scholarly journals A 24-Year Record of Female Reproductive Dynamics in Two Sympatric Mouse Lemur Species in Northwestern Madagascar

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ute Radespiel ◽  
Romule Rakotondravony ◽  
Solofonirina Rasoloharijaona ◽  
Blanchard Randrianambinina
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Species Differences ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Reproductive Period ◽  
Mouse Lemur ◽  
Reproductive Seasonality ◽  
Closely Related Species ◽  
Reproductive Synchrony ◽  
Favorable Conditions ◽  
Lemur Species

AbstractSeasonal reproduction is widespread among primates but the degree of reproductive synchrony and plasticity can vary, even between closely related species. This study compares the dynamics of female reproductive seasonality in two mouse lemur species, Microcebus murinus and M. ravelobensis, in Ankarafantsika National Park, Madagascar, across 24 years. We collected 4321 records of female reproductive state from 1033 individual females (319 M. murinus, 714 M. ravelobensis). The analyses revealed disparate reproductive schedules: While female M. murinus showed high degrees of reproductive synchrony throughout all years, leading to the production of two successive litters, the seasonal onset of estrus (= reproductive activation) in female M. ravelobensis was more flexible than in M. murinus, starting 2-4 weeks earlier, varying by up to 4 weeks between years, and being less synchronized. M. ravelobensis females became reproductively active later in years with more rainfall, in particular rain in February, but the timing of reproductive activation was not related to differences in temperatures. The likelihood of early conception was significantly lower in M. ravelobensis than in M. murinus. This was partly due to delayed reproductive activation in young animals, and a lower likelihood of early conception for females with low body mass in M. ravelobensis. Our results suggest high, adaptive reproductive plasticity in M. ravelobensis that may enable individuals to respond flexibly to yearly environmental changes and expand the reproductive period under favorable conditions. These species differences in reproductive schedules may be the result of the divergent evolutionary histories of the two mouse lemur species in different parts of Madagascar.

scholarly journals Linking cognition to ecology in wild sympatric mouse lemur species

2021 ◽  
Vol 288 (1963) ◽  
Author(s):  
Johanna Henke-von der Malsburg ◽  
Peter M. Kappeler ◽  
Claudia Fichtel
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Ecological Factors ◽  
Mouse Lemur ◽  
Cognitive Test ◽  
Ecological Adaptations ◽  
Mouse Lemurs ◽  
Lemur Species

Cognitive abilities covary with both social and ecological factors across animal taxa. Ecological generalists have been attributed with enhanced cognitive abilities, but which specific ecological factors may have shaped the evolution of which specific cognitive abilities remains poorly known. To explore these links, we applied a cognitive test battery (two personality, ten cognitive tests; n = 1104 tests) to wild individuals of two sympatric mouse lemur species ( n = 120 Microcebus murinus, n = 34 M. berthae ) varying in ecological adaptations but sharing key features of their social systems. The habitat and dietary generalist grey mouse lemurs were more innovative and exhibited better spatial learning abilities; a cognitive advantage in responding adaptively to dynamic environmental conditions. The more specialized Madame Berthe's mouse lemurs were faster in learning associative reward contingencies, providing relative advantages in stable environmental conditions. Hence, our study revealed key cognitive correlates of ecological adaptations and indicates potential cognitive constraints of specialists that may help explain why they face a greater extinction risk in the context of current environmental changes.

scholarly journals Phlebotomine Sand Fly Fauna andLeishmaniaInfection in the Vicinity of the Serra do Cipó National Park, a Natural Brazilian Heritage Site

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosana Silva Lana ◽  
Érika Monteiro Michalsky ◽  
Consuelo Latorre Fortes-Dias ◽  
João Carlos França-Silva ◽  
Fabiana de Oliveira Lara-Silva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Sand Fly ◽  
Sand Flies ◽  
Local Data ◽  
Phlebotomine Sand Flies ◽  
Serra Do Cipó ◽  
Heritage Site ◽  
One Year ◽  
The One ◽  
Favorable Conditions

