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Cox DTC, Gaston KJ. Cathemerality: a key temporal niche. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2024; 99:329-347. [PMID: 37839797 DOI: 10.1111/brv.13024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2023] [Revised: 10/01/2023] [Accepted: 10/02/2023] [Indexed: 10/17/2023]
Abstract
Given the marked variation in abiotic and biotic conditions between day and night, many species specialise their physical activity to being diurnal or nocturnal, and it was long thought that these strategies were commonly fairly fixed and invariant. The term 'cathemeral', was coined in 1987, when Tattersall noted activity in a Madagascan primate during the hours of both daylight and darkness. Initially thought to be rare, cathemerality is now known to be a quite widespread form of time partitioning amongst arthropods, fish, birds, and mammals. Herein we provide a synthesis of present understanding of cathemeral behaviour, arguing that it should routinely be included alongside diurnal and nocturnal strategies in schemes that distinguish and categorise species across taxa according to temporal niche. This synthesis is particularly timely because (i) the study of animal activity patterns is being revolutionised by new and improved technologies; (ii) it is becoming apparent that cathemerality covers a diverse range of obligate to facultative forms, each with their own common sets of functional traits, geographic ranges and evolutionary history; (iii) daytime and nighttime activity likely plays an important but currently neglected role in temporal niche partitioning and ecosystem functioning; and (iv) cathemerality may have an important role in the ability of species to adapt to human-mediated pressures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel T C Cox
- Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Kevin J Gaston
- Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, UK
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2
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Rahalinarivo V, Rakotomanana HF, Randrianasy J, Ranaivoarisoa JF, Ramorasata B, Raharison JLF, Irwin M. Activity budget and seasonal activity shifts in sympatric lemurs: Increased lean season effort in a cathemeral frugivore contrasts with energy conservation in a diurnal folivore. Am J Primatol 2023; 85:e23556. [PMID: 37779335 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23556] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2023] [Revised: 08/22/2023] [Accepted: 09/16/2023] [Indexed: 10/03/2023]
Abstract
One of the most fundamental aspects of a species' behavioral strategy is its activity budget; for primates this generally involves the allocation of available time among resting, feeding, traveling, and social behavior. Comparisons between species, populations, or individuals can reveal divergences in adaptive strategies and current stressors, and reflect responses to such diverse pressures as predation, thermoregulation, nutrition, and social needs. Further, variation across seasons is an important part of behavioral strategies to survive food scarcity; this can involve increasing or decreasing effort. We documented activity over the 24-h cycle for the cathemeral, frugivorous Eulemur fulvus and the diurnal, folivorous Propithecus diadema across 13-18 months at Tsinjoarivo, Madagascar. Their activity budgets were dominated by resting (E. fulvus: 74.1%; P. diadema: 85.2%), followed by feeding (15.8%, 12.4%), traveling (9.31%, 1.74%) and social activities (0.76%, 0.70%), respectively. The lower feeding and higher resting in P. diadema likely reflect slower gastrointestinal transit and higher reliance on microbial fermentation to extract energy from fibrous food. The two species showed opposite lean season strategies. E. fulvus increased activity, with more feeding but less travel time, consistent with a shift to less-profitable fruits, and some leaves and flowers, while increasing feeding effort to compensate ("energy maximizing"). P. diadema showed less variation across months, but the lean season still evoked reduced effort across the board (feeding, travel, and social behavior), consistent with a "time minimizing" strategy prioritizing energy conservation and microbe-assisted digestion. Understanding these divergent shifts is key to understanding natural behavior and the extent of behavioral flexibility under stressful conditions. Finally, the complex patterns of fruit availability (intra- and interannually) and the species' behavioral responses across months underscore the need to move beyond simplistic "lean/abundant season" and "fruit/leaf" dichotomies in understanding underlying energetic strategies, and species' vulnerability to habitat change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vololonirina Rahalinarivo
- Department of Anthropobiology and Sustainable Development, Faculty of Sciences, University of Antananarivo, Antananarivo, Madagascar
| | | | - Jeannot Randrianasy
- Department of Anthropobiology and Sustainable Development, Faculty of Sciences, University of Antananarivo, Antananarivo, Madagascar
| | - Jean Freddy Ranaivoarisoa
- Department of Anthropobiology and Sustainable Development, Faculty of Sciences, University of Antananarivo, Antananarivo, Madagascar
| | | | | | - Mitchell Irwin
- Department of Anthropology, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois, USA
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Lacroux C, Robira B, Kane-Maguire N, Guma N, Krief S. Between forest and croplands: Nocturnal behavior in wild chimpanzees of Sebitoli, Kibale National Park, Uganda. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0268132. [PMID: 35522693 PMCID: PMC9075648 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0268132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2021] [Accepted: 04/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Some animal species have been presumed to be purely diurnal. Yet, they show flexibility in their activity rhythm, and can occasionally be active at night. Recently, it has been suggested that chimpanzees may rarely engage in nocturnal activities in savannah forests, in contrast to the frequent nocturnal feeding of crops observed at Sebitoli, Kibale National Park, Uganda. Here we thus aimed to explore the factors that might trigger such intense nocturnal activity (e.g. harsher weather conditions during daytime, low wild food availability or higher diurnal foraging risk) in this area. We used camera-traps set over 18 km2 operating for 15 months. We report activities and group composition from records obtained either within the forest or at the forest interface with maize fields, the unique crop consumed. Maize is an attractive and accessible food source, although actively guarded by farmers, particularly during daytime. Out of the 19 156 clips collected, 1808 recorded chimpanzees. Of these, night recordings accounted for 3.3% of forest location clips, compared to 41.8% in the maize fields. Most nocturnal clips were obtained after hot days, and most often during maize season for field clips. At night within the forest, chimpanzees were travelling around twilight hours, while when at the border of the fields they were foraging on crops mostly after twilight and in smaller parties. These results suggest that chimpanzees change their activity rhythm to access cultivated resources when human presence and surveillance is lower. This survey provides evidence of behavioral plasticity in chimpanzees in response to neighboring human farming activities, and emphasizes the urgent need to work with local communities to mitigate human-wildlife conflict related to crop-feeding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camille Lacroux
- UMR 7206 CNRS/MNHN/P7, Eco-anthropologie, Hommes et Environnements, Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Musée de l’Homme, Paris, France
- Sebitoli Chimpanzee Project, Great Ape Conservation Project, Fort Portal, Uganda
- UMR 7179 CNRS/MNHN, Ecologie et Gestion de la Biodiversité, Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France
- * E-mail:
| | - Benjamin Robira
- UMR 7206 CNRS/MNHN/P7, Eco-anthropologie, Hommes et Environnements, Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Musée de l’Homme, Paris, France
- CEFE, CNRS, Université Montpellier, Université Paul Valéry Montpellier 3, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Nicole Kane-Maguire
- Sebitoli Chimpanzee Project, Great Ape Conservation Project, Fort Portal, Uganda
| | | | - Sabrina Krief
