Natalie Vasey

Impact of Seasonality and Reproduction on Social Structure, Ranging Patterns, and Fission–Fusion Social Organization in Red Ruffed Lemurs

The red ruffed lemur, Varecia rubra, is a large-bodied, highly frugivorous lemur that gives birth to litters which are initially nested and then later transported orally to hidden, protected arboreal spots where they are periodically left unattended (e.g., Vasey, in press). A major question arises as to how a primate with such an unusual, costly reproductive pattern, involving simultaneous investment in multiple young, has become adapted to a diet that is seasonally scarce and requires relatively great foraging effort (e.g., in terms of time and/or distance traveled). To address this issue, I examine and compare the ranging patterns of female and

A reconstruction of the Vienna skull of Hadropithecus stenognathus

Franz Sikora found the first specimen and type of the recently extinct Hadropithecus stenognathus in Madagascar in 1899 and sent it to Ludwig Lorenz von Liburnau of the Austrian Imperial Academy of Sciences. Later, he sent several more specimens including a subadult skull that was described by Lorenz von Liburnau in 1902. In 2003, some of us excavated at the locality and found more specimens belonging to this species, including much of a subadult skeleton. Two frontal fragments were found, and these, together with most of the postcranial bones, belong to the skull. CT scans of the skull and other jaw fragments were made in Vienna and those of the frontal fragments at Penn State University. The two fragments have been reunited with the skull in silico, and broken parts from one side of the skull have been replaced virtually by mirror-imaged complete parts from the other side. The parts of the jaw of another individual of a slightly younger dental age have also been reconstructed virtually from CT scans with mirror imaging and by using the maxillary teeth and temporomandibular joints as a guide to finish the reconstruction. Apart from forming a virtual skull for biomechanical and systematic analysis, we were also able to make a virtual endocast. Missing anterior pieces were reconstructed by using part of an endocast of the related Archaeolemur majori. The volume is 115 ml. Hadropithecus and Archaeolemur seem to have had relatively large brains compared with the other large-bodied subfossil lemurs.

Description of a new species of subfossil shrew tenrec (Afrosoricida: Tenrecidae: Microgale) from cave deposits in southeastern Madagascar

ABSTRACT A new species of shrew tenrec, Microgale macpheei, is described from subfossil deposits in Andrahomana Cave, extreme southeastern Madagascar. This species is distinguished from all named taxa of Microgale by a variety of osteological, dental, and mensural characters. It is presumed to be the sister taxon to the extant species M. brevicaudata, which is not known to occur in southeastern Madagascar. Although the genus contains well over 20 living species, M. macpheei is the first known extinct shrew tenrec in the Quaternary fauna of Madagascar.

Genetic architecture of two red ruffed lemur (Varecia rubra) populations of Masoala National Park

The current range of the red ruffed lemur (Varecia rubra) population is primarily restricted to forests of the Masoala Peninsula on the northeastern coast of Madagascar. Whereas much of the peninsula is protected as Masoala National Park, parts of the forest are at risk from anthropogenic pressures and habitat fragmentation. We sampled 32 individual red ruffed lemur from two sites: Ambatoledama (DAMA), a narrow forest corridor across an area of degraded habitat connecting larger blocks of forest in the northwestern reaches of the park, and Masiaposa (MAS) forest, a largely pristine forest on the lower western side of the peninsula. Population genetic parameters were estimated for these two populations employing 15 microsatellite loci derived from the V. variegata genome. We found that by exceeding the expected heterozygosity at mutation-drift equilibrium, the DAMA population has undergone a recent population bottleneck. Population structure analysis detected individuals harboring genotypic admixture of the DAMA genetic cluster in the MAS population, suggesting a possibility of unilateral gene flow or movement between these populations.

Coprolites Associated with Archaeolemur Remains in North-Western Madagascar Suggest Dietary Diversity and Cave Use in a Subfossil Prosimian

Subfossil fecal pellets associated with Archaeolemur cf. edwardsi skeletal material from Anjohikely Cave in north-western Madagascar were probably derived from this large extinct lemur. Pellets were photographed, measured, and dissected. One of the pellets dates to 830 ± 60 years BP. Pellets contain a wide variety of items indicative of omnivory, including fibrous fruit exocarps and seeds; bat, rodent, frog, and lizard bone; gastropod shell; and crustacean and arthropod exoskeletons—all within a matrix of comminuted vegetation. Pollen contents from inside intact pellets support other paleoecological evidence that recent feeding had taken place in wooded grassland habitat. This diet is consistent with ethnohistorical data and anatomical studies that indicate hard-object feeding in Archaeolemur. Archaeolemur may have deliberately entered caves to forage, although caves would also have offered water, abundant shade, cool conditions, cryptic sleeping sites, and refuge from predators. Cave-exploring behavior is rare in primates, but consistent with anatomical evidence that Archaeolemur was well adapted for terrestrial locomotion as well as arboreal climbing.

Infant nest and stash sites of variegated lemurs (Varecia rubra): The extended phenotype

Very few primate species give birth to litters and build nests in which to care for them. Those that do are small‐bodied, nocturnal, and solitary. Variegated lemurs are exceptional in that they bear litters in arboreal nests, yet are relatively large‐bodied, day‐active, and gregarious. Furthermore, they raise their young cooperatively and practice absentee parenting; non‐clinging young are transported orally and periodically stashed in arboreal spots that are supportive, sheltered, and usually concealed. Following birth, infant nest and stash trees were mapped, measured, and taxonomically identified in a population of red variegated lemurs in Masoala National Park. About 40 trees were used per litter for nesting and stashing young in adjacent, non‐overlapping core areas within the community. These were the largest trees in the forest, even larger than those used for feeding. Furthermore, most occur in valleys and are laced with lianas, creating sites that buffer young from predation, accidental falls, and to some degree, thermal stress. In combination, the number of nest and stash trees used per litter, their characteristics, and their geo‐spatial arrangement indicate that such sites are both select and limited in the landscape, exposing the dependence of red variegated lemurs on intact forest canopies for raising non‐clinging young within the context of an absentee parenting system. Nest and stash sites are in effect Varecias extended phenotype. Logging of large trees in Madagascars eastern rain forests is considered a major factor resulting in local extinctions of variegated lemurs because they rely heavily upon large, mature trees for fruit. However, this study suggests that removal of large trees may more directly precipitate local extinctions by impeding their ability to reproduce. Long‐term survival of red variegated lemurs will depend upon efforts to end harmful timber extraction in its remaining stronghold, the Masoala Peninsula.