In the New World, the leishmaniases are primarily transmitted to humans through the bites ofLeishmania-infectedLutzomyia(Diptera: Psychodidae) phlebotomine sand flies. Any or both of two basic clinical forms of these diseases are endemic to several cities in Brazil—the American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) and the American visceral leishmaniasis (AVL). The present study was conducted in the urban area of a small-sized Brazilian municipality (Jaboticatubas), in which three cases of AVL and nine of ACL have been reported in the last five years. Jaboticatubas is an important tourism hub, as it includes a major part of the Serra do Cipó National Park. Currently, no local data is available on the entomological fauna or circulatingLeishmania. During the one-year period of this study, we captured 3,104 phlebotomine sand flies belonging to sixteenLutzomyiaspecies. In addition to identifying incriminated or suspected vectors of ACL with DNA of the etiological agent of AVL and vice versa, we also detectedLeishmaniaDNA in unexpectedLutzomyiaspecies. The expressive presence of vectors and naturalLeishmaniainfection indicates favorable conditions for the spreading of leishmaniases in the vicinity of the Serra do Cipó National Park.

scholarly journals A successful case of biological invasion: the fish Cichla piquiti, an Amazonian species introduced into the Pantanal, Brazil

2008 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 799-805 ◽  
Author(s):  
EK. Resende ◽  
DKS. Marques ◽  
LKSG. Ferreira
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Reproductive Period ◽  
Distribution Area ◽  
Left Bank ◽  
Amazonian Fish ◽  
Paraguay River ◽  
Turbid Waters ◽  
Successful Case ◽  
The Right ◽  
Flooded Areas

The "tucunaré", Cichla piquiti, an exotic Amazonian fish has become established along the left bank of the Paraguay River in the Pantanal. It was introduced by escaping from culture ponds in the Upper Piquiri River and spread downstream, along the lateral flooded areas of that river, continuing through the clear waters of the left bank of the Paraguay River and reaching south as far as the Paraguai Mirim and Negrinho rivers. Adult spawners have been found in the region, meaning that it is a self-sustained population. Reproduction occurs in the period of low waters. They were found feeding on fishes of lentic environments belonging to the families Characidae, Cichlidae and Loricariidae. Until the end of 2004, its distribution was restricted to the left bank of the Paraguay River, but in March 2005, some specimens were found on the right bank, raising a question for the future: what will be the distribution area of the tucunaré in the Pantanal? Information about its dispersion is increasing: it is known to be in the Tuiuiú Lake, Pantanal National Park and in the Bolivian Pantanal, all of them on the right bank of the Paraguay River. The hypothesis that the "tucunaré" could not cross turbid waters, such as in the Paraguay River, was refuted by these recent findings. Possibly, the tucunaré's capacity to lay more than one batch of eggs in a reproductive period, as well as its care of eggs and young, lead them to establish themselves successfully in new environments, as has been observed in the Pantanal and other localities.

scholarly journals The effects of a national highway on the Endangered golden-brown mouse lemur Microcebus ravelobensis in Ankarafantsika National Park, Madagascar

Oryx ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 53 (4) ◽  
pp. 727-731 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malcolm S. Ramsay ◽  
Andriamahery Razafindrakoto ◽  
Shawn M. Lehman
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Mouse Lemur ◽  
Population Subdivision ◽  
Empirical Testing ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
North West ◽  
Mouse Lemurs ◽  
Interior Forest ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Dispersal Events

AbstractAlthough roads are often assumed to be barriers to the dispersal of arboreal species, there has been little empirical testing of this assumption. If arboreal animals are unable to cross roads, population subdivision may occur, or resources may become inaccessible. We tested the hypothesis that Route Nationale 4 (RN4), a paved highway, was a barrier to movement and dispersal of the Endangered golden-brown mouse lemur Microcebus ravelobensis in Ankarafantsika National Park, in north-west Madagascar. During June–August 2015 we conducted a capture–mark–recapture study at three sites: two adjacent to RN4 and one within intact forest without a potential barrier. During 2,294 trap nights we captured 120 golden-brown mouse lemurs 1,032 times. In roadside habitats we captured significantly more males than females, whereas the opposite was the case in interior forest habitat. We detected eighteen crossings of highway transects by nine individuals; however, all potential dispersal events involved males. In roadside habitat, movement was significantly inhibited in both males and females. We present some of the first data on the effects of roads on movement patterns in arboreal Malagasy mammals, showing species- and sex-biased effects of roads as dispersal barriers. Our findings indicate that roads may not be complete barriers to dispersal in lemurs. We recommend that conservation managers and scientists examine explicitly the effects of roads and natural arboreal bridges in Madagascar in future studies.