- UMR 7206 CNRS/MNHN/P7, Eco-anthropologie, Hommes et Environnements, Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Musée de l’Homme, Paris, France
- Sebitoli Chimpanzee Project, Great Ape Conservation Project, Fort Portal, Uganda
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Simmen B, Harpet C, Hladik A, Edmond R, Pioch C, Combo AS, Andriaholinirina N, Ranarijaona HLT, Randriamanana LME, Chambon M, Li T, Rasoamanantenaniaina C, Randriarisoa AM, Razanajatovo H, Manzi OJL, Hladik CM, Riera B. Forest Fragments, Lemur Communities and Local Perception of Nature in a Protected Area of Northwestern Madagascar. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.772808] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Biological conservation projects conducted in inhabited areas are often based on the combination of ecological diagnostics and study of practices and use of the environment by local communities. They less frequently integrate the influence of the perception and representation of nature on these practices, while these should also be taken into account in the initiation of sustainable conservation actions. We carried out a long-term study combining biological and social science approaches in North-western Madagascar in the Antrema protected area (with dry forest/savannah/coastal ecosystems), including an analysis of the use and perception of nature by its inhabitants. Together with the study of tree diversity, forest structure and biomass in 7 forest fragments, we estimated population densities of whole communities of diurnal and nocturnal lemurs, one of which is considered sacred. We interviewed local resource users from several villages using classical methods of social anthropology supplemented with perception tests derived from sensory evaluation methods. The structure of forest fragments as well as their basal area and richness in tree species varied with human pressure on specific plants (timber extraction) or with historical changes in pasture management (forest regrowth). Lemurs were generally abundant, with a high total biomass compared to other dry forests. Although the inhabitants of Antrema (Sakalava, Tsimihety, and Betsileo) still strongly adhered to local use rights and shared deeply rooted knowledge about the forest, the use and perception of nature (e.g., regarding the sacred lemur Propithecus coronatus) have changed since the Antrema protection project in 2000. The results suggest that local communities tend to integrate traditional rules about nature with international environmental regulation, perhaps a sign of a new ecological awareness. However, in the new management mode accompanying this transition, it can also be a means of local empowerment that takes advantage of a program supporting pro-environmental management of the Antrema area.
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Castro-Sa MJ, Dias-Silva RH, Barnett AA. Cathemeral activity by brown-throated three-toed sloths (Bradypus variegatus) in central Amazonian flooded igapó forests. CAN J ZOOL 2021. [DOI: 10.1139/cjz-2020-0177] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Both biotic and abiotic factors are important for maintaining the activity cycles of animals and may determine the most advantageous periods for eating, moving, and sleeping. Although the solar day–night cycle is among the most central of abiotic variables, a number of species are active both day and night. Three-toed sloth (genus Bradypus Linnaeus, 1758) populations across the Neotropics show this pattern, with activity occurring at various times within the 24 h cycle. In the current study, we used radio-tracking techniques to investigate the daily temporal patterning of brown-throated three-toed sloth (Bradypus variegatus Schinz, 1825) displacement in Amazonian flooded igapó forest and compared the results with populations studied in other habitats. We concluded that igapó sloths are cathemeral, and discussed that environmental temperature, nutritional needs and the presence of predators may be the main factors influencing their activity pattern.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matheus J. Castro-Sa
- Ecology Post-graduate Program, National Amazon Research Institute, Avenida André Araújo, 2.936 - Petrópolis, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
| | - Renann H.P. Dias-Silva
- Zoology Post-graduate Program, Universidade Federal do Amazonas, Avenida Gal. Rodrigo Otávio Jordão Ramos, 3000, Sector South Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
| | - Adrian A. Barnett
- Amazon Mammals Research Group, National Amazon Research Institute, Avenida André Araújo, 2.936 - Petrópolis, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
- Zoology Department, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
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Ayers AM, Allan ATL, Howlett C, Tordiffe ASW, Williams KS, Williams ST, Hill RA. Illuminating movement? Nocturnal activity patterns in chacma baboons. J Zool (1987) 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/jzo.12747] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- A. M. Ayers
- Department of Anthropology Durham University Durham UK
- Primate and Predator Project Lajuma Research Centre Makhado South Africa
| | - A. T. L. Allan
- Department of Anthropology Durham University Durham UK
- Primate and Predator Project Lajuma Research Centre Makhado South Africa
| | - C. Howlett
- Department of Anthropology Durham University Durham UK
- Primate and Predator Project Lajuma Research Centre Makhado South Africa
- School of Anthropology and Conservation The University of Kent Canterbury Kent UK
| | - A. S. W. Tordiffe
- Department of Paraclinical Sciences Faculty of Veterinary Science University of Pretoria Onderstepoort South Africa
| | - K. S. Williams
- Department of Anthropology Durham University Durham UK
- Primate and Predator Project Lajuma Research Centre Makhado South Africa
| | - S. T. Williams
- Department of Anthropology Durham University Durham UK
- Primate and Predator Project Lajuma Research Centre Makhado South Africa
- Department of Zoology University of Venda Thohoyandou South Africa
- Institute for Globally Distributed Open Research and Education (IGDORE) Thohoyandou South Africa
| | - R. A. Hill
- Department of Anthropology Durham University Durham UK
- Primate and Predator Project Lajuma Research Centre Makhado South Africa
- Department of Zoology University of Venda Thohoyandou South Africa
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Samson DR, Vining A, Nunn CL. Sleep influences cognitive performance in lemurs. Anim Cogn 2019; 22:697-706. [PMID: 31055705 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-019-01266-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2019] [Revised: 04/14/2019] [Accepted: 04/29/2019] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Primates spend almost half their lives asleep, yet little is known about how sleep influences their waking cognition. We hypothesized that diurnal and cathemeral lemurs differ in their need for consistent, non-segmented sleep for next-day cognitive function-including long-term memory consolidation, self-control, foraging efficiency, and sociality. Specifically, we expected that strictly diurnal Propithecus is more reliant on uninterrupted sleep for cognitive performance, as compared to four other lemur species that are more flexibly active (i.e., cathemeral). We experimentally inhibited sleep and tested next-day performance in 30 individuals of 5 lemur species over 960 total nights at the Duke Lemur Center in Durham, North Carolina. Each set of pair-housed lemurs experienced a sleep restriction and/or deprivation protocol and was subsequently tested in a variety of fitness-relevant cognitive tasks. Within-subject comparisons of performance on these tasks were made by switching the pair from the experimental sleep inhibited condition to a normal sleep environment, thus ensuring cognitive equivalency among individuals. We validated effectiveness of the protocol via actigraphy and infrared videography. Our results suggest that 'normal' non-disrupted sleep improved memory consolidation for all lemurs. Additionally, on nights of normal sleep, diurnal lemurs performed better in foraging efficiency tasks than cathemeral lemurs. Social behaviors changed in species-specific ways after exposure to experimental conditions, and self-control was not significantly linked with sleep condition. Based on these findings, the links between sleep, learning, and memory consolidation appear to be evolutionarily conserved in primates.
