Behavioural ecology of sympatric lemur species Lemur catta and Eulemur sp. In forest fragments, south-eastern Madagascar

I examine the niche partitioning between native ring-tailed lemurs, Lemur catta, and an introduced hybrid brown lemur population of Eulemur rufus x E. collaris in Malaza gallery forest of Berenty reserve, in comparison with the natural sympatric population of ring-tailed lemurs and red collared brown lemurs, Eulemur collaris, in Ambatotsirongorongo forest and with allopatric ring-tailed lemurs at Bealoka forest, in order to determine the impact of the introduced brown lemur population at Berenty reserve on the behaviour and distribution of native ring-tailed lemurs. Behavioural observations were conducted from September 2008 to December 2009; lemur population survey was conducted from 2005 to 2009. Behavioural sampling methods include scan group sampling, focal animal sampling and ad libitum of social behaviour and feeding behaviour. Two groups of each lemur species were followed in Malaza Berenty forest, one group of ring-tailed lemurs in Bealoka forest and one group of each lemur species was followed in Ambatotsirongorongo forest. Vegetation study was conducted in Bealoka and Berenty forests, whereas preliminary data on vegetation structure was already available for Ambatotsirongorongo. At Berenty reserve, the dynamic of the native ring-tailed lemur population was conditioned by food availability and habitat quality. The brown lemur growth and distribution appear to be affected by the water availability. Individual energy demands for various activity rhythms play a big role in brown lemurs' ecology. Food availability, hierarchy and territory are the main niche dimensions that shape ring-tailed lemurs' ecology. Niche partitioning between native population of ring-tailed and collared brown lemurs at Ambatotsirongorongo forest relies mainly on habitat use. Feeding ecology of ringtailed lemurs in Bealoka forest is dominated by fruits. Habitat utilization differs markedly from both Berenty and Ambatotsirongorongo forest. Changes in ring-tailed lemurs' behaviour and distribution at Berenty reserve are partly due to the competition with the introduced brown lemurs. This situation has resulted in a niche partitioning between both species by creating a bimodal niche for ring-tailed lemurs: the marginal habitat and the closed canopy forest. The comparisons with ecological mechanisms and evolution of Bealoka and Ambatotsirongorongo forests show that Berenty has shifted from a situation more like Bealoka's to a situation more like natural sympatry

Averting Lemur Extinctions amid Madagascar\u27s Political Crisis

The most threatened mammal group on Earth, Madagascar’s five endemic lemur families (lemurs are found nowhere else), represent more than 20% of the world’s primate species and 30% of family-level diversity. This combination of diversity and uniqueness is unmatched by any other country—remarkable considering that Madagascar is only 1.3 to 2.9% the size of the Neotropics, Africa, or Asia, the other three landmasses where nonhuman primates occur. But lemurs face extinction risks driven by human disturbance of forest habitats. We discuss these challenges and reasons for hope in light of site-specific, local actions proposed in an emergency conservation action plan

Factors influencing terrestriality in primates of the Americas and Madagascar

Among mammals, the order Primates is exceptional in having a high taxonomic richness in which the taxa are arboreal, semiterrestrial, or terrestrial. Although habitual terrestriality is pervasive among the apes and African and Asian monkeys (catarrhines), it is largely absent among monkeys of the Americas (platyrrhines), as well as galagos, lemurs, and lorises (strepsirrhines), which are mostly arboreal. Numerous ecological drivers and species-specific factors are suggested to set the conditions for an evolutionary shift from arboreality to terrestriality, and current environmental conditions may provide analogous scenarios to those transitional periods. Therefore, we investigated predominantly arboreal, diurnal primate genera from the Americas and Madagascar that lack fully terrestrial taxa, to determine whether ecological drivers (habitat canopy cover, predation risk, maximum temperature, precipitation, primate species richness, human population density, and distance to roads) or species-specific traits (body mass, group size, and degree of frugivory) associate with increased terrestriality. We collated 150,961 observation hours across 2,227 months from 47 species at 20 sites in Madagascar and 48 sites in the Americas. Multiple factors were associated with ground use in these otherwise arboreal species, including increased temperature, a decrease in canopy cover, a dietary shift away from frugivory, and larger group size. These factors mostly explain intraspecific differences in terrestriality. As humanity modifies habitats and causes climate change, our results suggest that species already inhabiting hot, sparsely canopied sites, and exhibiting more generalized diets, are more likely to shift toward greater ground use

Gestion en métapopulation de Propithecus coronatus: une approche originale et multidisciplinaire pour la conservation d’une espèce en danger à Madagascar

