Desert Ecosystems Prosimian Behaviour

Home , Species distribution

522 Nature Vol. 280 9 August 1979 influence. This can give rise to reliance on and a study of Tarsius bancanus Desert a very distorted range of literature or (C. Niemitz). ecosystems undue emphasis on a personal field of One theme which runs through the book interest in a review article. Thus, one is the importance of nocturnal life, where Arid-Land Ecosystems: Structure, regional account emphasises productivity, the prosimians may give us clues to our Functioning and Management. Volume 1. another phytosociology, and in some common ancestor. Charles-Dominique Edited by D.W. Goodall, R.A. Perry and accounts animals receive scant attention. argues that small diurnal primates would K.M.W. Howes. Pp. 881. (Cambridge The characterisation of regional climate is compete with diurnal birds, which explains University Press: Cambridge, 1979.) £45. similarly diversely treated. In one account why small primates are nocturnal, and only THIS volume is one of two that will give an simplified 'Walter Klimadiagramm' are larger ones diurnal. This size constraint overall account of arid-land studies, one given, another resorts to rainfall tables, a then reappears in Doyle's and Martin's of the themes of the International third makes use of maps with isohyets, treatments of allometry in brain size and Biological Programme. Although much and others give the 'Walter developmental rates. of the official IBP work was carried out in Klimadiagramm' in full. Standardisation The reader may trace his own interests. the USA, a considerable amount of of representation would have allowed One such might be the "psychology of similar work was also carried out in other comparison and integration to be made place". Wilson and Rumbaugh stress that countries at the same time, and much of more easily. prosimians approach formal learning tests this information has also been included. The part of the volume devoted to by position, not by attention to objects. Unfortunately, and in spite of efforts by processes is more satisfactory and includes Then Charles-Dominique remarks that the editors, it has not proved possible to an excellent chapter on diversity and niche rainforest galagos and pottos can be provide global coverage of arid regions. structure in desert communities by trapped twice running if the trap is moved There is no account of South American E.R. Pianka. Chapters on radiation, to a nearby site, for "It would seem the deserts and the Sudan, a country with one precipitation and soil processes deal well traumatic effect of capture is associated of the largest desert areas, is only mentioned with specifically desert conditions. Other more with the place . . . then with the trap in passing. However, the areas that are chapters treat topics more generally. itself". Schilling then shows how scent described include North America, This book has not managed to distil the marking identifies places in both individual northern Africa, southern Africa, knowledge accumulated in the IBP studies and social contexts - again, the recourse Australia, and South-West and Central on arid ecosystem structure and function of a more nocturnal, less visually oriented Asia. The climate, soils, geomorphology, in a unified way. It would be unfair, evolutionary lineage. This, in turn, ties in hydrology, flora and fauna are covered and however, to be too critical as it is difficult with the views of Pollock, Bearder, and the processes that operate within, and to give constructive suggestions on how a Charles-Dominque on ranging, "detour control, the ecosystem are dealt with under more satisfactory account could have problems" for slow-climbing forms in the component, atmospheric, soil, plant and been achieved. It is perhaps best to accept forest canopy, and social organisation by animal processes. the volume for what it is - a mammoth the overlapping of home ranges. For many The editors' task must have been a compendium of information on many of prosimians, social life itself depends on nightmare for in spite of international the world's desert ecosystems. position in the forest, cued by scent marks, cooperation investigators still seem to M. J. Chadwick rather than on vocal or visual contact with have operated within their own sub-set of other animals. published work and conventions, often set M. J. Chadwick is Senior Lecturer in Ecology One notable contribution is Georges by linguistic or old colonial spheres of at the University of York, UK. Pariente's study of prosimian vision. Pariente presents photography of the living retina, electrophysiological studies, although gestation lengths are given in measurements of light intensity in Prosimian three of the chapters and Martin and Madagascar forest conditions, and activity Charles-Dominque's basic decoding of of nocturnal species in relation to ambient behaviour home range and social structure in light. He argues that "nocturnal life is The Study ofProsimian Behavior. Edited nocturnal forms enters at lea~t three more a shift in thresholds of sensitivity byG.A. DoyleandR.D. Martin. Pp. 696. others. One might quibble that social than a completely new, 'inversed' mode of (Academic: New York, San Francisco and structure of the diurnal species is under existence. The notion of 'l night when London, 1979.) $49.50. represented, but this has been dealt with in vision is impossible only exists for strict recent books by A.F. Richard diurnal species ... Nocturnal prosimians (Behavioural Variation: Case Study of a can move around perfectly well in full The Study of Prosimian Behaviour is that Malagasy Lemur; Bucknell University daylight, using their vision in the usual rare pleasure: a book which fully achieves Press, Lewisburg; Associated University way". He concludes that if the prosimian what it sets out to do. Its articles survey Presses, London, 1978 and edited by eye retains this degree of plasticity, one current knowledge of the prosimians, I. Tattersall and R.W. Sussman (Lemur might propose a "primate ancestor which tabulate that knowledge by species and Biology; Plenum, New York, 1975). needed to see wellby both day and subject, and point out important Chapters cover classification (1 -J. Petter night ... small bodies, perhaps arboreal, hypotheses or conclusions for future study. and A. Petter-Rouksseaux), phylogenetic with an appreciable amount of activity in From the opening chapter, in which Petter and allometric aspects of behaviour the daytime ... This ancestral form would and Petter-Rousseaux give a revised (R.D. Martin), reproduction (R.N. Van have already been able to decode both in classification, as well as the first full set of Horn and G.G. Eaton), maternal the intensity and frequency of light". species distribution maps since Hill's tome behaviour (P.H. Klopfer and K.J. It is wholly appropriate that The Study Primates: Comparative Anatomy and Boskoff), development (G.A. Doyle), of Prosimian Behaviour is dedicated to Taxamony, Vol.l (Edinburgh University learning (B.J. Wilkerson and Georges Parente, who was tragically killed Press, 1953), it is clear that this is now the D.M. Rumbaugh), vocal communication in a traffic accident shortly after standard reference for most aspects of (J-J. Petter and C.M. Hladik), diet completing his article for this book. pro simian behaviour. As such, it belongs in (C.M. Hladik), spatial distribution Alison Jolly any university library. (J.I. Pollock), vision (G. Pariente), The editors are to be congratulated on olfaction (A. Schilling), locomotion Alison Jolly is Research Associate in the School assembling articles of fairly standard (A. Walker), field studies of lorisids of Biological Sciences at the University of format, with a minimum of repetition, (P. Charles-Domin que and S.K. Bearder), Sussex, Brighton, UK.