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Affiliation(s)
- David R Samson
- Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, Mississauga, Canada. .,Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, USA.
| | - Alexander Vining
- Animal Behavior Graduate Group, University of California, Davis, USA
| | - Charles L Nunn
- Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, USA.,Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, USA
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Campera M, Balestri M, Chimienti M, Nijman V, Nekaris KAI, Donati G. Temporal niche separation between the two ecologically similar nocturnal primates Avahi meridionalis and Lepilemur fleuretae. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-019-2664-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
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9
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Predictions of Seed Shadows Generated by Common Brown Lemurs (Eulemur fulvus) and Their Relationship to Seasonal Behavioral Strategies. INT J PRIMATOL 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-018-0057-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
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10
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Samson DR, Bray J, Nunn CL. The cost of deep sleep: Environmental influences on sleep regulation are greater for diurnal lemurs. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2018; 166:578-589. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2017] [Revised: 02/21/2018] [Accepted: 02/26/2018] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- David R. Samson
- Department of Anthropology; University of Toronto; Mississauga
- Evolutionary Anthropology; Duke University; Tempe AZ
| | - Joel Bray
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change; Arizona State University
| | - Charles L. Nunn
- Evolutionary Anthropology; Duke University; Tempe AZ
- Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University
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11
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Piel AK. Temporal patterns of chimpanzee loud calls in the Issa Valley, Tanzania: Evidence of nocturnal acoustic behavior in wild chimpanzees. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2018; 166:530-540. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23609] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2017] [Revised: 04/06/2018] [Accepted: 04/28/2018] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Alex K. Piel
- School of Natural Sciences and PsychologyLiverpool John Moores UniversityLiverpool United Kingdom
- Greater Mahale Ecosystem Research and Conservation (Project) Tanzania
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12
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Bray J, Samson DR, Nunn CL. Activity patterns in seven captive lemur species: Evidence of cathemerality in Varecia
and Lemur catta
? Am J Primatol 2017; 79. [DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22648] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2016] [Revised: 01/24/2017] [Accepted: 02/10/2017] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Joel Bray
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change; Arizona State University; Tempe Arizona
| | - David R. Samson
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology; Duke University; Durham North Carolina
| | - Charles L. Nunn
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology; Duke University; Durham North Carolina
- Duke Global Health Institute; Duke University; Durham North Carolina
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Samson DR, Manus MB, Krystal AD, Fakir E, Yu JJ, Nunn CL. Segmented sleep in a nonelectric, small-scale agricultural society in Madagascar. Am J Hum Biol 2017; 29. [DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.22979] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2016] [Revised: 10/25/2016] [Accepted: 01/16/2017] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- David R. Samson
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology; Duke University; Durham North Carolina 27708
| | - Melissa B. Manus
- Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University; Durham North Carolina 27708
| | - Andrew D. Krystal
- Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences; Duke University; Durham North Carolina 27708
| | - Efe Fakir
- Bahcesehir University, School of Medicine; Istanbul Turkey
| | - James J. Yu
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology; Duke University; Durham North Carolina 27708
| | - Charles L. Nunn
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology; Duke University; Durham North Carolina 27708
- Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University; Durham North Carolina 27708
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Hadza sleep biology: Evidence for flexible sleep-wake patterns in hunter-gatherers. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2017; 162:573-582. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2016] [Revised: 12/13/2016] [Accepted: 12/15/2016] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
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Predator avoidance and dietary fibre predict diurnality in the cathemeral folivore Hapalemur meridionalis. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-016-2247-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
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Sato H, Santini L, Patel ER, Campera M, Yamashita N, Colquhoun IC, Donati G. Dietary Flexibility and Feeding Strategies of Eulemur: A Comparison with Propithecus. INT J PRIMATOL 2015. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-015-9877-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
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17
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Kamilar JM, Tecot SR. Anthropogenic and Climatic Effects on the Distribution of Eulemur Species: An Ecological Niche Modeling Approach. INT J PRIMATOL 2015. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-015-9875-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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18
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Donati G, Campera M, Balestri M, Serra V, Barresi M, Schwitzer C, Curtis DJ, Santini L. Ecological and Anthropogenic Correlates of Activity Patterns in Eulemur. INT J PRIMATOL 2015. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-015-9876-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
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SUMMER AND WINTER VITAMIN D3 LEVELS IN FOUR LEMUR SPECIES HOUSED AT A BRITISH ZOO, WITH REFERENCE TO UVB LEVELS. J Zoo Wildl Med 2015; 46:498-505. [PMID: 26352953 DOI: 10.1638/2014-0143.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Serum samples were collected from 18 lemurs of four diurnal/cathemeral species housed with outdoor access at Bristol Zoo Gardens (United Kingdom) to test 25-hydroxy-vitamin D3 (25OHD3) levels as part of the veterinary department's preventative health care program. Samples were collected from each lemur in August 2008 (summer) and January 2009 (winter) to examine the effect of season on 25OHD3 levels. The lemurs were fed commercial primate food and a range of fruit and vegetables, and dietary levels of vitamin D3 remained the same throughout the study period. Statistical analysis showed that the lemurs' summer 25OHD3 values (range 26.7 to >150.0 μg/L) were significantly higher than their winter 25OHD3 values (range 11.4-87.1 μg/L). UVB measurements taken during the study period confirmed that UVB levels were significantly higher in summer (mean reading for 1200-1300 GMT time period 153.8 μW/cm2) compared to winter (mean reading for 1200-1300 GMT time period 19.4 μW/cm2). The 25OHD3 levels measured were generally found to be high compared to previously published values from wild (free-ranging) lemurs in Madagascar. The most likely explanation for this was the higher vitamin D3 content of the captive lemurs' diet, as UVB levels at the zoo (latitude 51° north) are substantially lower than those that occur in Madagascar (latitude 12°-26° south). No evidence of vitamin D toxicity or deficiency was found in any of the captive lemurs. The results indicate that vitamin D3 levels in lemurs housed with outdoor access in the United Kingdom and by extension, other regions of similar latitude, vary with seasonal environmental UVB levels, in a similar way to the seasonal variations in vitamin D3 observed in humans living in these regions, but that vitamin D levels in this captive lemur population were adequate compared to wild lemur levels, even in winter.