Le propithèque couronné, Propithecus coronatus, est l’un des lémuriens les plus menacés à Madagascar. Un projet de conservation a été créé par le Groupe d’Etude et de Recherche sur les Primates de Madagascar (GERP) et The Aspinall Foundation en partenariat avec le Programme d’Elevage Européen de l’espèce après la découverte de plusieurs groupes de propithèques couronnés isolés au Centre de Madagascar. L’isolement total de ces groupes dans des fragments de forêt dégradée et soumis à de fortes pressions anthropiques a conduit à l’élaboration d’une stratégie de conservation originale et unique à Madagascar de ces groupes dont la conservation séparée n’a pas de sens. Il s’agit de mettre en place une gestion en métapopulation de ces groupes dont l’objectif est de les connecter à nouveau entre eux. C’est un projet multidisciplinaire qui concerne l’ensemble des populations de propithèques couronnés sauvages et captives et qui implique la recherche et la protection de nouveaux groupes, des études sur les populations isolées, mais également sur celle préservée du Nord-Ouest de Madagascar, sur les habitats, des suivis écologiques, des projets d’éducation environnementale, des projets de cogestion avec la population locale, et une collaboration inédite avec le Programme d’Elevage Européen. Ce projet pourra également servir de modèle pour la conservation d’autres espèces dans la même situation que les propithèques couronnés.The crowned sifaka, Propithecus coronatus, is one of the most endangered lemur species in Madagascar. A conservation project has been established in partnership between GERP (Groupe d’Etude et de Recherche sur les Primates de Madagascar), The Aspinall Foundation Madagascar and the European Endangered species Programme (EEP) following the discovery of isolated crowned sifaka populations along the central highlands of Madagascar. The complete isolation of these groups living in fragmented forests subject to human pressure led to the elaboration of a unique and original conservation strategy, that a separated conservation action plan does not make sense. The project aims to set up a metapopulation management approach to P. coronatus conservation, which considers populations to be linked by migration. This is a multidisciplinary project including all crowned sifaka populations in the wild and in captivity. The project involves research and conservation of the newly-discovered populations, study of the protected population in Northwest of Madagascar; habitat structure assessments, ecological monitoring, environmental education, community-based reserve management and ex situ conservation in collaboration with the EEP. This project will serve as a model for the implementation of metapopulation management for endangered species in isolated forest fragments of Madagascar

(Un-)Expected Nocturnal Activity in ‘‘Diurnal’’ Lemur catta Supports Cathemerality as One of the Key Adaptations of the Lemurid Radiation

The ability to operate during the day and at night (i.e., cathemerality) is common among mammals but has rarely been identified in primates. Adaptive hypotheses assume that cathemerality represents a stable adaptation in primates, while nonadaptive hypotheses propose that it is the result of an evolutionary disequilibrium arising from human impacts on natural habitats. Madagascar offers a unique opportunity to study the evolution of activity patterns as there we find a monophyletic primate radiation that shows nocturnal, diurnal, and cathemeral patterns. However, when and why cathemeral activity evolved in lemurs is the subject of intense debate. Thus far, this activity pattern has been regularly observed in only three lemurid genera but the actual number of lemur species exhibiting this activity is as yet unknown. Here we show that the ring-tailed lemur, Lemur catta, a species previously considered to be diurnal, can in fact be cathemeral in the wild. In neighboring but distinct forest areas these lemurs exhibited either mainly diurnal or cathemeral activity. We found that, as in other cathemeral lemurs, activity was entrained by photoperiod and masked by nocturnal luminosity. Our results confirm the relationship between transitional eye anatomy and physiology and 24-h activity, thus supporting the adaptive scenario. Also, on the basis of the most recent strepsirrhine phylogenetic reconstruction, using parsimony criterion, our findings suggest pushing back the emergence of cathemerality to stem lemurids. Flexible activity over 24-h could thus have been one of the key adaptations of the early lemurid radiation possibly driven by Madagascar's island ecology

Data from: Blood transcriptomes reveal novel parasitic zoonoses circulating in Madagascar's lemurs

