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Ecological Flexibility of Propithecus edwardsi in Two Forest Habitats with Different Logging Histories in Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar. INT J PRIMATOL 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-022-00308-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
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Heffernan KS, Samonds KE, Godfrey LR, Raharison JL, Ranaivoarisoa JF, Irwin MT. Diademed sifakas (Propithecus diadema) in intact and degraded forest habitat at Tsinjoarivo, Madagascar, show high reproductive success and no evidence that dental senescence or rainfall affects reproductive output. Folia Primatol (Basel) 2022. [DOI: 10.1163/14219980-20210403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Sifakas (genus Propithecus) diverge from other lemurs in their strategy to contend with Madagascar’s highly seasonal climate and maximize reproductive success: they have long lifetimes (presumably to wait out unfavorable times) and extreme dental precocity (to allow weanlings to effectively process tough foods and thereby relieve energetic stress on mothers). However, as sifakas age, dental senescence can contribute to reproductive failure, especially when coupled with unfavorable weather conditions (as shown by King et al., 2005 for P. edwardsi at Ranomafana). To extend the effective life of the teeth, compensatory blades maintain functionality for the female sifaka, but wear may eventually have consequences on infant survival in certain climatic scenarios. We investigate the impacts of climate, age, and dental senescence on the reproduction of another sifaka, Propithecus diadema, in fragmented and intact habitats of Tsinjoarivo, Madagascar. We documented birth and infant survival between 2002 and 2017 across twelve groups, including 73 births, and we used 77 dental casts representing 54 adults to estimate age when exact age was not known. We report that sifakas in Tsinjoarivo do not conform to the expectations that link advanced age with dental and reproductive senescence. Propithecus diadema at Tsinjoarivo show slower tooth wear, higher reproductive output and higher infant survival compared to congeners. Likelihood of birth and infant mortality do not correlate with intrinsic (mother’s age, tooth wear) or extrinsic (rainfall or habitat type) stressors. However, the small number of years without births or with infant deaths limits statistical power. At the local level, this study suggests that the long-term viability of Propithecus diadema at Tsinjoarivo is promising and reproductive output is high, even in disturbed fragments where nutrient intakes are reduced. Further research is needed to contextualize and understand these differences among sites and regions within Madagascar and avoid over-generalizing from single study sites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katie S. Heffernan
- Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115, USA
- Department of Natural Sciences & Mathematics, Richard Bland College, Petersburg, VA 23805, USA
| | - Karen E. Samonds
- Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115, USA
| | - Laurie R. Godfrey
- Department of Anthropology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA
| | | | - Jean Freddy Ranaivoarisoa
- Anthropobiologie et Développement Durable, Faculté des Sciences, Université d’Antananarivo, Madagascar
| | - Mitchell T. Irwin
- Department of Anthropology, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115, USA
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Thompson CL, Williams SH, Glander KE, Teaford MF, Vinyard CJ. Getting Humans Off Monkeys' Backs: Using Primate Acclimation as a Guide for Habitat Management Efforts. Integr Comp Biol 2021; 60:413-424. [PMID: 32470132 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icaa048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Wild primates face grave conservation challenges, with habitat loss and climate change projected to cause mass extinctions in the coming decades. As large-bodied Neotropical primates, mantled howling monkeys (Alouatta palliata) are predicted to fare poorly under climate change, yet are also known for their resilience in a variety of environments, including highly disturbed habitats. We utilized ecophysiology research on this species to determine the morphological, physiological, and behavioral mechanisms howlers employ to overcome ecological challenges. Our data show that howlers at La Pacifica, Costa Rica are capable of modifying body size. Howlers displayed reduced mass in warmer, drier habitats, seasonal weight changes, frequent within-lifetime weight fluctuations, and gradual increases in body mass over the past four decades. These within-lifetime changes indicate a capacity to modify morphology in a way that can impact animals' energetics and thermodynamics. Howlers are also able to consume foods with a wide variety of food material properties by altering oral processing during feeding. While this capability suggests some capacity to cope with the phenological shifts expected from climate change and increased habitat fragmentation, data on rates of dental microwear warn that these acclimations may also cost dental longevity. Lastly, we found that howlers are able to acclimate to changing thermal pressures. On shorter-term daily scales, howlers use behavioral mechanisms to thermoregulate, including timing activities to avoid heat stress and utilizing cool microhabitats. At the seasonal scale, animals employ hormonal pathways to influence heat production. These lines of evidence cumulatively indicate that howlers possess morphological, physiological, and behavioral mechanisms to acclimate to environmental challenges. As such, howlers' plasticity may facilitate their resilience to climate change and habitat loss. While habitat loss in the tropics is unlikely to abate, our results point to a potential benefit of active management and selective cultivation to yield large, interconnected forest fragments with targeted phenology that provides both a complex physical structure and a diversity of food sources. These steps could assist howlers in using their natural acclimation potential to survive future conservation threats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cynthia L Thompson
