Genetic and morphological diversity of mouse lemurs (<i>Microcebus</i> spp.) in northern Madagascar: The discovery of a putative new species?

Sgarlata, Gabriele Maria; Salmona, Jordi; Pors, Barbara Le; Rasolondraibe, Emmanuel; Jan, Fabien; Ralantoharijaona, Tantely; Rakotonanahary, Ando; Randriamaroson, Jacquis; Marques, Adam; Aleixo-Pais, Isa; Zoeten, Tiago de; Ousseni, Dhurham Said Ali; Knoop, Simon B.; Teixeira, Helena; Gabillaud, Vivien; Miller, Avery; Ibouroi, Mohamed Thani; Rasoloharijaona, Solofonirina; Zaonarivelo, John R.; Andriaholinirina, Nicole; Chikhi, Lounès

doi:10.1002/ajp.23070

Cited by 14 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 84 publications

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“…#3 and M. mittermeieri / M. lehilahytsara in northeastern Madagascar, with two cases of local sympatry. Besides the case of M. macarthurii and M. mittermeieri at Anjiahely (Radespiel et al, 2008), sympatry of two mouse lemur species is so far only known from five cases from western Madagascar and one case from the northern part of the island (Sgarlata et al, 2019). In the five western cases, geographically restricted species co‐exist with the widely distributed congener M. murinus (Radespiel, 2016), which probably expanded northwards rather recently (Schneider, Chikhi, Currat, & Radespiel, 2010).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecology and morphology of mouse lemurs (Microcebusspp.) in a hotspot of microendemism in northeastern Madagascar, with the description of a new species

Schüßler

Blanco

Salmona

et al. 2020

American J Primatol

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863

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Delimitation of cryptic species is increasingly based on genetic analyses but the integration of distributional, morphological, behavioral, and ecological data offers unique complementary insights into species diversification. We surveyed communities of nocturnal mouse lemurs (Microcebus spp.) in five different sites of northeastern Madagascar, measuring a variety of morphological parameters and assessing reproductive states for 123 individuals belonging to five different lineages. We documented two different non‐sister lineages occurring in sympatry in two areas. In both cases, sympatric species pairs consisted of a locally restricted (M. macarthurii or M. sp. #3) and a more widespread lineage (M. mittermeieri or M. lehilahytsara). Estimated Extents of Occurrence (EOO) of these lineages differed remarkably with 560 and 1,500 km2 versus 9,250 and 50,700 km2, respectively. Morphometric analyses distinguished unambiguously between sympatric species and detected more subtle but significant differences among sister lineages. Tail length and body size were most informative in this regard. Reproductive schedules were highly variable among lineages, most likely impacted by phylogenetic relatedness and environmental variables. While sympatric species pairs differed in their reproductive timing (M. sp. #3/M. lehilahytsara and M. macarthurii/M. mittermeieri), warmer lowland rainforests were associated with a less seasonal reproductive schedule for M. mittermeieri and M. lehilahytsara compared with populations occurring in montane forests. Distributional, morphological, and ecological data gathered in this study support the results of genomic species delimitation analyses conducted in a companion study, which identified one lineage, M. sp. #3, as meriting formal description as a new species. Consequently, a formal species description is included. Worryingly, our data also show that geographically restricted populations of M. sp. #3 and its sister species (M. macarthurii) are at high risk of local and perhaps permanent extinction from both deforestation and habitat fragmentation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecology and morphology of mouse lemurs (Microcebusspp.) in a hotspot of microendemism in northeastern Madagascar, with the description of a new species

Schüßler

Blanco

Salmona

et al. 2020

American J Primatol

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863

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“…Here, we used genomic data from recently collected specimens of N. spinifolia across most of its range, the LM region. We first tested whether its restricted geographic distribution resulted in a low genetic diversity, as expected under a neutral model (Kimura, 1983), or remained relatively high as for co-distributed primates [P. tattersalli and Microcebus tavaratra (Quéméré et al, 2010;Aleixo-Pais et al, 2019)]. We then inferred the effect of landscape components on maternally and biparentally inherited genetic diversity, to investigate patterns of seed and pollen dispersals, and assessed their congruence with those of a congeneric species from the High Plateau [N. lowryi (Salmona et al, 2020)], and of co-distributed taxa (abovementioned).…”

Section: Madagascarmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…forest type and climatic variables); or (ii) the cpDNA and mtDNA diversities are confounded by homoplasy, recombination, strong drift, long-term phylogenetic or demographic history. Nevertheless, the prevailing effects of forest cover suggest that seed dispersal may be primarily performed by forest-dwelling animals (zoochory), especially those with limited and/or rare across-forest movements, such as lemurs, rodents and territorial birds (Quéméré et al, 2010;Rakotoarisoa et al, 2013a;Sgarlata et al, 2018;Aleixo-Pais et al, 2019). However, such a pattern could also result from infrequent seed ingestion by birds with broad-movement behavior.…”

