Doctoral Dissertation Improvement: Testing the Energy Conservation Hypothesis for Female Dominance in Wild Ring-tailed Lemurs with Implications for the Evolution of Lemur Traits

能量守恒假说被提出来解释马达加斯加灵长类中发现的一些不寻常的特征，包括：雌性优势，雄性/雌性体型单一，以及严格同步繁殖。能源保护被认为是一种适应性复合体，被选择来帮助狐猴，特别是雌性狐猴，在马达加斯加季节性和随机资源匮乏的环境中提取和保存能量。该项目使用在马达加斯加齐曼安佩索萨国家公园(TNP)多刺森林栖息地收集的野生环尾狐猴(狐猴)的生态、行为、营养和内分泌数据来检验能量守恒假说。这些数据有助于理解雄性和雌性环尾狐猴可能受到资源丰度季节性波动、获取和提取营养和卡路里的不同能力以及对季节性的应激反应变化的限制。TNP是这项研究的理想地点，因为它是一个巨大的未受干扰的多刺森林，与环尾狐猴可能适应的栖息地类型相似。这是在这个栖息地研究环尾狐猴的第一个长期项目，因此，将为更好地了解所有其他栖息地类型的环尾狐猴生态提供框架。此外，这项工作广泛适用于研究哺乳动物的繁殖成本、性别内的生态位分配以及环境对物种间资源分配动态的影响。这一长期项目旨在了解雄性和雌性狐猴如何在食物丰度和其他造成压力的因素的季节性差异中节省能量。这项研究的更广泛影响包括：通过以少女和美洲原住民学生为对象促进科学教育和扩大代表不足群体的参与；通过在TNP建立一个新的研究营地和在托利亚拉大学建立一个生物科学实验室，促进基础设施和合作；通过环尾狐猴植物食物数字标本库广泛传播知识；以及通过促进保护有魅力的旗舰环尾狐猴及其栖息地，为社会带来更大的好处。

The Energy Conservation Hypothesis has been proposed to account for a number of the unusual traits found in the Malagasy primates including: female dominance, male/female body size-monomorphism, and strict synchronized breeding. Energy conservation is thought to be an adaptive complex selected to help lemurs, particularly female lemurs, extract and conserve energy in their seasonally and stochastically resource-poor environments of Madagascar. This project tests the Energy Conservation Hypothesis using ecological, behavioral, nutritional, and endocrinological data collected on wild ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) in the spiny forest habitat at Tsimanampetsotsa National Park (TNP), Madagascar. These data help understand the ways in which male and female ring-tailed lemurs may be constrained by seasonal fluctuations in resource abundance, differential abilities to secure and extract nutrients and calories, and variation in stress responses to seasonality. TNP is an ideal location for this research as it is a large undisturbed spiny forest, and is similar to habitat types to which ring-tailed lemurs are likely adapted. This is the first long-term project examining ring-tailed lemurs in this habitat, and as such, will provide the framework to better understand ring-tailed lemur ecology in all other habitat types. Additionally, this work is broadly applicable to studies of mammalian reproductive costs, niche partitioning within the sexes, and the effect of environment on the interspecific dynamics of resource allocation.This long-term project seeks to understand how male and female lemurs conserve energy in relation to seasonal differences in food abundances and other factors that cause stress. The broader impacts of this research include promoting science education and broadening participation of underrepresented groups through targeting adolescent girls and Native Americans students, advancement of infrastructure and collaboration through setting up a new research camp at TNP and a biological science laboratory at the Université de Toliara, broad dissemination of knowledge through a digital herbarium of ring-tailed lemur plant foods, and larger benefits to society through promoting conservation of the charismatic flagship ring-tailed lemur and its habitat.