Carly Starr

Obligate exudativory characterizes the diet of the pygmy slow loris Nycticebus pygmaeus

Few primate species are known to excavate plant sources to procure exudates and other foods via active gouging. It is now apparent that slow lorises belong to this rare guild of obligate exudativorous primates. We investigate the diet of the pygmy loris (Nycticebus pygmaeus) in a mixed deciduous forest in the Seima Protection Forest, Eastern Cambodia, and attempted to determine the importance of this resource in their diet. Feeding behaviors of six females and seven males were observed using radio‐tracking to facilitate follows, and nine fecal samples were collected in February–May and January–March in 2008 and 2009 respectively. We observed 168 feeding bouts, during which the animals ate exudates (76); fruits (33); arthropods (27); flower parts (21); fungi (3); parts of bamboo culms (7); and reptiles (1). We filmed 19 bouts of exudativory, and observed animals consuming exudates in an orthograde posture, or standing quadrupedally over the exudate source. Pygmy lorises also gouged bamboo to collect lichen and fungi, or broke open dead culms to access invertebrates. Feeding occurred on terminal tree branches (24), tree trunks (21), bamboo (13), the middle of branches (7), and the undergrowth (1). The fecal samples contained plant parts, small‐sized arthropods (primarily Coleoptera and Lepidoptera), reptile scales, animal bones, and animal hairs. Pygmy slow lorises are morphologically specialized for processing and digesting exudates, displaying small body sizes, specialized dentitions, elongated, and narrow tongues, large caecums, short duodenums, expanded volar pads, and modified hindlimbs. These features, combined with the prevalence of exudates in their diet across seasons, and ill health when exudates are missing from their diet in captivity, points to this species being an obligate exudativore. Am. J. Primatol. 75:1054–1061, 2013.

Field surveys of the Vulnerable pygmy slow loris Nycticebus pygmaeus using local knowledge in Mondulkiri Province, Cambodia

The pygmy slow loris Nycticebus pygmaeus is a little-studied primate endemic to Vietnam, Laos, southern China and eastern Cambodia. Our study aimed to gain local knowledge on the distribution and ecology of, and threats to, the species by interviewing hunters, traders and wildlife protection staff, and to verify this information using a spotlighting survey in three major reserves in Mondulkiri Province, Cambodia. Encounter rates of pygmy loris were assessed along 29 transects (129.5 km), yielding observations of 26 individuals. Mean encounter rates were 0.40 km in Seima Protection Forest, 0.10 km in Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary and 0.00 km in Mondulkiri Protected Forest. Informants had knowledge of where populations occurred, their diet, sociality and habitat preferences. Widespread large population declines were reported and informants linked this to high hunting pressure, particularly in 2001 and 2002. In late 2008 and 2009 we resurveyed three transects that had high encounter rates in early 2008 and failed to detect any lorises. Local informants reported high hunting pressure during the previous wet season in two of these sites, and a gold mine development was underway in the third site. Urgent actions are required to address these population declines and to assess the conservation status of pygmy lorises throughout eastern Cambodia.

Hiding from the Moonlight: Luminosity and Temperature Affect Activity of Asian Nocturnal Primates in a Highly Seasonal Forest

The effect of moonlight and temperature on activity of slow lorises was previously little known and this knowledge might be useful for understanding many aspects of their behavioural ecology, and developing strategies to monitor and protect populations. In this study we aimed to determine if the activity of the pygmy loris (Nycticebus pygmaeus) is affected by ambient temperature and/or moonlight in a mixed deciduous forest. We radio-collared five females and five males in the Seima Protection Forest, Cambodia, in February to May, 2008 and January to March, 2009 and recorded their behaviour at 5 minutes intervals, totalling 2736 observations. We classified each observation as either inactive (sleeping or alert) or active behaviour (travel, feeding, grooming, or others). Moon luminosity (bright/dark) and ambient temperature were recorded for each observation. The response variable, activity, was binary (active or inactive), and a logit link function was used. Ambient temperature alone did not significantly affect mean activity. Although mean activity was significantly affected by moonlight, the interaction between moonlight and temperature was also significant: on bright nights, studied animals were increasingly more active with higher temperature; and on dark nights they were consistently active regardless of temperature. The most plausible explanation is that on bright cold nights the combined risk of being seen and attacked by predators and heat loss outweigh the benefit of active behaviours.

Habitat Use by the Darling Downs Population of the Grassland Earless Dragon: Implications for Conservation

Abstract A population of the grassland earless dragon (Tympanocryptis pinguicolla) on the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia, had been considered extinct until its recent rediscovery. We determined factors affecting grassland earless dragon abundance and prey availability in 3 habitats. Mean dragon body condition and prey numbers were higher in sorghum than grasslands and grass verges. Poisson regression analyses indicated that the dragon numbers were 10 times higher in sorghum, and that this may result from differences in prey numbers as well as other habitat conditions. Tracking data indicated selection of open versus closed microhabitat. Sorghum planted in rows provided alternating open and closed microhabitats for optimal thermoregulation conditions. Grasslands and grass verges were more uniformly shaded. Of individuals we tracked in the sorghum stubble, 85.7% used litter as overnight refuges. Litter was abundant in sorghum and sparse in grass habitats. The practices of minimum tillage and resting stubble strips possibly mitigate agricultural impacts on dragons and provide continuous access to suitable habitat. Changes in agricultural practices that affect the habitat suitability will potentially have detrimental impacts on the population. Our data suggest that conservation efforts be focused on maintaining suitability of habitats in crop fields. We recommend monitoring dragon abundance at control and trial sites of any new agricultural practices; this will provide opportunity to modify or stop undesirable practices before adoption by farmers. Conservation agencies may use our data as a baseline for monitoring long-term viability of the population.

Sleep patterns, daytime predation, and the evolution of diurnal sleep site selection in lorisiforms

OBJECTIVES Synthesize information on sleep patterns, sleep site use, and daytime predation at sleep sites in lorisiforms of Asia and Africa (10 genera, 36 species), and infer patterns of evolution of sleep site selection. MATERIALS AND METHODS We conducted fieldwork in 12 African and six Asian countries, collecting data on sleep sites, timing of sleep and predation during daytime. We obtained additional information from literature and through correspondence. Using a phylogenetic approach, we established ancestral states of sleep site selection in lorisiforms and traced their evolution. RESULTS The ancestral lorisiform was a fur-clinger and used dense tangles and branches/forks as sleep sites. Use of tree holes and nests as sleep sites emerged ∼22 Mya (range 17-26 Mya) in Africa, and use of bamboo emerged ∼11 (7-14) Mya in Asia and later in Africa. Fur clinging and some sleep sites (e.g., tree holes, nests, but not bamboo or dense tangles) show strong phylogenetic signal. Nests are used by Galagoides, Paragalago, Galago and Otolemur; tree holes by Galago, Paragalago, Sciurocheirus and Perodicticus; tangles by Nycticebus, Loris, Galagoides, Galago, Euoticus, Otolemur, Perodicticus and Arctocebus; all but Sciurocheirus and Otolemur additionally sleep on branches/forks. Daytime predation may affect sleep site selection and sleep patterns in some species of Nycticebus, Galago, Galagoides, Otolemur and Perodicticus. Most lorisiforms enter their sleep sites around sunrise and leave around sunset; several are active during twilight or, briefly, during daytime. CONCLUSION Variations in sleep behavior, sleep patterns and vulnerability to daytime predation provide a window into the variation that was present in sleep in early primates. Overall, lorisiforms use the daytime for sleeping and no species can be classified as cathemeral or polycyclic.