Evidence of genetic monogamy in the lemur Indri (<i>Indri indri</i>)

Here, we investigated the possible linkages among geophagy, soil characteristics, and gut mycobiome of indri (Indri indri), an endangered lemur species able to survive only in wild conditions. The soil eaten by indri resulted in enriched secondary oxide-hydroxides and clays, together with a high concentration of specific essential micronutrients. This could partially explain the role of the soil in detoxification and as a nutrient supply. Besides, we found that soil subject to geophagy and indris’ faeces shared about 8.9% of the fungal OTUs. Also, several genera (e.g. Fusarium, Aspergillus and Penicillium) commonly associated with soil and plant material were found in both geophagic soil and indri samples. On the contrary, some taxa with pathogenic potentials, such as Cryptococcus, were only found in indri samples. Further, many saprotrophs and plant-associated fungal taxa were detected in the indri faeces. These fungal species may be involved in the digestion processes of leaves and could have a beneficial role in their health. In conclusion, we found an intimate connection between gut mycobiome and soil, highlighting, once again, the potential consequent impacts on the wider habitat.

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“…1a ). Indris has been the subject of ongoing etho-ecological studies since 2009 [ 15 ]. Records are kept as photographs or videos.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Every single individual was recognised by natural trough marks [ 16 ]. We collected faecal samples immediately after defecation, when only one animal was present, to avoid individual misidentification during the sampling process [ 15 ]. Disposable sterile gloves were worn when collecting samples to prevent contamination.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

I Like the Way You Eat It: Lemur (Indri indri) Gut Mycobiome and Geophagy

et al. 2021

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“…Indri (Indri indri) is the only singing lemur species (Haimoff 1986). Indris are genetically monogamous (Bonadonna et al 2014(Bonadonna et al , 2019 and live in small family groups made of the reproductive pair and their offspring (Torti et al 2017). Each group occupies and defends an exclusive territory (Bonadonna et al 2017) mainly using loud and complex vocal sequences (i.e., songs; Torti et al 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Linguistic laws of brevity: conformity in Indri indri

et al. 2021

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Vocal and gestural sequences of several primates have been found to conform to two general principles of information compression: the compensation between the duration of a construct and that of its components (Menzerath-Altmann law) and an inverse relationship between signal duration and its occurrence (Zipf's law of abbreviation). Even though Zipf's law of brevity has been proposed as a universal in animal communication, evidence on non-human primate vocal behavior conformity to linguistic laws is still debated, and information on strepsirrhine primates is lacking. We analyzed the vocal behavior of the unique singing lemur species (Indri indri) to assess whether the song of the species shows evidence for compression. As roars have a chaotic structure that impedes the recognition of each individual utterance, and long notes are usually given by males, we focused on the core part of the song (i.e., the descending phrases, composed of two-six units).Our results indicate that indris' songs conform to Zipf's and Menzerath-Altmann linguistic laws. Indeed, shorter phrases are more likely to be included in the song, and units' duration decrease at the increase of the size of the phrases. We also found that, despite a sexual dimorphism in the duration of both units and phrases, these laws characterize sequences of both males and females. Overall, we provide the first evidence for a trade-off between signal duration and occurrence in the vocal behavior of a strepsirrhine species, suggesting that selective pressures for vocal compression are more ancestral than previously assumed within primates.

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“…Females may use songs for mate attraction (Rogers et al, 2007), and they may even show a more elaborated song repertoire (Australian magpies; Gymnorhina tibice Brown & Farabaugh, 1991). Like Eastern whip birds and Australian magpies, indris are monogamous (Bonadonna et al, 2019; Torti et al, 2017), form groups that occupy nonoverlapping areas in the forest (Bonadonna et al, 2017), and use the songs to inform neighboring groups about the occupation of a territory and to actively defend resources during group encounters (Torti et al, 2013). Thus, we hypothesized that the female contribution to the song would be structurally different from that of males.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sexually dimorphic phrase organization in the song of the indris (Indri indri)

Zanoli

Gregorio

Valente

et al. 2020

American J Primatol

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Animal acoustic communication often takes the form of complex sequences, composed of multiple distinct acoustic units, which can vary in their degree of stereotypy.Studies of sequence variation may contribute to our understanding of the structural flexibility of primates' songs, which can provide essential ecological and behavioral information about variability at the individual, population, and specific level and provide insights into the mechanisms and drivers responsible for the evolutionary change of communicative traits. Several methods have been used for investigating different levels of structural information and sequence similarity in acoustic displays. We studied intra and interindividual variation in the song structuring of a singing primate, the indri (Indri indri), which inhabits the montane rain forests of Madagascar. Indri groups emit duets and choruses in which they combine long notes, short single units, and phrases consisting of a variable number of units (from two to six) with slightly descending frequency. Males' and females' contributions to the song differ in the temporal and frequency structure of song units and repertoire size. We calculated the similarity of phrase organization across different individual contributions using the Levenshtein distance, a logic distance that expressed the minimum cost to convert a sequence into another and can measure differences between two sequences of data. We then analyzed the degree of similarity within and between individuals and found that: (a) the phrase structure of songs varied between reproductive males and females: female structuring of the song showed a higher number of phrases if compared to males; (b) male contributions to the song were overall more similar to those of other males than were female contributions to the song of other females; (c) male contributions were more stereotyped than female contributions, which showed greater individual flexibility.The picture emerging from phrase combinatorics in the indris is in agreement with previous findings of rhythmic features and song repertoire size of the indris, which also suggested that female songs are potentially less stereotyped than those of males. K E Y W O R D Slanguage evolution, Levenshtein distance, primates, singing, syntax

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Evidence of genetic monogamy in the lemur Indri (Indri indri)

Cited by 17 publications

References 51 publications

I Like the Way You Eat It: Lemur (Indri indri) Gut Mycobiome and Geophagy

I Like the Way You Eat It: Lemur (Indri indri) Gut Mycobiome and Geophagy

Linguistic laws of brevity: conformity in Indri indri

Sexually dimorphic phrase organization in the song of the indris (Indri indri)

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