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Axel AC, Harshbarger BM, Lewis RJ, Tecot SR. Consistency in Verreaux's sifaka home range and core area size despite seasonal variation in resource availability as assessed by Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI). Am J Primatol 2024; 86:e23617. [PMID: 38467494 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23617] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2022] [Revised: 02/21/2024] [Accepted: 02/24/2024] [Indexed: 03/13/2024]
Abstract
Primates are adept at dealing with fluctuating availability of resources and display a range of responses to minimize the effects of food scarcity. An important component of primate conservation is to understand how primates adapt their foraging and ranging patterns in response to fluctuating food resources. Animals optimize resource acquisition within the home range through the selection of resource-bearing patches and choose between contrasting foraging strategies (resource-maximizing vs. area-minimizing). Our study aimed to characterize the foraging strategy of a folivorous primate, Verreaux's sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi), by evaluating whether group home range size varied between peak and lean leaf seasons within a seasonally dry tropical forest in Madagascar. We hypothesized that Verreaux's sifaka used the resource maximization strategy to select high-value resource patches so that during periods of resource depression, the home range area did not significantly change in size. We characterized resource availability (i.e., primary productivity) by season at Kirindy Mitea National Park using remotely-sensed Enhanced Vegetation Index data. We calculated group home ranges using 10 years of focal animal sampling data collected on eight groups using both 95% and 50% kernel density estimation. We used area accumulation curves to ensure each group had an adequate number of locations to reach seasonal home range asymptotes. Neither 95% home ranges nor 50% core areas differed across peak and lean leaf resource seasons, supporting the hypothesis that Verreaux's sifaka use a resource maximization strategy. With a better understanding of animal space use strategies, managers can model anticipated changes under environmental and/or anthropogenic resource depression scenarios. These findings demonstrate the value of long-term data for characterizing and understanding foraging and ranging patterns. We also illustrate the benefits of using satellite data for characterizing food resources for folivorous primates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne C Axel
- Department of Biological Sciences, Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia, USA
| | | | - Rebecca J Lewis
- Department of Anthropology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
| | - Stacey R Tecot
- Laboratory for the Evolutionary Endocrinology of Primates, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
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2
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Thompson KET, Borgerson C, Wright PC, Randriamanetsy JM, Andrianantenaina MY, Andriamavosoloarisoa NNM, Razafindrahasy TA, Rothman RS, Surkis C, Bankoff RJ, Daniels C, Twiss KC. A Coupled Humanitarian and Biodiversity Crisis in Western Madagascar. INT J PRIMATOL 2023. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-022-00338-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
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3
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L'Allier S, Schwegel MA, Filazzola A, Mastromonaco G, Chapman CA, Schoof VAM. How individual, social, and ecological conditions influence dispersal decisions in male vervet monkeys. Am J Primatol 2022; 84:e23426. [PMID: 35942562 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23426] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2021] [Revised: 07/05/2022] [Accepted: 07/08/2022] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Dispersal between social groups reduces the risk of inbreeding and can improve individuals' reproductive opportunities. However, this movement has costs, such as increased risk of predation and starvation, loss of allies and kin support, and increased aggression associated with entering the new group. Dispersal strategies, such as the timing of movement and decisions on whether to transfer alone or in parallel with a peer, involve different costs and benefits. We used demographic, behavioral, hormonal, and ecological data to examine the causes and consequences of 36 dispersal events from 29 male vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) at Lake Nabugabo, Uganda. Adult males' secondary dispersal coincided with the conception season in females, and males improved their potential access to females by moving to groups with higher female-to-male sex ratios and/or by increasing their dominance rank. Males that dispersed with a peer had lower fecal glucocorticoid and androgen metabolite levels than lone dispersers. Subadult males were not more likely to engage in parallel dispersals compared to adult males. Dispersal was also used as a mechanism to avoid inbreeding, but changes in hormone levels did not seem to be a trigger of dispersal in our population. Our findings illustrate the complex individual strategies used during dispersal, how many factors can influence movement decisions, as well as the value of dominance and hormone analyses for understanding these strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon L'Allier
- Department of Biology, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Megan A Schwegel
- Department of Biology, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Multidisciplinary Studies, Glendon campus, Bilingual Biology Program, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Alessandro Filazzola
- Department of Biology, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | | | - Colin A Chapman
- Biology Department, Vancouver Island University, Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada.,Department of Anthropology, Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, Washington DC, USA.,School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Scottsville, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.,Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, Northwest University, Xi'an, China
| | - Valérie A M Schoof
- Department of Biology, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Multidisciplinary Studies, Glendon campus, Bilingual Biology Program, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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Lewis RJ, Bueno GL, Di Fiore A. Variation in Female Leverage: The Influence of Kinship and Market Effects on the Extent of Female Power Over Males in Verreaux’s Sifaka. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.851880] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Female mammals employ reproductive strategies (e.g., internal gestation) that result in power asymmetries specific to intersexual dyads. Because the number of eggs available for fertilization at any given time for most mammals is quite limited, having a fertilizable egg is potentially an important source of economic power for females. Control over mating opportunities is a source of intersexual leverage for female Verreaux’s sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi). We examined economic factors thought to influence the value of mating opportunities, and, thus, the extent of female leverage: kinship and market effects. Using a longitudinal dataset of agonistic interactions collected during focal animal sampling of all adult individuals in 10 social groups from 2008 to 2019, we tested the effects of relatedness, female parity, reproductive season, and adult sex ratio (population and group) on (1) the direction of submissive signaling and (2) which sex won a contested resource. While 96% of the acts of submission were directed from males toward females, females only won a third of their conflicts with males. Thus, our study has implications for evolutionary explanations of female-biased power. If female power evolved due to their greater need for food and other resources, then intersexual conflicts would be expected to result in males more consistently relinquishing control of resources. As expected, males were more likely to chatter submissively toward successful mothers, during the mating season, and when the sex ratio was male-biased. Although females generally had less power to win a conflict when their fertilizable egg was less valuable (when they were nulliparous or unsuccessful mothers or when interacting with male kin) and with an increasing female-bias in the sex ratio, this ability to win additionally was influenced by which sex initiated the conflict. Our study demonstrates that female leverage can be influenced by the supply and demand for mating opportunities, but evoking submission does not translate into winning a resource. Indeed, intersexual power is dynamic, contextual, and dependent on the individuals in the dyad.
