategymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The degraded and fragmented habitat matrix of Mandena includes many open-canopy areas, with the majority of these concentrated in the marsh/swamp areas where these lemurs feed heavily on terrestrial food items, such as various grasses and Cyperaceae piths, during diurnal hours (Eppley et al 2011(Eppley et al , 2016a. It has been established that the congener H. griseus is a frequent food source for raptors at Ranomafana National Park (Karpanty and Wright 2007), and changes in diel activity are often shown to reduce the perceived risk from diurnal predators (Cowan and Peckarsky 1994;Lang et al 2006;Orpwood et al 2006).…”

Section: Anti-predator Strategymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Hapalemur genus maintains year-round a folivorous feeding ecology composed largely of bamboos, grasses, and sedges (Overdorff et al 1997;Mutschler 1999;Tan 1999;Grassi 2002Grassi , 2006Eppley et al 2011Eppley et al , 2016a, a diet that requires a long foodtransit time compared to frugivorous Eulemur (Cabre-Vert and Feistner 1995;Fidgett et al 1996;Campbell et al 2000Campbell et al , 2004Perrin 2013). Thus, while the hypothesis put forth by Engqvist and Richard (1991) provides an explanation for Eulemur cathemeral activity patterns, it does not explain cathemerality for Hapalemur.…”

Section: Metabolic Dietary-related Needsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Predator avoidance and dietary fibre predict diurnality in the cathemeral folivore Hapalemur meridionalis

Eppley

Watzek

Ganzhorn

et al. 2016

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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Though numerous mammalian taxa exhibit cathemerality (i.e., activity distributed across 24-h cycle), this includes very few primates, exceptions being species from Aotinae and Lemuridae. Four non-mutually exclusive hypotheses have been proposed to explain ultimate determinants for cathemeral activity in lemurs: thermoregulatory benefits, anti-predator strategy, competition avoidance, and metabolic dietary-related needs. However, these have only been explored in the frugivorous genus Eulemur, with some species increasing nocturnality as a possible response to avoid diurnal raptors and to increase their ability to digest fibre during resource scarce periods. Since Eulemur lack specialisations for digesting bulk food, this strategy would allow for processing fibres over the full 24-h. The folivorous lemurids, i.e., genus Hapalemur, provide a divergent model to explore these hypotheses due to gastrointestinal adaptations for digesting dietary fibre and small body size compared to Eulemur. We linked continuous activity data collected from archival tags with observational behaviour and feeding data from three groups of adult H. meridionalis from JanuaryDecember 2013. We tested the effects of thermoregulation, anti-predator, and the weighted proportion of dietary fibre on the daily diurnal/nocturnal activity ratio using a Linear MixedModel. Our best-fit model revealed that increased canopy exposure and dietary fibre predicted greater diurnality. Our findings contrast with previous predictions for frugivorous lemurids, proposing a divergent adaptive explanation for folivorous lemurids. We suggest that the need to avoid terrestrial predators, as well as the longer digestive bouts during periods of bulky food, may override cathemerality in favour of diurnality in these bamboo lemurs.

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Section: Study Site and Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Behavioural Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Anti-predator Strategymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Anti-predator Strategymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Metabolic Dietary-related Needsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Predator avoidance and dietary fibre predict diurnality in the cathemeral folivore Hapalemur meridionalis

Eppley

Watzek

Ganzhorn

et al. 2016

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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Flexibility in positional behavior, strata use, and substrate utilization among Bale monkeys (Chlorocebus djamdjamensis) in response to habitat fragmentation and degradation