scholarly journals RADseq data reveal a lack of admixture in a mouse lemur contact zone contrary to previous microsatellite results

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jelmer Wijtze Poelstra ◽  
B. Karina Montero ◽  
Jan Lüdemann ◽  
Ziheng Yang ◽  
S. Jacques Rakotondranary ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Flow ◽  
Contact Zone ◽  
Mouse Lemur ◽  
Biological Processes ◽  
Microsatellite Data ◽  
Ancestral Gene ◽  
Mouse Lemurs ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Future Work ◽  
Lemur Species

Despite being one of the most fundamental biological processes, the process of speciation remains poorly understood in many groups of organisms. Mouse lemurs are a species-rich genus of small primates endemic to Madagascar, whose diversity has only recently been uncovered using genetic data and is primarily found among morphologically cryptic, allopatric populations. To assess to what extent described species represent reproductively isolated entities, studies are needed in areas where mouse lemur taxa come into contact. Hybridization has previously been reported in a contact zone between two closely related mouse lemur species (Microcebus murinus and M. griseorufus) based on microsatellite data. Here, we revisit this system using RADseq data for populations in, near, and far from the contact zone, including many of the individuals that had previously been identified as hybrids. Surprisingly, we find no evidence for admixed nuclear ancestry in any of the individuals. Re-analyses of microsatellite data and simulations suggest that previously inferred hybrids were false positives and that the program NewHybrids can be particularly sensitive to erroneously inferring hybrid ancestry. Using coalescent-bases analyses, we also show an overall lack of recent gene flow between the two species, and low levels of ancestral gene flow. Combined with evidence for local syntopic occurrence, these data indicate that M. murinus and M. griseorufus are reproductively isolated. Finally, we estimate that they diverged less than a million years ago, suggesting that completion of speciation is relatively rapid in mouse lemurs. Future work should focus on the underpinnings of reproductive isolation in this cryptic primate radiation, which are mostly unknown. Our study also provides a cautionary tale for the inference of hybridization with microsatellite data.

The 2018 heatwave and its implications on ozone induced damage on vegetation in a subarctic climate

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefanie Falk ◽  
Ane Victoria Vollsnes ◽  
Lisa Emberson ◽  
Connie O'Neill ◽  
Aud Else Berglen Eriksen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Damage Assessment ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
Arctic Climate ◽  
Test Case ◽  
Future Scenario ◽  
Ozone Concentrations ◽  
Subarctic Climate ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Favorable Conditions

<p>An increased occurrence of persistent heatwaves, as one possible future scenario, generates favorable conditions for the formation of ambient air ozone. Vegetation highly specialized to sub-arctic climate is vulnerable to rapid environmental changes inflicted by global warming and might become more susceptible to ozone in the future. Over large parts of Europe the summer 2018 had been extraordinarily hot and dry and caused large wildfires in northern Sweden in particular. This can be regarded as a test case for such a future scenario. In both 2018 and 2019, we have monitored ambient air ozone concentrations at the Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO) Environment Centre Svanhovd in Northern Norway. Due to<br>data acquisition problems, ozone concentrations for two weeks in July 2018 were missing from our record. We present a reconstruction based on probability density function with respect to the Swedish and Finnish atmospheric monitoring sites in the region. Over all, ozone concentrations did not differ significantly between the two years. While temperatures and global irradiance diverged significantly from multi annual mean, precipitation varied only to some extend. Coincidentally, we have observed ozone-induced visible injuries on clovers in the ozone garden at Svanhovd in 2018, but not in 2019. We investigate the difference in uptake of ozone using the DO3SE model, with respect to the typical vegetation (e.g., birch and conifers) at<br>the location. We assess whether critical levels on POD1 for these species were breached. We find that an unadjusted transfer of currently used standard parameters and methodes on ozone damage assessment (IPC Mapping Manual) to vegetation in the subarctics will result in an missinterpretation of POD1 values.</p>