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Eppley TM, Ganzhorn JU, Donati G. Cathemerality in a small, folivorous primate: proximate control of diel activity in Hapalemur meridionalis. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2015. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-015-1911-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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Krief S, Cibot M, Bortolamiol S, Seguya A, Krief JM, Masi S. Wild chimpanzees on the edge: nocturnal activities in croplands. PLoS One 2014; 9:e109925. [PMID: 25338066 PMCID: PMC4206271 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0109925] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2014] [Accepted: 09/04/2014] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
In a rapidly changing landscape highly impacted by anthropogenic activities, the great apes are facing new challenges to coexist with humans. For chimpanzee communities inhabiting encroached territories, not bordered by rival conspecifics but by human agricultural fields, such boundaries are risky areas. To investigate the hypothesis that they use specific strategies for incursions out of the forest into maize fields to prevent the risk of detection by humans guarding their field, we carried out video recordings of chimpanzees at the edge of the forest bordered by a maize plantation in Kibale National Park, Uganda. Contrary to our expectations, large parties are engaged in crop-raids, including vulnerable individuals such as females with clinging infants. More surprisingly chimpanzees were crop-raiding during the night. They also stayed longer in the maize field and presented few signs of vigilance and anxiety during these nocturnal crop-raids. While nocturnal activities of chimpanzees have been reported during full moon periods, this is the first record of frequent and repeated nocturnal activities after twilight, in darkness. Habitat destruction may have promoted behavioural adjustments such as nocturnal exploitation of open croplands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabrina Krief
- UMR 7206 CNRS/MNHN/P7, Eco-anthropologie et d’ethnobiologie, Hommes, Natures, Sociétés, Museum national d’histoire naturelle, Paris, France
- Projet pour la conservation des grands singes, Kibale National Park, Fort Portal, Uganda
- * E-mail:
| | - Marie Cibot
- UMR 7206 CNRS/MNHN/P7, Eco-anthropologie et d’ethnobiologie, Hommes, Natures, Sociétés, Museum national d’histoire naturelle, Paris, France
- Projet pour la conservation des grands singes, Kibale National Park, Fort Portal, Uganda
- UMR 7179 CNRS/MNHN, Mécanismes adaptatifs: des organismes aux communautés, Ecologie et de gestion de la biodiversité, Muséum national d’histoire naturelle, Paris, France
| | - Sarah Bortolamiol
- UMR 7206 CNRS/MNHN/P7, Eco-anthropologie et d’ethnobiologie, Hommes, Natures, Sociétés, Museum national d’histoire naturelle, Paris, France
- Projet pour la conservation des grands singes, Kibale National Park, Fort Portal, Uganda
- UMR 7533, Dynamiques Sociales et Recomposition des Espaces, Paris Diderot University, Paris, France
| | | | - Jean-Michel Krief
- Projet pour la conservation des grands singes, Kibale National Park, Fort Portal, Uganda
| | - Shelly Masi
- UMR 7206 CNRS/MNHN/P7, Eco-anthropologie et d’ethnobiologie, Hommes, Natures, Sociétés, Museum national d’histoire naturelle, Paris, France
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Matsuda I, Akiyama Y, Tuuga A, Bernard H, Clauss M. Daily feeding rhythm in proboscis monkeys: a preliminary comparison with other non-human primates. Primates 2014; 55:313-26. [PMID: 24504856 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-014-0407-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2013] [Accepted: 01/21/2014] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
In non-human primates, the daily feeding rhythm, i.e., temporal fluctuation in feeding activity across the day, has been described but has rarely received much analytical interpretation, though it may play a crucial part in understanding the adaptive significance of primate foraging strategies. This study is the first to describe the detailed daily feeding rhythm in proboscis monkeys (Nasalis larvatus) based on data collected from both riverbank and inland habitats. From May 2005 to May 2006, data on feeding behavior in a group of proboscis monkeys consisting of an alpha-male, six adult females and immatures was collected via continuous focal animal sampling technique in a forest along the Menanggul River, Sabah, Malaysia. In both the male and females, the highest peak of feeding activity was in the late afternoon at 15:00-17:00, i.e., shortly before sleeping. The differences in the feeding rhythm among the seasons appeared to reflect the time spent eating fruit and/or the availability of fruit; clearer feeding peaks were detected when the monkeys spent a relevant amount of time eating fruit, but no clear peak was detected when fruit eating was less frequent. The daily feeding rhythm was not strongly influenced by daily temperature fluctuations. When comparing the daily feeding rhythm of proboscis monkeys to that of other primates, one of the most common temporal patterns detected across primates was a feeding peak in the late afternoon, although it was impossible to demonstrate this statistically because of methodological differences among studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ikki Matsuda
- Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Aichi, 484-8506, Japan.
| | - Yoshihiro Akiyama
- Environmental Research and Management Center, Hiroshima University, Higashi-hiroshima, Japan
| | | | - Henry Bernard
- Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
| | - Marcus Clauss
- Clinic for Zoo Animals, Exotic Pets and Wildlife, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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Dietary modification by common brown lemurs (Eulemur fulvus) during seasonal drought conditions in western Madagascar. Primates 2013; 55:219-30. [PMID: 24217743 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-013-0392-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2013] [Accepted: 10/13/2013] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Primates often modify dietary composition in relation to seasonal changes in food availability or climate conditions. We studied the feeding patterns of a troop of common brown lemurs (Eulemur fulvus), a semi-frugivorous strepsirhine, in a dry forest in northwestern Madagascar. To understand the mechanism of dietary modification, we recorded daily feeding times of diet items during 101 full-day observations over 1 year, and then conducted a linear model analysis to examine the effects of fruiting tree density in the forest, daily ambient temperature, and weekly rainfall (index of water retained in the forest) on the lemurs' daily feeding time. The lemurs spent dramatically more time on leaf-eating as well as total feeding time, and less time on fruit-eating during the late dry season (total 152 min/day, frugivory 56 min/day, folivory 77 min/day), as compared with other seasons when the diet was highly frugivorous (total 96 min/day, frugivory 81 min/day, folivory 8 min/day). Folivory increased as temperatures rose under the condition of low weekly rainfall, whereas frugivory was unrelated to fruiting tree density. Most (97.4%) diurnal folivory during the late dry season was spent consuming Lissochilus rutenbergianus, chewing the succulent leaves and licking the juice. Because the nutritional analysis showed that L. rutenbergianus is rich in water (80.1% of fresh weight) but poor in protein and nonstructural carbohydrates, its increased use was probably for rehydration. We conducted 13 full-night observations, because brown lemurs increase nocturnal activities during the dry season. At nighttime, the lemurs tended to spend more time eating fruit in the late dry season (32 min/night) than in the early dry season (14 min/night), and never consumed L. rutenbergianus. Fruits rich in nonstructural carbohydrates can be energy sources for Eulemur. They likely engaged in additional nocturnal frugivory for energy compensation. Brown lemurs have a flexible strategy of modifying their diet and feeding activities to cope with environmental stresses.
