Does habitat disturbance affect stress, body condition and parasitism in two sympatric lemurs?

Rakotoniaina, Josué H.; Kappeler, Peter M.; Ravoniarimbinina, Pascaline; Pechouskova, Eva; Hämäläinen, Anni; Graß, Juliane; Kirschbaum, Clemens; Kraus, Cornelia

doi:10.1093/conphys/cow034

Cited by 27 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 104 publications

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“…This district contains many small, highly fragmented and disturbed semihumid and dry forest fragments, and Cheirogaleus sp. are known to be able to tolerate these high levels of habitat disturbance; it is not yet clear whether any other dwarf lemur species inhabit these fragments [Mittermeier et al, 2010;Rakotoniaina et al, 2016;this study].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Range Extension and Behavioural Observations of the Recently Described Sheth's Dwarf Lemur (Cheirogaleus shethi)

Hending¹,

Andrianiaina²,

Rakotomalala³

et al. 2017

IJFP

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Sheth's dwarf lemur, Cheirogaleus shethi, is a small, recently discovered nocturnal primate endemic to northern Madagascar. Unlike many other nocturnal lemurs, C. shethi lives sympatrically with morphologically similar species of its cryptic genus, making it difficult for biologists to determine its population density and distribution. Here, we present new data and observations of this species. During a series of rapid biodiversity assessments in the SAVA region of north-eastern Madagascar, we observed C. shethi in 10 different sites, 9 of which were not previously known to harbour C. shethi populations. More significantly, 2 of these sites, in Analamanara, were situated approximately 20 km south of the previously known southern extremity of this species' distribution. This represents a large increase in the previously limited geographic range of this species. Moreover, our relatively high encounter rates at these sites suggest that C. shethi population densities may be high. We also observed C. shethi in human-altered (e.g., vanilla plantations) and non-forest, savannah environments, suggesting that this species can tolerate disturbed habitats. Our findings therefore provide important additional information on the distribution of C. shethi populations and highlight the necessity of further study for the conservation of this species.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Range Extension and Behavioural Observations of the Recently Described Sheth's Dwarf Lemur (Cheirogaleus shethi)

Hending¹,

Andrianiaina²,

Rakotomalala³

et al. 2017

IJFP

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“…Fecal samples from cheirogaleids were taken during animal handling or from traps following capture in Sherman or Tomahawk live traps from 2010 to 2014 (Hämäläinen et al, 2015b;Rakotoniaina et al, 2016). Fecal samples from Eulemur rufifrons and Propithecus verreauxi were taken during direct observations within 2 min of defecation.…”

Section: Sampling and Sample Processingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intestinal parasite communities of six sympatric lemur species at Kirindy Forest, Madagascar

Springer

Kappeler

2016

Primate Biol.

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Abstract.Intestinal parasites impact host health, survival and reproductive success and therefore exert selective pressures on hosts' ecology and behavior. Thus, characterizing and comparing the parasitic fauna of different wildlife hosts sharing the same habitat can provide insights into the mechanisms underlying variation in parasitism, as well as the role of parasites as possible conservation threats. Several host traits have been proposed to generate differences in parasite diversity among different host species, including phylogeny, host body mass, host longevity, diet, and differences in ranging and social behavior. Here, we provide an overview of intestinal helminths and protozoa detected by fecal microscopy in six sympatric lemur species in Kirindy Forest, western Madagascar. The described patterns indicate that host phylogeny and diet may play an important role in shaping intestinal parasite assemblages in this system, as the closely related, omnivorous cheirogaleids showed the strongest overlap in parasite communities. No indication was found for an effect of body mass or longevity on parasite species richness. Regarding the effect of sociality, the two group-living lemur species, Propithecus verreauxi and Eulemur rufifrons, harbored directly transmitted parasites at higher prevalence than solitary foragers, but not at higher diversity. Effects of season and sex on parasite prevalence confirm the results of previous studies, with higher prevalence in the energetically demanding dry season and a male bias in parasitism. We highlight the opportunities of exploring the parasitic fauna of wildlife from a community ecology and evolutionary perspective, and identify prospects for future research on lemur parasitism.

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“…Understanding the patterns in population density and distribution throughout the remaining habitat may help focus conservation initiatives towards priority areas and elucidate the processes of speciation by which so many endemic species came to exist in Madagascar (Kamilar & Beaudrot , Kamilar & Tecot , Rakotoniaina et al. ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A biogeographical perspective on the variation in mouse lemur density throughout Madagascar

et al. 2017

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Madagascar is home to the smallest primates in the world, the mouse lemurs (Microcebus species). Twenty‐four species of mouse lemur are currently recognised and are found in variable ecosystems, from dry forests and spiny deserts to humid forests. Due to their widespread distribution and the large number of sympatric species, mouse lemurs can be used as a model to understand the linkages among species richness, population density, and habitat. As all lemurs are threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation, this information can also be used to inform conservation management. We hypothesise that on an island‐wide scale, we will find higher population densities in western dry forests than in eastern humid forests because the western dry forests exhibit lower species richness, more sympatric habitat use, and lower resource stability than the eastern humid forests. We conducted a literature review of population density estimates of known mouse lemur species, and used those data to conduct a meta‐analysis and estimate overall average population density by geographic region. Our findings suggest that mouse lemur species living in western dry forest generally exhibit higher densities than those in eastern humid forests. This may be partly explained by higher habitat fragmentation in western dry forests, where species co‐occur, but is likely to be a function of the magnitude and variability in seasonally available resources in each forest type. Higher seasonality results in less constant food availability and lower levels of environmental predictability, fostering species capable of coping with environmental change and maintaining high densities throughout periods of resource paucity. Our study highlights the importance of conducting Microcebus population density research that adheres to standardised methodological approaches. We point to the need for population density estimates for several species for which data are lacking. Such knowledge is important to assess the conservation status of these species, but also to enhance our ability to identify the macro‐biogeographical and local ecological drivers of interspecific and intraspecific variability in population density.

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Does habitat disturbance affect stress, body condition and parasitism in two sympatric lemurs?

Cited by 27 publications

References 104 publications

Range Extension and Behavioural Observations of the Recently Described Sheth's Dwarf Lemur (Cheirogaleus shethi)

Range Extension and Behavioural Observations of the Recently Described Sheth's Dwarf Lemur (Cheirogaleus shethi)

Intestinal parasite communities of six sympatric lemur species at Kirindy Forest, Madagascar

A biogeographical perspective on the variation in mouse lemur density throughout Madagascar

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