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Grand Valley State University, Allendale, MI, USA
| | - Susan H Williams
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Athens, OH, USA
| | - Kenneth E Glander
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Mark F Teaford
- Department of Basic Science, College of Osteopathic Medicine, Touro University, Vallejo, CA, USA
| | - Christopher J Vinyard
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, OH, USA
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Basham EW, Seidl CM, Andriamahohatra LR, Oliveira BF, Scheffers BR. Distance-decay differs among vertical strata in a tropical rainforest. J Anim Ecol 2018; 88:114-124. [PMID: 30146776 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12902] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2018] [Accepted: 08/10/2018] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Assemblage similarity decays with geographic distance-a pattern known as the distance-decay relationship. While this pattern has been investigated for a wide range of organisms, ecosystems and geographical gradients, whether these changes vary more cryptically across different forest strata (from ground to canopy) remains elusive. Here, we investigated the influence of ground vs. arboreal assemblages to the general distance-decay relationship observed in forests. We seek to explain differences in distance-decay relationships between strata in the context of the vertical stratification of assemblage composition, richness and abundance. We surveyed for a climate-sensitive model organism, amphibians, across vertical rainforest strata in Madagascar. For each tree, we defined assemblages of ground-dwelling, understory, or canopy species. We calculated horizontal distance-decay in similarity across all trees, and across assemblages of species found in different forest strata (ground, understory and canopy). We demonstrate that within stratum comparisons exhibit a classic distance-decay relationship for canopy and understory communities but no distance-decay relationships for ground communities. We suggest that differences in horizontal turnover between strata may be due to local scale habitat and resource heterogeneity in the canopy, or the influence of arboreal traits on species dispersal and distribution. Synthesis. Biodiversity patterns in horizontal space were not consistent across vertical space, suggesting that canopy fauna may not play by the same set of "rules" as their conspecifics living below them on the ground. Our study provides compelling evidence that the above-ground amphibian assemblage of tropical rainforests is the primary driver of the classical distance-decay relationship.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edmund W Basham
- School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
| | - Christa M Seidl
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, The University of California, Santa Cruz, California
| | - Lydou R Andriamahohatra
- Department of Experimental Science, CER: Natural Science, Ecole Normale Supérieure, University of Antananarivo, Antananarivo, Madagascar
| | - Brunno F Oliveira
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
| | - Brett R Scheffers
- School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.,Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
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Tseng ZJ, Flynn JJ. Structure-function covariation with nonfeeding ecological variables influences evolution of feeding specialization in Carnivora. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2018; 4:eaao5441. [PMID: 29441363 PMCID: PMC5810607 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aao5441] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2017] [Accepted: 01/08/2018] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Skull shape convergence is pervasive among vertebrates. Although this is frequently inferred to indicate similar functional underpinnings, neither the specific structure-function linkages nor the selective environments in which the supposed functional adaptations arose are commonly identified and tested. We demonstrate that nonfeeding factors relating to sexual maturity and precipitation-related arboreality also can generate structure-function relationships in the skulls of carnivorans (dogs, cats, seals, and relatives) through covariation with masticatory performance. We estimated measures of masticatory performance related to ecological variables that covary with cranial shape in the mammalian order Carnivora, integrating geometric morphometrics and finite element analyses. Even after accounting for phylogenetic autocorrelation, cranial shapes are significantly correlated to both feeding and nonfeeding ecological variables, and covariation with both variable types generated significant masticatory performance gradients. This suggests that mechanisms of obligate shape covariation with nonfeeding variables can produce performance changes resembling those arising from feeding adaptations in Carnivora.
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Affiliation(s)
- Z. Jack Tseng
- Department of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024, USA
- Corresponding author.