Zoonotic diseases are a looming threat to global populations, and nearly 75% of emerging infectious diseases can spread among wildlife, domestic animals and humans. A ‘One World, One Health’ perspective offers us an ideal framework for understanding and potentially mitigating the spread of zoonoses, and the island of Madagascar serves as a natural laboratory for conducting these studies. Rapid habitat degradation and climate change on the island are contributing to more frequent contact among humans, livestock and wildlife, increasing the potential for pathogen spillover events. Given Madagascar's long geographical isolation, coupled with recent and repeated introduction of agricultural and invasive species, it is likely that a number of circulating pathogens remain uncharacterized in lemur populations. Thus, it is imperative that new approaches be implemented for de novo pathogen discovery. To this end, we used non-targeted deep sequencing of blood transcriptomes from two species of critically endangered wild lemurs (Indri indri and Propithecus diadema) to characterize blood-borne pathogens. Our results show several undescribed vector-borne parasites circulating within lemurs, some of which may cause disease in wildlife, livestock and humans. We anticipate that advanced methods for de novo identification of unknown pathogens will have broad utility for characterizing other complex disease transmission systems

Consensus sequences of Babesia, Borrelia, C. Neoehrlichia, Plasmodium, and Trypanosoma

This data file contains consensus sequences of ribosomal and mitochondrial genes for Babesia, Borrelia, C. Neoehrlichia, Plasmodium, and Trypansosoma identified in lemur blood samples from Madagascar

P38. More than twenty years of orchid ex situ conservation in Africa and Madagascar

International audienceOrchid conservation represents a significant challenge inTropical Africa and Madagascar, areas in which habitats are facing increasing pressure from agriculture, mining and logging activities. In these regions, a large part of the epiphyte flora is composed of orchids, most of which, when lacking flowers when encountered in the field, are impossible to identify. However, accurate identification is essential for developing conservation strategies since about 69% of tropical Africanand Malagasy orchids are potentially threatened. To overcome this identification problem, a shadehouse cultivation system was developed in São Tomé in 1997 and has now been extended across Continental Africa and Madagascar, providing a powerful tool for conducting thorough orchid inventories since most epiphytes can easily be brought into cultivation and grown to produce fertile, identifiable material. The network currently counts 12 shadehouses in sixcountries and, to date, 32,013 living orchids collected in the field have been grown, representing about 500 species, from which >23,764 herbarium specimens have been collected, most associated with silicagel-preserved material and photos. This material has been usedto describe 41 previously unknown species and to assess the conservation status of hundreds of species in three key areas (West Africa, Central Africa and Madagascar), while also leading to the publication of 44 articles in taxonomy, phylogeny, floristics and for the general public. Initially designed to facilitate orchid inventory and identification, the shadehouses now contribute to orchid conservation by protecting plants in safe, controlled conditions, producing material for seeds banking. They also offer valuable training opportunities for young botanists, thereby contributing to in-country capacity building. Key factors that explain the success of this shadehouse network and its long-term survival are the support provided by reliable local partners, the involvement of young botanists and students, and the development of new techniques to grow thousands of living orchids successfully and cost-effectivel

Madagascar Terrestrial Camera Survey Database 2021: A collation of protected forest camera surveys from 2007–2021

Madagascar is a threatened global biodiversity hotspot and conservation priority, yet we lack broad-scale surveys to assess biodiversity across space and time. To fill this gap, we collated camera trap surveys, capturing species occurrences within Madagascar into a single standardized database. This data set includes nine distinct protected areas of Madagascar and encompasses 13 subprojects, 38 camera arrays, and 1156 sampling units (independent camera site per survey) within two important biodiversity eco-regions: western dry deciduous forest and eastern humid rainforest. Camera surveys were conducted from June 2007 to January 2021. The final data set includes 17 unique families of mammals (Bovidae, Canidae, Cheirogaleidae, Daubentoniidae, Equidae, Eupleridae, Felidae, Hominidae, Indriidae, Lemuridae, Lepilemuridae, Muridae, Nesomyidae, Pteropodidae, Soricidae, Suidae, Tenrecidae) comprising 45 species and 27 unique families of birds (Accipitridae, Acrocephalidae, Alcedinidae, Bernieridae, Brachypteraciidae, Caprimulgidae, Cisticolidae, Columbidae, Coraciidae, Corvidae, Cuculidae, Dicruridae, Mesitornithidae, Monarchidae, Motacillidae, Muscicapidae, Numididae, Phasianidae, Rallidae, Sarothruridae, Strigidae, Sturnidae, Sulidae, Threskiornithidae, Upupidae, Vangidae, Zosteropidae) comprising 58 species. Images were processed and verified by individual project data set creators and camera operation and species tables were then collated. The final product represents the first broad-scale freely available standardized formal faunal database for Madagascar. Data are available through this publication and at DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.5801806. These data will be useful for examining species-level and community-level trends in occurrence across space or time within Madagascar and globally, evaluating native and invasive species dynamics, and will aid in determining species conservation status and planning for at-risk species. There are no copyright restrictions; please cite this paper when using the data for publication