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Are rainforest owl monkeys cathemeral? Diurnal activity of black-headed owl monkeys, Aotus nigriceps, at Manu Biosphere Reserve, Peru. Primates 2013; 55:19-24. [DOI: 10.1007/s10329-013-0395-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2013] [Accepted: 10/21/2013] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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25
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Daily activity and light exposure levels for five species of lemurs at the duke lemur center. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2013; 153:68-77. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22409] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2013] [Accepted: 10/12/2013] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
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26
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LaFleur M, Sauther M, Cuozzo F, Yamashita N, Jacky Youssouf IA, Bender R. Cathemerality in wild ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) in the spiny forest of Tsimanampetsotsa National Park: camera trap data and preliminary behavioral observations. Primates 2013; 55:207-17. [PMID: 24165866 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-013-0391-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2013] [Accepted: 10/13/2013] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Cathemerality consists of discrete periods of activity during both the day and night. Though uncommon within Primates, cathemerality is prevalent in some lemur genera, such as Eulemur, Hapalemur, and Prolemur. Several researchers have also reported nighttime activity in Lemur catta, yet these lemurs are generally considered "strictly diurnal". We used behavioral observations and camera traps to examine cathemerality of L. catta at the Tsimanampetsotsa National Park, Madagascar. Nighttime activity occurred throughout the study period (September 2010-April 2011), and correlated with warm overnight temperatures but not daytime temperatures. Animals spent 25% of their daytime active behaviors on the ground, but appeared to avoid the ground at night, with only 5% of their time on the ground. Furthermore, at night, animals spent the majority of their active time feeding (53% nighttime, 43% daytime). These findings imply that both thermoregulation and diet play a role in the adaptive significance of cathemerality. Additionally, predator avoidance may have influenced cathemerality here, in that L. catta may limit nighttime activity as a result of predation threat by forest cats (Felis sp.) or fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox). Further data are needed on cathemeral lemurs generally, but particularly in L. catta if we are to fully understand the evolutionary mechanisms of cathemerality in the Lemuridae.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marni LaFleur
- Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado, Campus Box 233, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA.
| | - Michelle Sauther
- Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado, Campus Box 233, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA
| | - Frank Cuozzo
- Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado, Campus Box 233, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA.,Department of Anthropology, University of North Dakota, 236 Centennial Drive, Stop 8374, Grand Forks, ND, 58202, USA
| | - Nayuta Yamashita
- Institute for Population Genetics, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Josef Baumann Gasse 1, 1210, Vienna, Austria
| | | | - Richard Bender
- Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado, Campus Box 233, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA
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Burnham D, Bearder SK, Cheyne SM, Dunbar RIM, Macdonald DW. Predation by mammalian carnivores on nocturnal primates: is the lack of evidence support for the effectiveness of nocturnality as an antipredator strategy? ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2013; 83:236-51. [PMID: 23363586 DOI: 10.1159/000343716] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
The apparent paucity of accounts of predation, particularly by felids, on nocturnal primates is confirmed by a quasi-systematic review of 1,939 publications which revealed just 1 case of a felid eating a nocturnal primate. This instance was amongst only 51 direct reports of predation by vertebrates on nocturnal primates (90% were on Madagascar, where 56% of approx. 110 nocturnal primate species occur), of which 41% were by birds of prey. These findings prompt discussion of two possibilities: (a) nocturnality is, in part, an effective antipredator adaptation, and (b) knowledge of nocturnal primates is so biased by their elusiveness and, for predation, underreporting (e.g. inadequate mechanisms to publish opportunistic observations) that understanding of their biology urgently necessitates both the collation of field observations and innovative research. Interspecific comparisons facilitate deductions about the role of predation in the evolution of primate nocturnality and associated traits, but intraspecific comparisons of changing activity rhythms in response to different levels of predation risk offer the most compelling insights into the functional significance of these adaptations.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Burnham
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Recanati-Kaplan Centre, Tubney, UK
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Donati G, Santini L, Razafindramanana J, Boitani L, Borgognini-Tarli S. (Un-)expected nocturnal activity in "Diurnal" Lemur catta supports cathemerality as one of the key adaptations of the lemurid radiation. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2012. [PMID: 23180596 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giuseppe Donati
- Department of Social Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, UK.
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Tecot SR, Baden AL, Romine NK, Kamilar JM. Infant parking and nesting, not allomaternal care, influence Malagasy primate life histories. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2012. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-012-1393-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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Starr C, Nekaris KAI, Leung L. Hiding from the moonlight: luminosity and temperature affect activity of Asian nocturnal primates in a highly seasonal forest. PLoS One 2012; 7:e36396. [PMID: 22558461 PMCID: PMC3338665 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0036396] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2011] [Accepted: 04/04/2012] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The effect of moonlight and temperature on activity of slow lorises was previously little known and this knowledge might be useful for understanding many aspects of their behavioural ecology, and developing strategies to monitor and protect populations. In this study we aimed to determine if the activity of the pygmy loris (Nycticebus pygmaeus) is affected by ambient temperature and/or moonlight in a mixed deciduous forest. We radio-collared five females and five males in the Seima Protection Forest, Cambodia, in February to May, 2008 and January to March, 2009 and recorded their behaviour at 5 minutes intervals, totalling 2736 observations. We classified each observation as either inactive (sleeping or alert) or active behaviour (travel, feeding, grooming, or others). Moon luminosity (bright/dark) and ambient temperature were recorded for each observation. The response variable, activity, was binary (active or inactive), and a logit link function was used. Ambient temperature alone did not significantly affect mean activity. Although mean activity was significantly affected by moonlight, the interaction between moonlight and temperature was also significant: on bright nights, studied animals were increasingly more active with higher temperature; and on dark nights they were consistently active regardless of temperature. The most plausible explanation is that on bright cold nights the combined risk of being seen and attacked by predators and heat loss outweigh the benefit of active behaviours.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carly Starr
- School of Agriculture and Food Science, University of Queensland, Gatton, Queensland, Australia.
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Sato H. Diurnal resting in brown lemurs in a dry deciduous forest, northwestern Madagascar: implications for seasonal thermoregulation. Primates 2012; 53:255-63. [PMID: 22388421 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-012-0301-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2011] [Accepted: 02/15/2012] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
Decreased activity has been reported in both nocturnal and diurnal primates during the prolonged dry season in western Madagascar, and this has been interpreted as a reaction to the severe environment, with its food scarcity and/or thermal stress. Several day-active lemurs rest more as trees defoliate, although the reason for this is unclear. To understand the mechanism underpinning the diurnal resting of lemurs in seasonal deciduous forests, I observed common brown lemurs (Eulemur fulvus fulvus) for one year in Ankarafantsika National Park, northwestern Madagascar. In Ankarafantsika, despite high fruit availability during the dry season, brown lemurs are known to engage in diurnal resting. To examine the effects of thermal factors and defoliation on lemur inactivity, I recorded the activity of a troop at 1 min intervals, hourly ambient temperature, daily rainfall, and weather during observations (06:00-18:00). I quantified the amount of leaves biweekly for 680 trees. I tested correlations between percentages of resting time and each factor across hours during the day and across seasons. During the rainy season, resting time did not differ between sunny and cloudy days, and lemurs were active throughout the daytime. At the hourly level during the dry season, lemurs rested exclusively at midday, apparently at peak sunlight intensity rather than at peak ambient temperature. At seasonal level, percentages of total resting time from 08:00 to 16:00 were greater during dry season (81.9%) than during rainy season (62.6%), and percentages increased as ambient temperatures increased. Defoliation was related to seasonal decrease in weekly rainfall, which served as an index of water retained in the forest. Defoliation probably reflected aridification as well as the penetration of sunlight into the forest. Diurnal resting increased as both the amount of leaves and weekly rainfall decreased seasonally. These results suggest that heat stress under dry conditions may promote resting. Diurnal resting may function as behavioral thermoregulation to avoid overheating and to minimize water loss via excessive evaporative respiration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiroki Sato
- Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies, Kyoto University, 46 Yoshida-Shimoadachi-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8501, Japan.