Mekonnen

Fashing

Sargis

et al. 2018

American J Primatol

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Studies of the effects of habitat fragmentation and degradation on primate positional behavior, strata use, and substrate utilization offer valuable insights into the behavioral and ecological flexibility of primates whose habitats have undergone extensive anthropogenic disturbance. In this study, we evaluated how positional behavior, strata use, and substrate utilization differed between Bale monkeys (Chlorocebus djamdjamensis)-bamboo-eating cercopithecids endemic to the southern Ethiopian Highlands-occupying continuous versus fragmented forests. Bale monkeys in forest fragments (where bamboo had been degraded or eradicated) spent significantly more time on the ground and in understory strata whereas those in continuous forest spent significantly more time in the middle and upper strata. Bale monkeys in forest fragments also spent significantly more time walking and galloping and significantly less time climbing than those in continuous forest. Our results suggest that, unlike the primarily arboreal Bale monkeys in continuous forest, Bale monkeys in forest fragments should be characterized as semi-terrestrial. In response to habitat disturbance in fragments, we observed a greater emphasis on terrestrial foraging and travel among Bale monkeys in these human altered habitats, which may put them at greater risk of predation and conflict with nearby human populations. Bale monkeys in fragments exhibit flexibility in their positional behavioral repertoire and their degree of terrestriality is more similar to their sister taxa in Chlorocebus than to Bale monkeys in continuous forest. These findings suggest that habitat alteration may compel Bale monkeys to exhibit semi-terrestrial behaviors crucial for their persistence in human-modified habitats. Our results contribute to a growing body of literature on primate behavioral responses to anthropogenic modification of their habitats and provide information that can contribute to the design of appropriate conservation management plans.

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Trends in forest fragment research in Madagascar: Documented responses by lemurs and other taxa

Kling

Yaeger

Wright

2020

American J Primatol

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The rise in research investigating fragmentation and its impact on primates and other taxa reflects the growing presence of fragmented landscapes themselves. Although numerous studies report the negative effects of fragmentation on biodiversity, it is difficult to generalize responses to fragmentation for specific taxonomic groups, such as non-human primates, when studies have not employed a definitive concept of fragmentation or fragments themselves. Madagascar's high degree of fragmentation, wealth of endemic taxa, and extensive history of ecological research provide the opportunity to compare fragmentation studies across similar contexts. We conducted a literature search of peer-reviewed articles on fragmentation in Madagascar to characterize its trends. A total of 70 articles, 46 of which concentrated on lemurs, tested the impacts of fragmentation on Malagasy taxa, while additional sources conducted research in one or more fragments without testing its effects (n = 112 total, 79 on lemurs). Studies on lemurs most frequently tested fragmentation's impacts on genetics and biodiversity metrics (n = 16 and 15 studies, respectively), although health, modeling, behavioral, and cross-disciplinary techniques were also reported. Responses to fragmentation were reported for 49 lemur species, with most studies concentrated in eastern Madagascar (87%). Although there was variation in the metrics reported in studies testing the effects of fragmentation on Malagasy species, the most common measures were fragment area, isolation, or comparison to a control site. Landscape-scale approaches and examination of fragmentation per se were rarely employed. Characterizing trends of fragmentation research in Madagascar emphasizes the challenges of documenting fragmentation's effects while highlighting the benefits of research within fragmented landscapes, particularly when combined with consideration for how the matrix within human-modified landscapes may impact primate populations. K E Y W O R D S forest fragments, fragmentation, lemurs, literature search, Madagascar

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Determinants of terrestrial feeding in an arboreal primate: The case of the southern bamboo lemur (Hapalemur meridionalis)

Abstract: Our study provides a window into the ultimate determinants of niche expansion: ancestral primates, in absence of their primary resources, may have initially descended to the ground in peripheral population range areas where the benefits (e g., nutritional pay-off) out-weighed the costs.

Cited by 24 publications

References 131 publications

Predator avoidance and dietary fibre predict diurnality in the cathemeral folivore Hapalemur meridionalis

Predator avoidance and dietary fibre predict diurnality in the cathemeral folivore Hapalemur meridionalis

Flexibility in positional behavior, strata use, and substrate utilization among Bale monkeys (Chlorocebus djamdjamensis) in response to habitat fragmentation and degradation

Trends in forest fragment research in Madagascar: Documented responses by lemurs and other taxa

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