Abstract
Behaviour, diet and population demography were sampled and compared between two forest fragment-living populations of wild ringtailed lemurs (Lemur catta) in south-central Madagascar. Both sites—a fragment in the Tsaranoro Valley near Andringitra National Park, and a more densely populated fragment at Anja, much closer to human habitation—are sacred forests (sites of human burial) surrounded by anthropogenically produced savannah, and are subject to traditional protective prohibitions (fady). Both sites attract tourists, but are operated differently, with Anja receiving considerably more tourists; the resources available to the L. catta also differ at each site, affecting their behaviour. L. catta at Tsaranoro spent more time feeding, and less time resting and engaging in social behaviour than those at Anja, where abundant fruit from introduced trees, as well as plentiful drinking water, are available and resource abundance is relatively higher. Although the fragments are of similar size and were expected to differ little, many significant behavioural and population differences were observed, suggesting the importance of the refinement of rapid assessment techniques for judging the habitat suitability and conservation value of small forest fragments.
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Acknowledgments
We thank the DĂ©partement des Eaux et ForĂŞts, Madagascar for granting us research permission, and to MICET (2009) and GERP (2010) for logistical assistance. We also thank the guides at both sites: Jean-Paul (Tsaranoro) and Clovis (Anja) in 2009, Patrick Andrianomejanahary (Tsaranoro) and Alexandre Bruno (Anja) in 2010, and the Anja-Miray Village Association and Association Tantely which manage the Anja and Tsaranoro Valley forests, respectively. We are grateful to Tara Clarke for her excellent research assistance in 2010. Funding was provided by a grant to LG from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).
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Cameron, A., Gould, L. (2013). Fragment-Adaptive Behavioural Strategies and Intersite Variation in the Ring-Tailed Lemur (Lemur catta) in South-Central Madagascar. In: Marsh, L., Chapman, C. (eds) Primates in Fragments. Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8839-2_16
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