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Perofsky AC, Ancel Meyers L, Abondano LA, Di Fiore A, Lewis RJ. Social groups constrain the spatiotemporal dynamics of wild sifaka gut microbiomes. Mol Ecol 2021; 30:6759-6775. [PMID: 34558751 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2021] [Revised: 08/25/2021] [Accepted: 09/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Primates acquire gut microbiota from conspecifics through direct social contact and shared environmental exposures. Host behaviour is a prominent force in structuring gut microbial communities, yet the extent to which group or individual-level forces shape the long-term dynamics of gut microbiota is poorly understood. We investigated the effects of three aspects of host sociality (social groupings, dyadic interactions, and individual dispersal between groups) on gut microbiome composition and plasticity in 58 wild Verreaux's sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi) from six social groups. Over the course of three dry seasons in a 5-year period, the six social groups maintained distinct gut microbial signatures, with the taxonomic composition of individual communities changing in tandem among coresiding group members. Samples collected from group members during each season were more similar than samples collected from single individuals across different years. In addition, new immigrants and individuals with less stable social ties exhibited elevated rates of microbiome turnover across seasons. Our results suggest that permanent social groupings shape the changing composition of commensal and mutualistic gut microbial communities and thus may be important drivers of health and resilience in wild primate populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda C Perofsky
- Department of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
| | - Lauren Ancel Meyers
- Department of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA.,Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
| | - Laura A Abondano
- Department of Anthropology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA.,Primate Molecular Ecology and Evolution Laboratory, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
| | - Anthony Di Fiore
- Department of Anthropology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA.,Primate Molecular Ecology and Evolution Laboratory, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
| | - Rebecca J Lewis
- Department of Anthropology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
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Lewis RJ, Sandel AA, Hilty S, Barnett SE. The Collective Action Problem but Not Numerical Superiority Explains Success in Intergroup Encounters in Verreaux’s Sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi): Implications for Individual Participation and Free-Riding. INT J PRIMATOL 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-020-00155-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
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Rudolph K, Fichtel C, Schneider D, Heistermann M, Koch F, Daniel R, Kappeler PM. One size fits all? Relationships among group size, health, and ecology indicate a lack of an optimal group size in a wild lemur population. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-019-2746-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
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Voyt RA, Sandel AA, Ortiz KM, Lewis RJ. Female Power in Verreaux’s Sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi) Is Based on Maturity, Not Body Size. INT J PRIMATOL 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-019-00096-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
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Lewis RJ. Subordination signals improve the quality of social relationships in Verreaux's Sifaka: Implications for the evolution of power structures and social complexity. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2019; 169:599-607. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23876] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2018] [Revised: 05/15/2019] [Accepted: 05/21/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca J. Lewis
- Department of Anthropology; University of Texas-Austin; Austin Texas
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Burned Area Mapping of an Escaped Fire into Tropical Dry Forest in Western Madagascar Using Multi-Season Landsat OLI Data. REMOTE SENSING 2018. [DOI: 10.3390/rs10030371] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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11
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Perofsky AC, Lewis RJ, Abondano LA, Di Fiore A, Meyers LA. Hierarchical social networks shape gut microbial composition in wild Verreaux's sifaka. Proc Biol Sci 2017; 284:20172274. [PMID: 29212730 PMCID: PMC5740288 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.2274] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2017] [Accepted: 11/09/2017] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
In wild primates, social behaviour influences exposure to environmentally acquired and directly transmitted microorganisms. Prior studies indicate that gut microbiota reflect pairwise social interactions among chimpanzee and baboon hosts. Here, we demonstrate that higher-order social network structure-beyond just pairwise interactions-drives gut bacterial composition in wild lemurs, which live in smaller and more cohesive groups than previously studied anthropoid species. Using 16S rRNA gene sequencing and social network analysis of grooming contacts, we estimate the relative impacts of hierarchical (i.e. multilevel) social structure, individual demographic traits, diet, scent-marking, and habitat overlap on bacteria acquisition in a wild population of Verreaux's sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi) consisting of seven social groups. We show that social group membership is clearly reflected in the microbiomes of individual sifaka, and that social groups with denser grooming networks have more homogeneous gut microbial compositions. Within social groups, adults, more gregarious individuals, and individuals that scent-mark frequently harbour the greatest microbial diversity. Thus, the community structure of wild lemurs governs symbiotic relationships by constraining transmission between hosts and partitioning environmental exposure to microorganisms. This social cultivation of mutualistic gut flora may be an evolutionary benefit of tight-knit group living.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda C Perofsky