Paleoenvironmental reconstruction of the central Levantine Corridor during the Pliocene: insights from lacustrine settings 

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Greenlee ◽  
Silas Dean ◽  
Nicolas Waldmann
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Data Science ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Laser Diffraction ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Paleoenvironmental Reconstruction ◽  
Cosmogenic Isotopes ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Geochemical Proxies ◽  
Favorable Conditions

<p>This study aims to reconstruct the paleoenvironmental and climatic conditions affecting the Levantine corridor during the early Pliocene. For the purpose of this study, a ~20 m continuous core sequence was retrieved out of the ~200 m long, tilted Erk el Ahmar sequence previously dated by cosmogenic isotopes to ~3.5 Ma. The record include intercalating units consisting of sands, silts, and clays that were sampled in high resolution in order to analyze a variety of sedimentological and geochemical proxies of past climate and environmental changes. We present new preliminary, high-resolution sedimentological (laser diffraction granulometry), petrophysical (magnetic susceptibility) and compositional (X-ray fluorescence) data along with accompanying statistical analysis performed with an advanced suite of data-science tools. These results reveal new cycles of environmental change in the area, which appears to be orbitally controlled, and include dramatic changes also indicated by discrete strata of fossil fragments. Moreover, cycles of deposition can also provide hints on the major hydrological controlling mechanisms. This project provides new light into favorable conditions for the subsistence of perennial lake environments in the Levantine Corridor, which in turn may have facilitated faunal migration between Africa and Eurasia.</p>

A new species of Gomesa (Oncidiinae, Orchidaceae) from inselbergs in Brazilian caatinga: morphological and karyological evidence

Phytotaxa ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 374 (2) ◽  
pp. 147 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOEL M. P. CORDEIRO ◽  
FELIPE NOLLET ◽  
MARIA TERESA BURIL ◽  
MARK W. CHASE ◽  
LEONARDO P. FELIX
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Chromosome Number ◽  
Geographical Distribution ◽  
Related Species ◽  
Species Differences ◽  
Flower Morphology ◽  
Closely Related Species ◽  
Restricted Distribution ◽  
A New Species

We describe a new species of Gomesa (Oncidiinae, Orchidaceae), Gomesa caatingana, with restricted distribution on caatinga inselbergs in Paraíba and Pernambuco States, Brazil. Morphological and karyological characters of the new species were compared with those of Gomesa flexuosa, which is morphologically the most closely related species. Differences in geographical distribution, habit, flower morphology and chromosome number support description of this new species.

Sustainable Management of Bannerghatta National Park, India, with the Insights in Land Cover Dynamics

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 118-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. V. Ramachandra ◽  
Bharath Setturu
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
National Parks ◽  
Sustainable Management ◽  
National Park ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Buffer Zone ◽  
Change Analysis ◽  
Rapid Economic Growth

The ecosystem of health and natural resource management is influenced by the social, political, economic system and institutional framework in a region. Rapid economic growth in Bangalore and its environs in recent decades has resulted in environmental changes in Bannerghatta National Park (BNP) and its buffer (of 5 km). Land use land cover (LULC) change analysis with a modelling technique such as cellular automata (CA)-Markov was used for quantitatively exploring forest cover transitions. The analysis of LULC dynamics has revealed loss of vegetation cover from 85.78 per cent to 66.37 per cent (1973–2015) and severe environmental stress. The region has lost moist deciduous cover, from 26.1 per cent to 13.8 per cent, and witnessed an increase in horticulture, from 8.5 per cent to 11 per cent (1973–2015). The visualization of likely land use in 2027 indicates the loss of forest cover from 41.38 per cent to 35.59 per cent with an increase in urban area from 4.49 per cent to 9.62 per cent (with new residential and commercial layouts in the buffer zone of BNP in violation of the eco-sensitive zone norms as per Section 5(1) of Environment Protection Act 1986). The study provides insights for developing an appropriate planning framework towards conservation and the sustainable management of ecologically sensitive national parks.

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