Doctoral Dissertation Improvement: Wild Ring-tailed Lemur (Lemur catta) Responses to Habitat Variability in Southwestern Madagascar: A Niche Variation Approach

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The goal of this project is to understand the effects of human-altered habitats on the behavior and persistence of non-human primates. While persistence in changing habitats requires organisms to adapt, there exists little research on the adaptability of non-human primates under such conditions. Most of the research on these species has occurred in relatively undisturbed and protected forests. This offers only limited insight into their adaptability and flexibility. There are simply too few behavioral-ecological studies of any species to address the questions of how they adapt to environmental change. Responding to the conservation crisis facing non-human primates, the research agenda has focused only recently on how they respond to habitat disturbance. In this project, the doctoral candidate will examine the behavior and ecology of the ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta) around Beza Mahafaly Special Reserve (BMSR) in southwestern Madagascar. The research focuses on four groups, two residing in the protected, intact gallery-forest habitat of the BMSR and two, for comparison, in a degraded, fragmented gallery-forest habitat approximately one kilometer south of the Reserve. Researchers have followed the individuals in each of these groups, and, with the assistance of local Malagasy guides, have collected behavioral, feeding, and habitat data. The doctoral candidate will compare how individuals in intact and altered habitats differ in their use of their resources. She will test hypotheses regarding the behavioral flexibility of L. catta in habitats changing rapidly as a result of human disturbance. Furthermore, these data will allow the doctoral candidate to address how primates adjust behaviorally to alterations in their habitats. This study of L. catta in human-altered habitats will increase understanding in anthropology of behavioral plasticity and adaptation in non-human primates. Moreover, it will contribute to graduate training and fulfill a major Ph.D. requirement. Furthermore, the project has important conservation implications. Madagascar has the unfortunate distinction as one of the world's highest priority regions for biodiversity conservation. The endemic lemurs of Madagascar share a distinction similar to that of their country: they top the list of the conservation priorities. Much of the risk of extinction facing lemurs stems from the rapid human degradation of habitat. A critical aspect of conservation policy is re-establishing connectivity among habitats. To achieve this goal, it is imperative to understand how species respond to human-altered habitats. This project provides timely data to address these critical issues in Madagascar by identifying what types of habitats may prove critical for the connectivity and persistence of L. catta populations, a flagship species for Madagascar. The National Park Service in Madagascar is currently considering expanding BMSR. The researchers will collaborate with several local Malagasy on data collection and share my data and recommendations with Malagasy officials. This international cooperation is an essential component in promoting conservation among residents of habitat countries. The knowledge acquired in this project will provide insight into the adaptability of non-human primates facing altered habitats as well as help inform effective wildlife-management procedures for the BMSR population of L. catta.