- Department of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Rebecca J Lewis
- Department of Anthropology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Laura A Abondano
- Department of Anthropology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
- Primate Molecular Ecology and Evolution Laboratory, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Anthony Di Fiore
- Department of Anthropology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
- Primate Molecular Ecology and Evolution Laboratory, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Lauren Ancel Meyers
- Department of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA
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12
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Teichroeb JA, Jack KM. Alpha male replacements in nonhuman primates: Variability in processes, outcomes, and terminology. Am J Primatol 2017; 79. [PMID: 28543783 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22674] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2017] [Revised: 04/15/2017] [Accepted: 04/16/2017] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Alpha male replacements occur in all primates displaying a dominance hierarchy but the process can be extremely variable. Here, we review the primate literature to document differences in patterns of alpha male replacements, showing that group composition and dispersal patterns account for a large proportion of this variability. We also examine the consequences of alpha male replacements in terms of sexual selection theory, infanticide, and group compositions. Though alpha male replacements are often called takeovers in the literature, this term masks much of the variation that is present in these processes. We argue for more concise terminology and provide a list of terms that we suggest more accurately define these events. Finally, we introduce the papers in this special issue on alpha male replacements in the American Journal of Primatology and discuss areas where data are still lacking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie A Teichroeb
- Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Katharine M Jack
- Department of Anthropology, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana
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13
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Crouse D, Jacobs RL, Richardson Z, Klum S, Jain A, Baden AL, Tecot SR. LemurFaceID: a face recognition system to facilitate individual identification of lemurs. BMC ZOOL 2017. [DOI: 10.1186/s40850-016-0011-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
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14
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Veilleux CC, Scarry CJ, Di Fiore A, Kirk EC, Bolnick DA, Lewis RJ. Group benefit associated with polymorphic trichromacy in a Malagasy primate (Propithecus verreauxi). Sci Rep 2016; 6:38418. [PMID: 27910919 PMCID: PMC5133583 DOI: 10.1038/srep38418] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2016] [Accepted: 11/09/2016] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
In some primate lineages, polymorphisms in the X-linked M/LWS opsin gene have produced intraspecific variation in color vision. In these species, heterozygous females exhibit trichromacy, while males and homozygous females exhibit dichromacy. The evolutionary persistence of these polymorphisms suggests that balancing selection maintains color vision variation, possibly through a 'trichromat advantage' in detecting yellow/orange/red foods against foliage. We identified genetic evidence of polymorphic trichromacy in a population of Verreaux's sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi) at Kirindy Mitea National Park in Madagascar, and explored effects of color vision on reproductive success and feeding behavior using nine years of morphological, demographic, and feeding data. We found that trichromats and dichromats residing in social groups with trichromats exhibit higher body mass indices than individuals in dichromat-only groups. Additionally, individuals in a trichromat social group devoted significantly more time to fruit feeding and had longer fruit feeding bouts than individuals in dichromat-only groups. We hypothesize that, due to small, cohesive sifaka social groups, a trichromat advantage in detecting productive fruit patches during the energetically stressful dry season also benefits dichromats in a trichromat's group. Our results offer the first support for the 'mutual benefit of association' hypothesis regarding the maintenance of polymorphic trichromacy in primates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carrie C. Veilleux
- Department of Anthropology, University of Texas at Austin, 2201 Speedway Stop C3200, Austin, TX, 78712, USA
| | - Clara J. Scarry
- Department of Anthropology, University of Texas at Austin, 2201 Speedway Stop C3200, Austin, TX, 78712, USA
| | - Anthony Di Fiore
- Department of Anthropology, University of Texas at Austin, 2201 Speedway Stop C3200, Austin, TX, 78712, USA
| | - E. Christopher Kirk
- Department of Anthropology, University of Texas at Austin, 2201 Speedway Stop C3200, Austin, TX, 78712, USA
| | - Deborah A. Bolnick
- Department of Anthropology, University of Texas at Austin, 2201 Speedway Stop C3200, Austin, TX, 78712, USA
- Population Research Center, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78712, USA
| | - Rebecca J. Lewis
- Department of Anthropology, University of Texas at Austin, 2201 Speedway Stop C3200, Austin, TX, 78712, USA
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