Doctoral Dissertation Research: Interspecific competition, niche partitioning, and community structure of primates

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In nonhuman primate communities, between-species competition is hypothesized to dictate species diversity and community assemblages, but there is often a lack of fine-resolution data on species interactions. This doctoral dissertation project will use innovative methods to examine the relative influences of competition and niche differentiation on the structure of a community of four nocturnal lemurs from Madagascar. Species ecologies will be described in dietary, spatial, and temporal dimensions. The project will provide extant models for identifying driving forces in primate community evolutionary history as well as critical data for informed, targeted protection of endangered lemur species. The investigator will work with local NGOs to encourage sustainable development projects in the study region. Additionally, the investigator will engage women undergraduates, including from underrepresented groups, to work on arthropod curation and laboratory analyses and will visit high schools to give lectures about conservation and career paths for women in science. Competition is a primary mechanism underlying current community assemblages, particularly in sympatric, closely related species. The evolutionary history of lemurs was likely defined by such competition, resulting in pronounced niche differentiation, which allowed for coexistence in sympatric lemur communities. However, these concepts remain to be rigorously tested due to a lack of fine-resolution data regarding between-species interactions within lemur communities. To fully understand these processes, the investigator will combine innovative technologies, such as DNA metabarcoding, with traditional methods, such as transect surveys, to conduct a fine-resolution analysis of the relative influences of competition and niche differentiation on the structure of a sympatric community of nocturnal lemurs. Specifically, the investigator will evaluate: 1) niche differentiation and interspecific competition as governing forces of current cheirogaleid community structure, 2) which niche dimensions (i.e., diet, space, or time) most greatly facilitate coexistence and drive competition in this community, and 3) how niche differentiation shifts in response to seasonal variation (as some species exhibit hibernation/daily torpor during the dry season). Fine-resolution niche differentiation (i.e., differentiation that would have been undetectable using only traditional methods) is hypothesized to be responsible for the development and maintenance of the current assemblage of the study community.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.