Tradition and Novelty: Lemur catta Feeding Strategy on Introduced Tree Species at Berenty Reserve

Soma, Takayo

doi:10.1007/978-0-387-34126-2_10

Cited by 31 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Other introduced plant species grow in the area, e.g., Azadirachta indica and Leucaena leucocephala, together with a variety of tree and bush species that also occur in Malaza, e.g., Celtis bifida, Capparis sepiaria, Ficus spp., Physena sessiliflora, Rinorea greveana, Tricalysia sp., and the introduced Cordia sinensis (Norscia et al, unpub. data;Simmen et al 2006;Soma 2006).…”

Section: Study Sitementioning

confidence: 98%

Berenty 2006: Census of Propithecus verreauxi and Possible Evidence of Population Stress

Norscia

Palagi

2008

Int J Primatol

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We provide a survey of a folivorous lemur, Propithecus verreauxi (sifaka), in the Berenty Reserve, southern Madagascar. Higher densities of folivores in small patches occur in either high-quality food areas or in less disturbed refugia. The skewness of sex ratio, which in lemurs is often male-biased, can be critically exacerbated in population stress. We predicted that sifaka would show higher densities in areas where protein-rich food is abundant (prediction 1a) and in refugium areas (prediction 1b). Owing to increased competition by brown and ringtailed lemurs and decreased food production by tamarind trees, we expected an extremely male-biased sex ratio (prediction 2). In November-December 2006, we counted and sexed 206 adult/subadult sifaka (49 groups) during daily walks in different forest zones (Ankoba secondary forest, to the north, Malaza gallery/scrub areas, and spiny forest, to the south). Sifaka may have decreased in the gallery forest to concentrate in Ankoba (in a sort of out-of-Malaza). The area contains protein-rich food (prediction 1a confirmed). Sifaka are proportionally more concentrated in the spiny area than in the degraded scrub forest (prediction 1b confirmed). The sex ratio is extremely male biased, possibly due to either high sifaka density, in Ankoba, or food availability reduction, in Malaza (prediction 2 confirmed). The sifaka population seems to be under stress: researchers need to resume demographic studies, interrupted in Berenty in the mid-1980s, to preserve in situ a species that is difficult to protect ex situ.

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Section: Study Sitementioning

confidence: 98%

Berenty 2006: Census of Propithecus verreauxi and Possible Evidence of Population Stress

Norscia

Palagi

2008

Int J Primatol

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“…Leucaena, a Central American legume that has been widely planted worldwide for fuelwood and forage, can be poisonous to lemurs (Crawford et al 2006;Jolly et al 2006c). On the other hand, L. catta feeds on other introduced species, especially during the dry season (Soma 2006). Introduced brown lemurs (Eulemur fulvus) may compete with L. catta for food resources during the birth season at Berenty Reserve (Pinkus et al 2006).…”

Section: Ecologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Lemur catta (Primates: Lemuridae)

Wilson

Hanlon

2010

Mammalian Species

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“…Although the two non-forest resources important to this study are often consumed by BMSR groups [Sauther, 1992;Gould et al, 1999;Gemmill and Gould, 2008], they were especially important during the period after the cyclone. Similarly, Soma [2004Soma [ , 2006 found that species introduced to the Berenty Reserve reduced the effect of extreme food seasonality in gallery forest at that site, and Gould et al [1999] noted that the introduced weed A. mexicana was an important L. catta food source during a drought at BMSR. Many primate species (for example, savannah and anubis baboons [ForthmanQuick, 1986;Altmann and Muruthi, 1988;Strum and Manzolillo-Nightingale, 2006], rhesus macaques [Malik and Southwick, 1988], Japanese macaques [Watanabe and Moroyama, 2005;Agetsuma, 2007], and brown capuchins [Galetti and Pedroni, 1994]) include invasive or agricultural plants in their diets, either because their natural foods are insufficient, or because they have a preference (i.e.…”

Section: Feeding During Non-typical Seasons In Gallery Forest Habitatmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite being flexible foragers, ring-tailed lemurs residing in gallery forests are highly dependent on young leaves or fruits from the tamarind tree, T. indica , which are produced asynchronously and are present throughout the year [Sauther, 1998;Mertl-Millhollen et al, 2003;Simmen et al, 2006]. In times of food scarcity, ring-tailed lemurs often temporarily increase their home range to secure scarce food resources [Sussman, 1991;Sauther, 1998;Jolly and Pride, 1999;Mertl-Millhollen et al, 2006], and at these times critical 'fallback foods' that are not normally eaten may prove crucial [Soma, 2006]. Additionally, very poor quality foods such as desiccated leaves and dry tamarind pods may be incorporated into the diet during periods of food shortage [Sauther 1992[Sauther , 1994[Sauther , 1998Gould et al, 1999].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feeding outside the Forest: The Importance of Crop Raiding and an Invasive Weed in the Diet of Gallery Forest Ring-Tailed Lemurs (Lemur catta) following a Cyclone at the Beza Mahafaly Special Reserve, Madagascar

LaFleur

Gould²

2009

IJFP

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In January 2005, a cyclone hit southern Madagascar, including the Beza Mahafaly Special Reserve, disrupting the flowering/fruiting cycle of Tamarindus indica, leaving Lemur catta without its major food resource during reproductive periods. We studied two adjacent groups of L. catta during the late gestation period, and both groups ventured outside the reserve to feed. The Red group (RG) fed daily on cultivated sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) leaves in a nearby field, and both groups consumed leaves and stems of the invasive terrestrial flowering herb Mexican prickly poppy (Argemone mexicana), growing outside the reserve. The Green group (GG) spent significantly more time feeding than did RG, and more time feeding inside the forest compared to outside. The members of RG spent half of their time feeding in the crops, and nearly half of their diet consisted of easy-to-process sweet potato leaves. Additionally, RG defended and restricted GG’s access to the crop territory. Of the two non-forest foods, A. mexicana leaves were higher in protein and most minerals (P, Mg, K and Na, but not Ca) and lower in fiber than sweet potato leaves, but sweet potato leaves were preferred by RG. L. catta is a markedly flexible primate with respect to diet, and switches to fallback foods from outside the forest during periods of low food availability. In the highly seasonal and unpredictable climate of southern Madagascar, such behavioral adaptations are important to the survival of this species.

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Tradition and Novelty: Lemur catta Feeding Strategy on Introduced Tree Species at Berenty Reserve

Cited by 31 publications

References 32 publications

Berenty 2006: Census of Propithecus verreauxi and Possible Evidence of Population Stress

Berenty 2006: Census of Propithecus verreauxi and Possible Evidence of Population Stress

Lemur catta (Primates: Lemuridae)

Feeding outside the Forest: The Importance of Crop Raiding and an Invasive Weed in the Diet of Gallery Forest Ring-Tailed Lemurs (Lemur catta) following a Cyclone at the Beza Mahafaly Special Reserve, Madagascar

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