| | - John J. Flynn
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024, USA
- Richard Gilder Graduate School, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024, USA
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Kappeler PM, Cuozzo FP, Fichtel C, Ganzhorn JU, Gursky-Doyen S, Irwin MT, Ichino S, Lawler R, Nekaris KAI, Ramanamanjato JB, Radespiel U, Sauther ML, Wright PC, Zimmermann E. Long-term field studies of lemurs, lorises, and tarsiers. J Mammal 2017. [DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyx013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
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Glowacka H, McFarlin SC, Catlett KK, Mudakikwa A, Bromage TG, Cranfield MR, Stoinski TS, Schwartz GT. Age-related changes in molar topography and shearing crest length in a wild population of mountain Gorillas from Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2016; 160:3-15. [PMID: 26853974 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22943] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2015] [Revised: 12/26/2015] [Accepted: 01/01/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Great ape teeth must remain functional over long lifespans. The molars of the most folivorous apes, the mountain gorillas, must maintain shearing function for 40+ years while the animals consume large quantities of mechanically challenging foods. While other folivorous primates experience dental senescence, which compromises their occlusal surfaces and affects their reproductive success as they age, it is unknown whether dental senescence also occurs in mountain gorillas. In this article, we quantified and evaluated how mountain gorilla molars change throughout their long lifespans. MATERIALS AND METHODS We collected high-resolution replicas of M(1)s (n = 15), M(2)s (n = 13), and M(3)s (n = 11) from a cross-sectional sample of wild mountain gorilla skeletons from the Virunga Volcanoes, ranging in age from 4 to 43 years. We employed dental topographic analyses to track how aspects of occlusal slope, angularity, relief index, and orientation patch count rotated change with age. In addition, we measured the relative length of shearing crests in two- and three-dimensions. RESULTS Occlusal topography was found to decrease, while 2D relative shearing crest length increased, and 3D relative crest lengths were maintained with age. DISCUSSION Our findings indicate that shearing function is maintained throughout the long lifetimes of mountain gorillas. Unlike the dental senescence experienced by other folivorous primates, mountain gorillas do not appear to possess senesced molars despite their long lifetimes, mechanically challenging diets, and decreases in occlusal topography with age.
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Affiliation(s)
- Halszka Glowacka
- Institute of Human Origins, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
| | - Shannon C McFarlin
- Department of Anthropology and Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, the George Washington University, DC.,Division of Mammals, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, DC
| | - Kierstin K Catlett
- Institute of Human Origins, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
| | | | - Timothy G Bromage
- Department of Biomaterials and Biomimetics, New York University College of Dentistry, NY.,Department of Basic Science and Craniofacial Biology, New York University College of Dentistry, NY
| | | | | | - Gary T Schwartz
- Institute of Human Origins, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
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Barnett AA, Bezerra BM, Santos PJP, Spironello WR, Shaw PJ, MacLarnon A, Ross C. Foraging with finesse: A hard-fruit-eating primate selects the weakest areas as bite sites. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2016; 160:113-25. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22935] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2015] [Revised: 12/02/2015] [Accepted: 12/18/2015] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Adrian A. Barnett
- Centre for Research in Evolutionary and Ecological Anthropology, Department of Life Sciences; University of Roehampton; London England SW15 4JD UK
- Grupo de Pesquisa de Mamíferos Amazônicos, Coordenação de Biodiversidade; Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia; Manaus Amazonas 69067-375 Brazil
- Programa de Pesquisas Ecológicas de Longa Duração (Ecologia, Monitoramento E Uso Sustentável de Área Úmidas); Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia; Manaus Amazonas 69067-375 Brazil
| | - Bruna M. Bezerra
- Departamento de Zoologia; Universidade Federal de Pernambuco; Recife Pernambuco 50670-901 Brazil
| | - Paulo J. P. Santos
- Departamento de Zoologia; Universidade Federal de Pernambuco; Recife Pernambuco 50670-901 Brazil
| | - Wilson R. Spironello
- Grupo de Pesquisa de Mamíferos Amazônicos, Coordenação de Biodiversidade; Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia; Manaus Amazonas 69067-375 Brazil
| | - Peter J.A. Shaw
- Department of Life Sciences; University of Roehampton; London England SW15 4JD UK
| | - Ann MacLarnon
- Centre for Research in Evolutionary and Ecological Anthropology, Department of Life Sciences; University of Roehampton; London England SW15 4JD UK
| | - Caroline Ross
- Centre for Research in Evolutionary and Ecological Anthropology, Department of Life Sciences; University of Roehampton; London England SW15 4JD UK
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Polly PD, Lawing AM, Eronen JT, Schnitzler J. Processes of ecometric patterning: modelling functional traits, environments, and clade dynamics in deep time. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/bij.12716] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- P. David Polly
- Departments of Geological Sciences, Biology and Anthropology; Indiana University; 1001 E. 10th Street Bloomington IN 47405 USA
| | - A. Michelle Lawing
- Department of Ecosystem Science and Management; Spatial Sciences Laboratory; Texas A&M University; 1500 Research Parkway Suite 223 B 2120 TAMU College Station TX 77843-2120 USA
| | - Jussi T. Eronen
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (BiK-F); Senckenberganlage 25 D-60325 Frankfurt am Main Germany
| | - Jan Schnitzler
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (BiK-F); Senckenberganlage 25 D-60325 Frankfurt am Main Germany
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10
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Spradley JP, Glander KE, Kay RF. Dust in the wind: How climate variables and volcanic dust affect rates of tooth wear in central american howling monkeys. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2015; 159:210-22. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22877] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2014] [Revised: 07/31/2015] [Accepted: 09/11/2015] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Richard F. Kay
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology; Duke University; Durham NC
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11
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Polly PD. Gene networks, occlusal clocks, and functional patches: new understanding of pattern and process in the evolution of the dentition. Odontology 2015; 103:117-25. [PMID: 25986362 DOI: 10.1007/s10266-015-0208-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2015] [Accepted: 04/26/2015] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Our understanding of the evolution of the dentition has been transformed by advances in the developmental biology, genetics, and functional morphology of teeth, as well as the methods available for studying tooth form and function. The hierarchical complexity of dental developmental genetics combined with dynamic effects of cells and tissues during development allow for substantial, rapid, and potentially non-linear evolutionary changes. Studies of selection on tooth function in the wild and evolutionary functional comparisons both suggest that tooth function and adaptation to diets are the most important factors guiding the evolution of teeth, yet selection against random changes that produce malocclusions (selectional drift) may be an equally important factor in groups with tribosphenic dentitions. These advances are critically reviewed here.