Section: Landscape Effects On the Genetic Diversity Of Noronhia Spinimentioning

confidence: 99%

“…-Second, this study highlights the importance of riparian forests of the LM region for their major role both as corridors connecting forest fragments, which is supported by the fact that genetic diversity in N. spinifolia is explained by forest cover rather than Euclidian distance, and as vectors promoting the roles of vertebrates and insects on seed and pollen dispersal. Therefore, actively maintaining, protecting, and reforesting riparian and corridor forests, which are likely pivotal for the functional connectivity of N. spinifolia but also most native and endemic species of the LM region (Quéméré et al, 2010;Rakotoarisoa et al, 2013a;Sgarlata et al, 2018;Aleixo-Pais et al, 2019), remain critical conservation actions.…”

Section: Further Prospects and Conservation Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Loky-Manambato (LM) region rose as a small-scale model-region to study habitat loss and fragmentation, thanks to its well-characterized matrix of forests and open-habitats, the diversity of its putative barriers to gene flow, as well as its high levels of endemicity across living kingdoms Goodman et al, 2018). For instance, the forestmatrix was identified as the landscape feature shaping genetic diversity across all species studied in the LM region, while the Manankolana River, showed a strong effect on Propithecus tattersalli, not consistently recovered in other species (Quéméré et al, 2010;Rakotoarisoa et al, 2013a;Sgarlata et al, 2018;Aleixo-Pais et al, 2019;Tang et al, 2020). Although multiple studies on mammals attempted to describe and understand the processes that shaped its landscape and generated its diversity (Quéméré et al, 2012;Rakotoarisoa et al, 2013b;Salmona et al, 2017b;Sgarlata et al, 2018Sgarlata et al, , 2019, contributions on other taxa, such as plants, are crucial to draw taxonomically-broad generalities regarding the antiquity of its landscape, its connectivity and conservation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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How ancient forest fragmentation and riparian connectivity generate high levels of genetic diversity in a microendemic Malagasy tree

Salmona

Dresen

Ranaivoson

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Understanding landscape changes is central to predicting evolutionary trajectories and defining conservation practices. While human-driven deforestation is intense throughout Madagascar, exception in areas like the Loky-Manambato region (North) raises questions. This region also harbors a rich and endemic flora, whose evolutionary origin remains poorly understood.We assessed the genetic diversity of an endangered micro-endemic Malagasy olive species (Noronhia spinifolia) to better understand the vegetation dynamic in the Loky-Manambato region and its influence on past evolutionary processes. We characterized 72 individuals sampled across eight forests through nuclear and mitochondrial restriction associated sequencing data (RADseq) and chloroplast microsatellites (cpSSR).Extremely high genetic diversity was revealed in the three genomic compartments (chloroplast h = 0.99, mitochondrial h = 0.85, and nuclear HO = 0.07-0.20). Combined population and landscape genetics analyses indicate that N. spinifolia diversity is best explained by the current forest cover (R2 = 0.90), highlighting a long-standing forest fragmentation in the region. Our results further suggest a predominant role of forestdwelling organisms in mediating pollen and seed dispersals.This sustains a major and long-term role of riparian corridors in maintaining connectivity across those antique mosaic-habitats, calling for the study of organismal interactions that promote gene flow.

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Habitat use by the island lemurs of Nosy Be, Madagascar

Tinsman

Volampeno

Ganas-Swaray³

et al. 2022

American J Primatol

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Madagascar's lemurs are threatened by forest loss, fragmentation, and degradation. Many species use flexible behaviors to survive in degraded habitat, but their ability to persist in very small areas may be limited. Insular lemurs, like those found on Nosy Be, an island off the northwestern coast of Madagascar, are at heightened risk of sudden population declines and extirpation. Nosy Be is home to two Critically Endangered species—the endemic Nosy Be sportive lemur (Lepilemur tymerlachsoni) and Claire's mouse lemur (Microcebus mamiratra)—as well as the Endangered black lemur (Eulemur macaco). Most of the remaining forest on Nosy Be is protected by the 862‐ha Lokobe National Park. To document how Nosy Be lemurs use their restricted habitat, we conducted vegetation and reconnaissance surveys on 53 transects in and around Lokobe. We collected data on tree size, canopy cover, understory visibility, and elevation for 248 lemur sightings. We used a spatially explicit, multi‐species occupancy model to investigate which forest‐structure variables are important to lemurs. Our results represent some of the first data on habitat use by insular lemurs. Black lemurs preferred significantly larger trees and areas with less dense understory. They also occurred significantly less outside of Lokobe National Park, even when accounting for sampling effort and geography. The distributions of the sportive and mouse lemurs were not related to the forest structure variables we documented, but they did negatively predict each other—perhaps because their habitat requirements differ. These results also underscore the importance of the national park to protecting the black lemur population on Nosy Be and raise questions about what factors do influence the distribution of Nosy Be's smaller lemurs. Close monitoring is needed to prevent these populations and the ecosystem services they provide from disappearing, as have other island lemurs.

show abstract

Genetic and morphological diversity of mouse lemurs (Microcebus spp.) in northern Madagascar: The discovery of a putative new species?

Cited by 14 publications

References 84 publications

Ecology and morphology of mouse lemurs (Microcebusspp.) in a hotspot of microendemism in northeastern Madagascar, with the description of a new species

Ecology and morphology of mouse lemurs (Microcebusspp.) in a hotspot of microendemism in northeastern Madagascar, with the description of a new species

How ancient forest fragmentation and riparian connectivity generate high levels of genetic diversity in a microendemic Malagasy tree

Habitat use by the island lemurs of Nosy Be, Madagascar

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