Return to search

Behavioural strategies of the ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta) in a sub-desert spiny forest habitat at Berenty Reserve, Madagascar

In an effort to better understand primate behavioural flexibility and responses to low-biomass habitats, behavioural patterns of ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) living in a xerophytic spiny forest habitat in southern Madagascar were examined. Behavioural data were collected over two months on two separate groups living in two distinctly different habitats: a sub-desert spiny forest and a riverine gallery forest. Data on the following behavioural categories integral to primate sociality were collected: time allocation, anti-predator vigilance, predator sensitive foraging, feeding competition, and affiliative behaviour. L. catta living in the spiny forest habitat differed significantly in many behavioural patterns when compared to L. catta living in the gallery forest. I suggest that the ability to successfully alter behavioural strategies to varying ecological conditions allows ring-tailed lemurs to occupy low biomass habitats which are uninhabitable to nearly all other primate species in Madagascar. Lemur catta evolution, behavioural flexibility, and conservation will be discussed.

  1. http://hdl.handle.net/1828/303
Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVIV.1828/303
Date08 January 2008
CreatorsEllwanger, Nicholas
ContributorsGould, Lisa
Source SetsLibrary and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada
LanguageEnglish, English
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis
RightsAvailable to the World Wide Web

Page generated in 0.002 seconds