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Over the past decade several studies have reported that the gut microbiomes of mammals with similar dietary niches exhibit similar compositional and functional traits. However, these studies rely heavily on samples from captive individuals and often confound host phylogeny, gut morphology, and diet. To more explicitly test the influence of host dietary niche on the mammalian gut microbiome we use 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and shotgun metagenomics to compare the gut microbiota of 18 species of wild non-human primates classified as either folivores or closely related non-folivores, evenly distributed throughout the primate order and representing a range of gut morphological specializations. While folivory results in some convergent microbial traits, collectively we show that the influence of host phylogeny on both gut microbial composition and function is much stronger than that of host dietary niche. This pattern does not result from differences in host geographic location or actual dietary intake at the time of sampling, but instead appears to result from differences in host physiology. These findings indicate that mammalian gut microbiome plasticity in response to dietary shifts over both the lifespan of an individual host and the evolutionary history of a given host species is constrained by host physiological evolution. Therefore, the gut microbiome cannot be considered separately from host physiology when describing host nutritional strategies and the emergence of host dietary niches.

Introduced species can negatively impact endemic flora and fauna. Studies have primarily utilized camera trap observations and occupancy modelling to better clarify the presence/absence and temporal overlap of endemic and exotic predators. Longitudinal data from field research sites are important as they can provide a finer understanding of predator dynamics and their effects on endemic species. One such site is the Bezà Mahafaly Special Reserve, in southern Madagascar. Protected since the 1970s, the local human population around Bezà Mahafaly Special Reserve has greatly expanded, leading to habitat disturbance in the surrounding forests and increased contact between local wildlife, people and their livestock and dogs. Here we use a combination of scat sampling, field observations of successful and attempted predations, locations of scat samples with identifiable lemur remains, and camera trap data to better assess the predator ecology at Bezà Mahafaly Special Reserve. Our results indicate that forest cats (Felis catus), are effective predators of both adult and infant lemurs and appear to be a constant mammalian predator, utilizing mammal prey more than dogs. Dogs are both predators and scavengers of lemurs. Civets focus on small prey, such as insects and rodents as well as plant material. The fosa, Cryptoprocta ferox, are also present but may not hunt in the area continuously. The killing of an adult ring-tailed lemur by two men from outside the area indicate culturally imposed taboos against lemur killing may no longer be effective given that new arrivals may not share the same local cultural restrictions. Scat sampling of exotic predators is one way to expand our understanding of exotic and endemic predator impact on lemur populations, and long-term studies with multiple assessments of predation can provide a clearer understanding of how non-endemic and endemic predators affect endangered species survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fallback foods are often viewed as central in shaping primate morphology, and influencing adaptive shifts in hominin and other primate evolution. Here we argue that fruit of the tamarind tree (Tamarindus indica) qualifies as a fallback food of ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) at the Beza Mahafaly Special Reserve (BMSR), Madagascar. Contrary to predictions that fallback foods may select for dental and masticatory morphologies adapted to processing these foods, consumption of tamarind fruit by these lemurs leaves a distinct pattern of dental pathology among ring-tailed lemurs at BMSR. Specifically, the physical and mechanical properties of tamarind fruit likely result in a high frequency of severe tooth wear, and subsequent antemortem tooth loss, in this lemur population. This pattern of dental pathology is amplified among lemurs living in disturbed areas at Beza Mahafaly, resulting from a disproportionate emphasis on challenging tamarind fruit, due to few other fruits being available. This is in part caused by a reduction in ground cover and other plants due to livestock grazing. As such, tamarind trees remain one of the few food resources in many areas. Dental pathologies are also associated with the use of a nonendemic leaf resource Argemone mexicana, an important food during the latter part of the dry season when overall food availability is reduced. Such dental pathologies at Beza Mahafaly, resulting from the use or overemphasis of fallback foods for which they are not biologically adapted, indicate that anthropogenic factors must be considered when examining fallback foods. Am J Phys Anthropol 140:671-686, 2009. Inc. KEY WORDS Lemur catta; Beza Mahafaly; dental pathology; tooth wear; conservation DOI 10.1002/ajpa.21128