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Taufik E, Fukuda K, Senda A, Saito T, Williams C, Tilden C, Eisert R, Oftedal O, Urashima T. Structural characterization of neutral and acidic oligosaccharides in the milks of strepsirrhine primates: greater galago, aye-aye, Coquerel's sifaka and mongoose lemur. Glycoconj J 2012; 29:119-34. [PMID: 22311613 DOI: 10.1007/s10719-012-9370-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2011] [Revised: 01/14/2012] [Accepted: 01/18/2012] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
Abstract
The structures of milk oligosaccharides were characterized for four strepsirrhine primates to examine the extent to which they resemble milk oligosaccharides in other primates. Neutral and acidic oligosaccharides were isolated from milk of the greater galago (Galagidae: Otolemur crassicaudatus), aye-aye (Daubentoniidae: Daubentonia madagascariensis), Coquerel's sifaka (Indriidae: Propithecus coquereli) and mongoose lemur (Lemuridae: Eulemur mongoz), and their chemical structures were characterized by (1)H-NMR spectroscopy. The oligosaccharide patterns observed among strepsirrhines did not appear to correlate to phylogeny, sociality or pattern of infant care. Both type I and type II neutral oligosaccharides were found in the milk of the aye-aye, but type II predominate over type I. Only type II oligosaccharides were identified in other strepsirrhine milks. α3'-GL (isoglobotriose, Gal(α1-3)Gal(β1-4)Glc) was found in the milks of Coquerel's sifaka and mongoose lemur, which is the first report of this oligosaccharide in the milk of any primate species. 2'-FL (Fuc(α1-2)Gal(β1-4)Glc) was found in the milk of an aye-aye with an ill infant. Oligosaccharides containing the Lewis x epitope were found in aye-aye and mongoose lemur milk. Among acidic oligosaccharides, 3'-N-acetylneuraminyllactose (3'-SL-NAc, Neu5Ac(α2-3)Gal(β1-4)Glc) was found in all studied species, whereas 6'-N-acetylneuraminyllactose (6'-SL-NAc, Neu5Ac(α2-6)Gal(β1-4)Glc) was found in all species except greater galago. Greater galago milk also contained 3'-N-glycolylneuraminyllactose (3'-SL-NGc, Neu5Gc(α2-3)Gal(β1-4)Glc). The finding of a variety of neutral and acidic oligosaccharides in the milks of strepsirrhines, as previously reported for haplorhines, suggests that such constituents are ancient rather than derived features, and are as characteristic of primate lactation is the classic disaccharide, lactose.
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Affiliation(s)
- Epi Taufik
- Graduate School of Animal and Food Hygiene, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, Hokkaido, 080-8555, Japan
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Nocturnal ranging by a diurnal primate: are ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) cathemeral? Primates 2011; 52:201-5. [DOI: 10.1007/s10329-011-0257-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2010] [Accepted: 06/06/2011] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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Fox RJ, Bellwood DR. Unconstrained by the clock? Plasticity of diel activity rhythm in a tropical reef fish, Siganus lineatus. Funct Ecol 2011. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2435.2011.01874.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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35
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Donati G, Kesch K, Ndremifidy K, Schmidt SL, Ramanamanjato JB, Borgognini-Tarli SM, Ganzhorn JU. Better few than hungry: flexible feeding ecology of collared lemurs Eulemur collaris in littoral forest fragments. PLoS One 2011; 6:e19807. [PMID: 21625557 PMCID: PMC3098261 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0019807] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2010] [Accepted: 04/14/2011] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Frugivorous primates are known to encounter many problems to cope with habitat degradation, due to the fluctuating spatial and temporal distribution of their food resources. Since lemur communities evolved strategies to deal with periods of food scarcity, these primates are expected to be naturally adapted to fluctuating ecological conditions and to tolerate a certain degree of habitat changes. However, behavioral and ecological strategies adopted by frugivorous lemurs to survive in secondary habitats have been little investigated. Here, we compared the behavioral ecology of collared lemurs (Eulemur collaris) in a degraded fragment of littoral forest of south-east Madagascar, Mandena, with that of their conspecifics in a more intact habitat, Sainte Luce. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Lemur groups in Mandena and in Sainte Luce were censused in 2004/2007 and in 2000, respectively. Data were collected via instantaneous sampling on five lemur groups totaling 1,698 observation hours. The Shannon index was used to determine dietary diversity and nutritional analyses were conducted to assess food quality. All feeding trees were identified and measured, and ranging areas determined via the minimum convex polygon. In the degraded area lemurs were able to modify several aspects of their feeding strategies by decreasing group size and by increasing feeding time, ranging areas, and number of feeding trees. The above strategies were apparently able to counteract a clear reduction in both food quality and size of feeding trees. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE Our findings indicate that collared lemurs in littoral forest fragments modified their behavior to cope with the pressures of fluctuating resource availability. The observed flexibility is likely to be an adaptation to Malagasy rainforests, which are known to undergo periods of fruit scarcity and low productivity. These results should be carefully considered when relocating lemurs or when selecting suitable areas for their conservation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giuseppe Donati
- Department of Anthropology and Geography, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, United Kingdom.
