Feeding Ecology and Aspects of Life History in Microcebus Rufus (Family Cheirogaleidae, Order Primates)
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City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects CUNY Graduate Center 1998 Feeding Ecology and Aspects of Life History in Microcebus Rufus (Family Cheirogaleidae, Order Primates) Syivia Atsalis The Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/4120 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. 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Contact UMI directly to order. UMI A Bell & Howell Information Company 300 North Zed) Road, Ann Arbor MI 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. FEEDING ECOLOGY AND ASPECTS OF LIFE HISTORY IN MICROCEBUS RUFUS (FAMILY CHEIROGALEIDAE, ORDER PRIMATES) by SYLVIA ATSALIS A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Anthropology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The City University of New York 1998 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 9820509 Copyright 1998 by Atsalis, Sylvia All rights reserved. UMI Microform 9820509 Copyright 1998, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. II 1998 © SYLVIA ATSALIS All Rights Reserved Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in Anthropology in satisfaction of the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. [Signature] iV r / 7 7 _________ Date Enc Delson Chair of Examining Committee [Signature] Date Louise Lennihan Executive Officer John F. Oates Sara Stinson Robert W. Sussman Patricia C. Wright Supervisory Committee THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Abstract FEEDING ECOLOGY AND ASPECTS OF LIFE HISTORY IN MICROCEBUS RUFUS (FAMILY CHEIROGALEIDAE) by Syivia Atsalis Advisor Professor Eric Delson Annual fluctuations in body fat and activity levels, and feeding behavior in relationship to environmental seasonaiity were investigated in Microcebus rufus for 17 months in Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar. Cyclical changes in thermoregulatory behavior occur in some small mammals during periods of environmental stress. It is common to associate the seasonal fattening and torpor characteristic of some Cheirogaleidae with the markedly seasonal climate and resource availability in west coast dry forests where most studies on cheirogaleids have taken place. Furthermore, primates of small body size are expected to include a high proportion of insects in their diet to meet protein and other nutritional requirements. I monitored body fat and activity levels of known live-trapped individuals. Feeding behavior was determined primarily through analysis of fecal samples. Feeding data were compared to data collected on monthly fruit and insect availability. A mixed diet of fruit and insects was consumed all year round. Mouse lemurs relied on a wide variety of fruit with consumption increasing in quantity and diversity during part of the rainy season, a time when fruit production peaked. During this period some individuals increased their body fat in preparation for the dry season when lower temperatures, precipitation and resource availability occur. These individuals Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. V decreased activity during part of the dry season as suggested by their absence from traps. They resumed activity with reduction in body fat. Other individuals retained relatively constant body fat and activity levels. The ratio of males to females trapped fluctuated, dramatically increasing in favor of males between June and September when other mouse lemurs were in torpor. This bias may be due to young males who are dispersing from their natal range. The semi-parasitic epiphyte Bakerella was consumed year-round during periods of high and low resource availability. Along with its high lipid content this suggests that it serves as both a staple and a keystone resource. Coieoptera were consumed regularly year round. Insect consumption did not increase during the rainy season when insect abundance was at its highest. Both east coast and west coast mouse lemurs have similar behaviors to cope with seasonal environmental stresses. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Acknowledgements I gratefully acknowledge the moral and practical support of my late advisor, Warren Kinzey, who believed in me and stood by me even during his illness. I also thank my current advisor, Eric Delson, for his incredible patience, judicious insights, optimism and humor. I thank my advisory committee: John Oates, for incisive, well- placed comments and criticism, and Sara Stinson, for entire days spent helping me so kindly with statistics. Without Patricia Wright’s approval, logistical support in the field and unbounded enthusiasm, this project would not have been completed. Bob Sussman provided many useful and encouraging comments and made me proud of my field work. I thank the Malagasy Government, the Department of Water and Forests, Benjamin Andrianamihaja, and the staff of Ranomafana National Park Project who allowed me to conduct my research in Ranomafana. My field guides, Raliva Pierre, Jean-Marie, Rakotoniaina Jean, Ratalata Frangois, Rajeriarison Emile and Rakotonirina Georges, worked many long hours for me without complaint. The cabin managers, Jeanette and Aimee, made life at the cabin like coming home to Mom. I also thank my warm Malagasy friends, Jean-Claude and Tina, for being my field buddies and showing me around Tana. This project was made possible through the generous funding of the National Science Foundation, the National Geographic Society, Wenner-Gren Anthropological Association and Sigma Xi. I also thank the following folks for their help and support during the long process of carrying out and writing up this research: Dan Turk for plant identification and both Dan and Liz for friendship and wonderful meals in Ranomafana; Julien Stark for careful identification of insect remains; Jorg Ganzhom, Jutta Schmid and Peter Kappelerfor Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. fruitful collaboration which I hope will continue in the future, Marian Dagosto, Brian Shea, Matt Ravosa, Larry Cochard and all the graduate students at Northwestern for being my surrogate academic family, Kashka Kubdzela for conception of the diet model used in this thesis and for introducing me to her colleagues at the University of Chicago, Louise Martin for help in the field, Joe and Katy Gonder for computer help whenever I needed it, Chia Tan, Ny Yamashita, Susan Foxman, my JB Liz Balko, Annie Singer, Amy Gabrion and Sarah Willis for support and friendship either while in the field or during the difficult period of readjustment upon my return, Eleanor Sterling for advice on radiotelemetry, and Leanne Nash, Hilary Moriand, Martine Perret, and Peter Walsh for various comments early in the thesis writing. Loma Profant, I gratefully thank you for being my right arm and support during the final stages of write-up, and for constructing the “timeline” used in Chapter Six. Wendy Dirks, apart from your friendship, special thanks for putting me up during my frequent visits to New York. Eric Johnstone, thank you for your patient help with figures and graphs, for bringing this task down to size and for the 110% effort you put in. Todd Schaner, thanks for