Latitude drives diversification in M adagascar's endemic dry forest rodent E liurus myoxinus (subfamily N esomyinae)

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/100288/1/bij12143.pd

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

Diversité et remplacement longitudinal des espèces de petits mammifères dans les forêts des bassins versants des fleuves de l’ouest de Madagascar

Summary. — Diversity and longitudinal species turnover of small mammals in the forests of watersheds of western Madagascar. — The species diversity of Malagasy small mammals is assessed along three different east-west flowing rivers passing through different forest formations and of different length : Soahany (short river), Manambolo (medium-length river), and the Mangoky (long river). The levels of species replacement (β-diversity) are evaluated along these three different longitudinal gradients. Twenty-two sites were inventoried, six along the Soahany River, five along the Manambolo River, and 11 along the Mangoky River. Thirty-five species of small mammals were documented at these sites, composed of 21 species of endemic Afrosoricida (Tenrecidae) ; two species of Soricomorpha including one endemic (Suncus madagascariensis) and one introduced (S. murinus) ; and 12 species of Rodentia including 10 endemics (Nesomyidae) and two introduced species (Rattus rattus and Mus musculus). There was a correlation between species richness and the length of each river basin : Mangoky has the greatest species richness (29 taxa), followed by the Manambolo (11 taxa) and the Soahany (10 taxa). α-diversity augments with increasing habitat complexity and surface area. Humid forest sites in the central highlands near the Zomandao River (the source of the Mangoky) possess high α-diversity. For dry forest sites, those towards the interior in relatively large forested areas have greater α-diversity measures than those of smaller or coastal forest sites. β-diversity augments along the river systems with increasing habitat heterogeneity. The transect along the Soahany River has the highest β-diversity values, indicating higher levels of species turnover than the other two river systems.Résumé. — Dans des sites situés le long de trois fleuves de différentes longueurs, coulant d’est en ouest vers le Canal de Mozambique (Soahany [ fleuve court], Manambolo [ fleuve de longueur moyenne] et Mangoky [ fleuve long]), avec différents types des forêts, ont été évalués d’une part la diversité locale des petits mammifères et d’autre part le taux de remplacement des espèces suivant un gradient longitudinal. Vingt-deux sites ont été inventoriés dont six le long du Soahany, cinq pour le Manambolo et 11 le long du Mangoky. Au total 35 espèces de petits mammifères ont été recensées le long de ces transects dont 21 espèces endémiques d’Afrosoricida (Tenrecidae), deux espèces de Soricomorpha dont une endémique (Suncus madagascariensis) et une allogène (S. murinus) et 12 espèces de Rodentia dont 10 endémiques (Nesomyidae) et deux allogènes (Rattus rattus et Mus musculus). Il semblerait que la richesse spécifique varie proportionnellement avec la longueur de chaque transect : Mangoky est le plus riche (29 espèces) suivi de Manambolo (11 espèces) et de Soahany (10 espèces). La diversité α augmente avec le type d’habitat, sa superficie et sa complexité. Les sites des forêts humides situés dans le haut plateau central du côté de la rivière Zomandao (source du Mangoky) possèdent une diversité α élevée. Pour les sites des forêts sèches, ceux situés à l’intérieur des blocs forestiers de larges étendues ont la diversité α la plus élevée. La diversité β augmente avec l’hétérogénéité des habitats le long de chaque transect. Le transect Soahany, le plus court, possède la diversité β la plus élevée, traduisant un taux de remplacement d’espèce plus rapide que ceux des deux autres transects.Rakotomalala Zafimahery, Goodman Steven M. Diversité et remplacement longitudinal des espèces de petits mammifères dans les forêts des bassins versants des fleuves de l’ouest de Madagascar. In: Revue d'Écologie (La Terre et La Vie), tome 65, n°4, 2010. pp. 343-358

A review of the Eliurus tanala complex (Rodentia, Muroidea, Nesomyidae), with description of a new species from dry forests of western Madagascar /

no. 43

Specimen numbers

Field collection numbers and associated museum collection specimen numbers for a subset of individuals that are referred to by both numbers

Cytochrome-b alignment

Cytochrome-b DNA sequence alignment for all individuals included

Beta-fibrinogen alignment

Beta-fibrinogen DNA sequence alignment for all individuals included. Includes two alleles per individual determined either by TA cloning, or computationally in PHASE

GHR alignment

GHR DNA sequence alignment for all individuals included. Includes two alleles per individual determined either by TA cloning, or computationally in PHASE

BEAST infile for continuous diffusion model analysis

Infile generated by BEAUTi 1.7.5 for analysis in BEAST 1.7.5 of Eliurus myoxinus data of under a continuous diffusion model. Cytochrome-b sequences and locality data for each individual are included in this XML