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Delbarco-Trillo J, Burkert BA, Goodwin TE, Drea CM. Night and day: the comparative study of strepsirrhine primates reveals socioecological and phylogenetic patterns in olfactory signals. J Evol Biol 2010; 24:82-98. [PMID: 21091564 DOI: 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2010.02145.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 93] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Studies of chemical signals in vertebrates typically target single species; however, a broader understanding of olfactory communication may derive from comparative studies. We collected urine from 12 species representing most families of strepsirrhine primates--an excellent model clade because of variation in scent marking and socioecology. Using SPDE/GC-MS, we identified the volatile chemical composition of male and female urine from six 'urine marking' species and six glandular or 'non-urine marking' species. We found no sex differences, but as predicted, urine markers expressed the most chemically complex and distinctive urine. More distantly related species had more dissimilar urinary profiles, suggesting gradual signal evolution. Reconstructing ancestral chemical profiles revealed different evolutionary trajectories for urine and non-urine markers. We suggest that urine marking is an ancestral behaviour related to solitary, nocturnal living and that parallel evolutionary shifts towards greater reliance on derived glandular marking occurred in a family (Lemuridae) characterized by diurnality and sociality.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Delbarco-Trillo
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
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Donati G, Ricci E, Baldi N, Morelli V, Borgognini-Tarli SM. Behavioral thermoregulation in a gregarious lemur, Eulemur collaris: Effects of climatic and dietary-related factors. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2010; 144:355-64. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.21415] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2009] [Accepted: 08/27/2010] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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Fernández-Duque E, de la Iglesia H, Erkert HG. Moonstruck primates: owl monkeys (Aotus) need moonlight for nocturnal activity in their natural environment. PLoS One 2010; 5:e12572. [PMID: 20838447 PMCID: PMC2933241 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0012572] [Citation(s) in RCA: 115] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2010] [Accepted: 07/29/2010] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Primates show activity patterns ranging from nocturnality to diurnality, with a few species showing activity both during day and night. Among anthropoids (monkeys, apes and humans), nocturnality is only present in the Central and South American owl monkey genus Aotus. Unlike other tropical Aotus species, the Azara's owl monkeys (A. azarai) of the subtropics have switched their activity pattern from strict nocturnality to one that also includes regular diurnal activity. Harsher climate, food availability, and the lack of predators or diurnal competitors, have all been proposed as factors favoring evolutionary switches in primate activity patterns. However, the observational nature of most field studies has limited an understanding of the mechanisms responsible for this switch in activity patterns. The goal of our study was to evaluate the hypothesis that masking, namely the stimulatory and/or inhibitory/disinhibitory effects of environmental factors on synchronized circadian locomotor activity, is a key determinant of the unusual activity pattern of Azara's owl monkeys. We use continuous long-term (6-18 months) 5-min-binned activity records obtained with actimeter collars fitted to wild owl monkeys (n = 10 individuals) to show that this different pattern results from strong masking of activity by the inhibiting and enhancing effects of ambient luminance and temperature. Conclusive evidence for the direct masking effect of light is provided by data showing that locomotor activity was almost completely inhibited when moonlight was shadowed during three lunar eclipses. Temperature also negatively masked locomotor activity, and this masking was manifested even under optimal light conditions. Our results highlight the importance of the masking of circadian rhythmicity as a determinant of nocturnality in wild owl monkeys and suggest that the stimulatory effects of dim light in nocturnal primates may have been selected as an adaptive response to moonlight. Furthermore, our data indicate that changes in sensitivity to specific environmental stimuli may have been an essential key for evolutionary switches between diurnal and nocturnal habits in primates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eduardo Fernández-Duque
- Department of Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
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Pastorini J, Zaramody A, Curtis DJ, Nievergelt CM, Mundy NI. Genetic analysis of hybridization and introgression between wild mongoose and brown lemurs. BMC Evol Biol 2009; 9:32. [PMID: 19196458 PMCID: PMC2657121 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2148-9-32] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2008] [Accepted: 02/05/2009] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Hybrid zones generally represent areas of secondary contact after speciation. The nature of the interaction between genes of individuals in a hybrid zone is of interest in the study of evolutionary processes. In this study, data from nuclear microsatellites and mitochondrial DNA sequences were used to genetically characterize hybridization between wild mongoose lemurs (Eulemur mongoz) and brown lemurs (E. fulvus) at Anjamena in west Madagascar. Results Two segments of mtDNA have been sequenced and 12 microsatellite loci screened in 162 brown lemurs and mongoose lemurs. Among the mongoose lemur population at Anjamena, we identified two F1 hybrids (one also having the mtDNA haplotype of E. fulvus) and six other individuals with putative introgressed alleles in their genotype. Principal component analysis groups both hybrids as intermediate between E. mongoz and E. fulvus and admixture analyses revealed an admixed genotype for both animals. Paternity testing proved one F1 hybrid to be fertile. Of the eight brown lemurs genotyped, all have either putative introgressed microsatellite alleles and/or the mtDNA haplotype of E. mongoz. Conclusion Introgression is bidirectional for the two species, with an indication that it is more frequent in brown lemurs than in mongoose lemurs. We conclude that this hybridization occurs because mongoose lemurs have expanded their range relatively recently. Introgressive hybridization may play an important role in the unique lemur radiation, as has already been shown in other rapidly evolving animals.
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Donati G, Baldi N, Morelli V, Ganzhorn JU, Borgognini-Tarli SM. Proximate and ultimate determinants of cathemeral activity in brown lemurs. Anim Behav 2009. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2008.09.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Erkert HG. Diurnality and nocturnality in nonhuman primates: comparative chronobiological studies in laboratory and nature. BIOL RHYTHM RES 2008. [DOI: 10.1080/09291010701683391] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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Beauchamp G. Exploring the role of vision in social foraging: what happens to group size, vigilance, spacing, aggression and habitat use in birds and mammals that forage at night? Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2007; 82:511-25. [PMID: 17624965 DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-185x.2007.00021.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
I examined the role of vision in social foraging by contrasting group size, vigilance, spacing, aggression and habitat use between day and night in many species of birds and mammals. The literature review revealed that the rate of predation/disturbance was often reduced at night while food was considered more available. Social foraging at night was prevalent in many species suggesting that low light levels at night are not sufficient to prevent the formation and cohesion of animal groups. Group sizes were similar or larger at night than during the day in more than half the bird populations and in the majority of mammal populations. Factors such as calls, feeding noises or smells may contribute to the formation and cohesion of groups at night. Larger numbers of foragers at night may also facilitate the aggregation of more foragers. Vigilance levels were usually lower at night perhaps as a response to the lower predation risk or to the decreased value of scanning for predators that are difficult to locate. Low light levels may also make visual cues that promote aggression less conspicuous, which may be a factor in the lower levels of aggression documented at night. Spacing varied as a function of time of day in response to changes in foraging mode or food availability. Habitats that are avoided during the day were often used at night. Foraging at night presents birds and mammals with a new set of constraints that influence group size, time budgeting and habitat use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guy Beauchamp
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Montréal, P.O. Box 5000, St-Hyacinthe, Québec, Canada J2S 7C6.
