Doctoral Dissertation Research: Is Habitat Change a Cause of Demographic Collapse for the Milne-Edwards Sifaka?

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Environmental changes can increase or decrease primate food abundance, availability, and quality. Yet, the scientific community has received conflicting results as to the effect that habitat disturbance has on primate populations. This study will investigate the effects of habitat disturbance on the ecology and behavior of a large-bodied rainforest lemur, the Milne-Edwards sifaka (Propithecus diadema edwardsi) in Ranomafana National Park (RNP), Madagascar. Using a combination of methodologies, this project will investigate how: 1) food species availability and abundance, 2) animal densities, 3) diet selection and chemical content, 4) activity budgets and ranging patterns, and 5) social structure and behavior differ between groups of Propithecus within primary and disturbed forest sites. This year-long study will demonstrate which resources are important for Propithecus survival, the strategies that this taxon employs to maximize survival and reproductive success. Currently, the scientific literature contains very few comparative studies addressing the effects of habitat disturbance on animal populations. However, as habitat disturbance and destruction are altering forests at a rapidly accelerating pace, the ability to understand and predict the impact of these changes will shape the future of the world's biodiversity. Given their large body size and slow life history, accurate population density estimates and the ability to understand the effects of habitat disturbance will be key to future conservation and management plans, and the survival of Propithecus and many other tropical forest species. As RNP represents a natural experiment, through which to study the effects of habitat change, the data collected during this project will help to evaluate many of the theoretical arguments on habitat disturbance that have been proposed in the literature and increase our understanding of the relationship between animals and their environments.This project will provide Madagascar's National Park Service (ANGAP) with much needed information on the ways that forests and animal communities respond to habitat change and forest regeneration. Such information will be useful in the selection and management of protected areas within Madagascar, and provide new information with which the health of these areas can be assessed. Data on lemur densities will help to refine lemur population estimates, as estimates in this project will take level of habitat disturbance into account. Such data are vital to conservation efforts, as these data will alert ANGAP and the international community to high risk areas. This project will also expand local capacity to conduct scientific research and conservation education programs, as ten local research assistants and four Malagasy graduate students will participate actively in the research program.