Severe dental wear and tooth loss is often assumed to impede the processing, breakdown, and energetic conversion of food items, thereby negatively impacting individual health, reproduction, and survival. Ring-tailed lemurs at the Beza Mahafaly Special Reserve demonstrate exceptionally high frequencies of severe dental wear and antemortem tooth loss, yet often survive multiple years with these impairments. To test the hypothesis that these lemurs mitigate tooth loss through behavioral adjustments, we collected 191 h of observational data from 16 focal subjects, eight without tooth loss and eight with between 3% and 44% loss. These data indicate dentally-impaired ring-tailed lemurs show compensatory behaviors consistent with the demands of living in a social group. During early afternoon (12:00-14:30 h) individuals with loss showed trends towards higher frequencies of foraging and grooming, while individuals without loss rested significantly more often. Individuals with > 10% loss (n = 7) showed higher frequencies of feeding, foraging, and grooming, and lower frequencies of resting during this period than individuals with KEY WORDS dental impairment; dental pathology; behavioral adaptation; fallback foods; mammal

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope compositions were analyzed from hair samples of 30 sympatric ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) inhabiting the Beza Mahafaly Special Reserve, Madagascar. All lemurs were known individuals involved in a longitudinal study, which allowed us to explore the degree to which group membership, sex, health status, and migration influenced their stable isotope compositions. The differences in [[delta].sup.13]C and [[delta].sup.15]N values between groups were small ( KEY WORDS isotope ratios; Lemur catta; lemurs; starvation isotope effects

Greater bushbabies, strepsirrhine primates, that are distributed across central, eastern and southern Africa, with northern and eastern South Africa representing the species' most southerly distribution. Greater bushbabies are habitat specialists whose naturally fragmented habitats are getting even more fragmented due to anthropogenic activities. Currently, there is no population genetic data or study published on the species. The aim of our study was to investigate the genetic variation in a thick-tailed bushbaby, Otolemur crassicaudatus, population in the Soutpansberg mountain range, Limpopo Province, South Africa. Four mitochondrial regions, ranging from highly conserved to highly variable, were sequenced from 47 individuals. The sequences were aligned and genetic diversity, structure, as well as demographic analyses were performed. Low genetic diversity (π = 0.0007–0.0038 in coding regions and π = 0.0127 in non-coding region; Hd = 0.166–0.569 in coding regions and Hd = 0.584 in non-coding region) and sub-structuring (H = 2–3 in coding regions and H = 4 in non-coding region) was observed with two divergent haplogroups (haplotype pairwise distance = 3–5 in coding region and 6–10 in non-coding region) being identified. This suggests the population may have experienced fixation of mitochondrial haplotypes due to limited female immigration, which is consistent with philopatric species, that alternative haplotypes are not native to this population, and that there may be male mobility from adjacent populations. This study provides the first detailed insights into the mitochondrial genetic diversity of a continental African strepsirrhine primate and demonstrates the utility of mitochondrial DNA in intraspecific genetic population analyses of these primates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study to examine the impact of dietary acid on tooth wear, using data from the salivary pH from both the species of lemurs is conducted. Findings suggest that salivary pH changes between lemur species, corresponding to broad dietary categories.

Coprophagy means the consumption of fecal matter by certain mammal species. The article discusses a study made on the coprophagy by wild ring-tailed lemurs in Madagascar.

This study reports data on 17 craniodental body mass estimators in a sample (n = 38) of dwarf galagos (Galagoides). Correlation coefficients (r) range from a high of 0.64 for bizygomatic breadth and body mass to a low of 0.10 for [M.sub.3] length and body mass. Of the 17 variables studied, 7 exhibit significant (P [is less than] 0.05) correlation coefficients, with 5 of the 7 being multitooth (i.e., tooth row) or cranial variables. In contrast to the correlation coefficients of greater than 0.90 (e.g., Martin [1980] Z Morphol Anthropol 71:115-124; Steudel [1981] Int J Primatol 2:81-90; Gingerich et al. [1982] Am J Phys Anthropol 58:81-100; Conroy [1987] Int J Primatol 8:115-137) published for higher taxonomic level analyses (i.e., all-primate or prosimian) for many of the same variables studied here, the current data indicate weaker relationships when analyzed at the generic level. Possible explanations for the contrast in correlation coefficients between the current and many previous studies include the following: 1) individual variation due to a geographically dispersed sample, 2) individual body mass fluctuations due to seasonal food availability, and 3) individual variation within the sample due to variation in life-history parameters. Because the overall size range of the individuals in a specific or generic level analysis is smaller than that in an ordinal or subordinal sample, the individual variation normally masked when using species means represents a larger proportion of the total variation in a more limited sample. This may then be a cause of these weaker correlations. Am J Phys Anthropol 115:187-190, 2001. [C] 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc. KEY WORDS dwarf galagos; body mass estimation; individual variation