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Feeding over the 24-h cycle: dietary flexibility of cathemeral collared lemurs (Eulemur collaris). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2007. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-007-0354-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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Bearder SK, Nekaris KAI, Curtis DJ. A re-evaluation of the role of vision in the activity and communication of nocturnal primates. Folia Primatol (Basel) 2006; 77:50-71. [PMID: 16415577 DOI: 10.1159/000089695] [Citation(s) in RCA: 88] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
This paper examines the importance of vision in the lives of nocturnal primates in comparison to diurnal and cathemeral species. Vision is the major sense in all primates and there is evidence that the eyesight of nocturnal species is more acute and variable than has previously been recognized. Case studies of the behaviour of a galago and a loris in open woodland habitats in relation to ambient light show that Galago moholi males are more likely to travel between clumps of vegetation along the ground when the moon is up, and during periods of twilight, whereas they retreat to more continuous vegetation and travel less when the moon sets. This is interpreted as a strategy for avoiding predators that hunt on the ground when it is dark. The travel distances of Loris lydekkerianus are not affected by moonlight but this species reduces its choice of food items from more mobile prey to mainly ants when the moon sets, indicating the importance of light when searching for high-energy supplements to its staple diet. Evidence is presented for the first time to indicate key aspects of nocturnal vision that would benefit from further research. It is suggested that the light and dark facial markings of many species convey information about species and individual identity when animals approach each other at night. Differences in the colour of the reflective eye-shine, and behavioural responses displayed when exposed to white torchlight, point to different kinds of nocturnal vision that are suited to each niche, including the possibility of some degree of colour discrimination. The ability of even specialist nocturnal species to see well in broad daylight demonstrates an inherent flexibility that would enable movement into diurnal niches. The major differences in the sensitivity and perceptual anatomy of diurnal lemurs compared to diurnal anthropoids, and the emergence of cathemerality in lemurs, is interpreted as a reflection of evolution from different ancestral stocks in very different ecosystems, and not a recent shift towards diurnality due to human disturbance.
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Affiliation(s)
- S K Bearder
- Nocturnal Primate Research Group, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK.
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Fernandez-Duque E, Erkert HG. Cathemerality and lunar periodicity of activity rhythms in owl monkeys of the Argentinian Chaco. Folia Primatol (Basel) 2006; 77:123-38. [PMID: 16415581 DOI: 10.1159/000089699] [Citation(s) in RCA: 112] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Although most South American owl monkeys are mainly nocturnal, Aotus azarai azarai of the Argentinean Chaco regularly shows diurnal activity. In this study we examined the strong influence of moonlight on its diurnal and nocturnal activity, as well as the interaction of moonlight effects with other exogenous factors. We analyzed long-term automated activity recordings obtained with accelerometer collars from 7 owl monkeys during 2003 and 2004. Our data show marked lunar periodic and seasonal modulations of the owl monkeys' activity pattern. On full moon days they were active throughout the whole night and displayed reduced activity during the day. With a new moon, activity decreased during the dark portion of the night, peaked during dawn and dusk and extended over the bright morning hours. Waxing and waning moons induced a significant increase in activity during the first and the second half of the night, respectively. During the cold winter months the monkeys displayed twice as much activity throughout the warmer bright part of the day than during the rest of the year. These findings indicate that A. a. azarai is mainly a dark-active species, but is still able to shift a considerable portion of activity into the bright part of the day if unfavourable lighting and/or temperature conditions prevail during the night.
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Donati G, Borgognini-Tarli SM. Influence of abiotic factors on cathemeral activity: the case of Eulemur fulvus collaris in the littoral forest of Madagascar. Folia Primatol (Basel) 2006; 77:104-22. [PMID: 16415580 DOI: 10.1159/000089698] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
The role environmental factors play in influencing circadian rhythms in natural habitats is still poorly described in primates, especially for those taxa with an activity cycle extended over the 24-hour cycle. In this paper, we elucidate the importance of abiotic factors in entraining the activity of cathemeral primates, focussing on results from a long-term study of Eulemur fulvus collaris (collared brown lemur) in south-eastern Malagasy littoral forest. Two groups of lemurs were followed for 60 whole-day and 59 whole-night observation periods over 14 months. Diurnal and nocturnal observations were equally distributed among moon phases and seasons. Temperature and humidity were recorded hourly by automatic data loggers. The littoral forest has a climatic environment where rainfall and humidity are uncorrelated with temperature and photoperiod. Diurnal and nocturnal activity varied seasonally, with the former increasing significantly with extended day length and the latter increasing significantly with shortened day length. Dusk seemed to act as a primary zeitgeber for these lemurs, coordinating the onset of evening activity throughout the entire year. Lunar phase and the nocturnal luminosity index correlated positively with the duration of nocturnal activity and negatively with the length of diurnal activity. Temperature was positively associated with diurnal activity but did not seem to influence lemur rhythms at night. Finally, lemur nocturnal activity significantly decreased when levels of humidity and rainfall were high. Cathemeral biorhythm is triggered by zeitgebers and influenced by masking factors. The activity of collared brown lemurs appears to be seasonally influenced by photoperiod and directly modulated by nocturnal ambient luminosity. These results are discussed by comparing data from other cathemeral species living in various climatic situations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giuseppe Donati
- Department of Ethology, Ecology and Evolution, Unit of Anthropology, Pisa, Italy.
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Tarnaud L. Cathemerality in the Mayotte brown lemur (Eulemur fulvus): seasonality and food quality. Folia Primatol (Basel) 2006; 77:166-77. [PMID: 16415584 DOI: 10.1159/000089702] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
In past decades, cathemerality--as defined by Tattersall [1987]--has been documented in two primate families: Cebidae and Lemuridae. In the Lemuridae, in particular the genus Eulemur, cathemeral activity seems to be a regular behavioural trait. Nevertheless, ultimate and proximate determinants responsible for this behaviour remain unclear. In this study, in a dry and deciduous forest on Mayotte (Comoro Archipelago), activities of 4 female brown lemurs (Eulemur fulvus fulvus) were recorded by focal animal sampling during the daylight period and by scan sampling on their respective groups during the night. Horizontal distances travelled by females and groups were measured using GPS. During the daylight period, food intakes were estimated in grams by extrapolation of counting of mouthfuls after weighing a large sample of plant parts eaten. Crude protein, crude lipid, soluble sugar and crude fibre were analyzed for each seasonal reconstituted diet. Records of temperature and rainfall were supplied by a local meteorological station. Observations confirmed cathemerality in the Mayotte brown lemur as reported by Tattersall in 1977. During the dry season, the animals increased their nocturnal activity--substantially increasing the time devoted to feeding and moving overall, but especially at night--and were less active during the daylight period. The quality of their diet in the dry season was poorer than that in the wet season, with soluble sugar content and protein content decreasing and fibre content increasing slightly. As a result, Mayotte brown lemurs may need to extend their foraging activity over the 24-hour cycle to balance nutritional requirements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurent Tarnaud
- Unité Scientifique Eco-Anthropologie et Ethnobiologie, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France.
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Ossi K, Kamilar JM. Environmental and phylogenetic correlates of Eulemur behavior and ecology (Primates: Lemuridae). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2006. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-006-0236-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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Karpanty SM. Direct and Indirect Impacts of Raptor Predation on Lemurs in Southeastern Madagascar. INT J PRIMATOL 2006. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-005-9008-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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