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Affiliation(s)
- P David Polly
- Department of Geological Sciences, Indiana University, 1001 E. 10th Street, Bloomington, IN, 47401, USA,
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12
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Zohdy S, Kemp AD, Durden LA, Wright PC, Jernvall J. Mapping the social network: tracking lice in a wild primate (Microcebus rufus) population to infer social contacts and vector potential. BMC Ecol 2012; 12:4. [PMID: 22449178 PMCID: PMC3338373 DOI: 10.1186/1472-6785-12-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2011] [Accepted: 03/26/2012] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Studies of host-parasite interactions have the potential to provide insights into the ecology of both organisms involved. We monitored the movement of sucking lice (Lemurpediculus verruculosus), parasites that require direct host-host contact to be transferred, in their host population of wild mouse lemurs (Microcebus rufus). These lemurs live in the rainforests of Madagascar, are small (40 g), arboreal, nocturnal, solitary foraging primates for which data on population-wide interactions are difficult to obtain. We developed a simple, cost effective method exploiting the intimate relationship between louse and lemur, whereby individual lice were marked, without removal from their host, with an individualized code, and tracked throughout the lemur population. We then tested the hypotheses that 1) the frequency of louse transfers, and thus interactions, would decrease with increasing distance between paired individual lemurs; 2) due to host polygynandry, social interactions and hence louse transfers would increase during the onset of the breeding season; and 3) individual mouse lemurs would vary in their contributions to the spread of lice. RESULTS We show that louse transfers involved 43.75% of the studied lemur population, exclusively males. Louse transfers peaked during the breeding season, perhaps due to increased social interactions between lemurs. Although trap-based individual lemur ranging patterns are restricted, louse transfer rate does not correlate with the distance between lemur trapping locales, indicating wider host ranging behavior and a greater risk of rapid population-wide pathogen transmission than predicted by standard trapping data alone. Furthermore, relatively few lemur individuals contributed disproportionately to the rapid spread of lice throughout the population. CONCLUSIONS Using a simple method, we were able to visualize exchanges of lice in a population of cryptic wild primates. This method not only provided insight into the previously unseen parasite movement between lemurs, but also allowed us to infer social interactions between them. As lice are known pathogen vectors, our method also allowed us to identify the lemurs most likely to facilitate louse-mediated epidemics. Our approach demonstrates the potential to uncover otherwise inaccessible parasite-host, and host social interaction data in any trappable species parasitized by sucking lice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Zohdy
- Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki, Viikinkaari 9, P.O. Box 56 Helsinki FIN 00014, Finland
- Centre Val Bio, Ranomafana, Ifanadiana 312, Madagascar
| | - Addison D Kemp
- Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki, Viikinkaari 9, P.O. Box 56 Helsinki FIN 00014, Finland
- Centre Val Bio, Ranomafana, Ifanadiana 312, Madagascar
| | - Lance A Durden
- Department of Biology, Georgia Southern University, 69 Georgia Avenue, Statesboro, Georgia 30460-8042, USA
| | - Patricia C Wright
- Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki, Viikinkaari 9, P.O. Box 56 Helsinki FIN 00014, Finland
- Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Circle Road Social & Behavioral Science Building Stony Brook, New York 11794-4364, USA
- Centre Val Bio, Ranomafana, Ifanadiana 312, Madagascar
| | - Jukka Jernvall
- Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki, Viikinkaari 9, P.O. Box 56 Helsinki FIN 00014, Finland
- Centre Val Bio, Ranomafana, Ifanadiana 312, Madagascar
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