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Environmental and phylogenetic correlates of Eulemur behavior and ecology (Primates: Lemuridae)

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Abstract

The extent of diversity within closely related taxa may be a function of their shared evolutionary history or of selective forces causing adaptive changes. Examining variation among taxa within a single genus may help to identify flexibility in trait variation because recently diverged populations are more likely living in the environment of adaptation. This study examines correlates of diversity in Eulemur, a genus that has a wide distribution in a variety of habitat types throughout Madagascar. Previously published data were gathered from 11 long-term studies of Eulemur populations. Variables were categorized into multiple datasets: (1) environmental characteristics, (2) social organization, and (3) ecology, which included subsets for ranging behavior, diet, and activity budget. Molecular phylogenies from the literature were used to create the fourth and final dataset, a dissimilarity matrix of evolutionary distance among the 12 species and subspecies. Principal components and cluster analyses were implemented to examine the overall ecological similarity among Eulemur populations and to determine which variables contribute most to the variation among taxa. Partial Mantel tests were conducted to test for correlations among the dataset matrices. The results suggest ecological flexibility for the genus, in particular, populations in similar environments displayed similar activity patterns. In contrast, social organization showed no relationship with environment but was correlated with phylogenetic distance among populations. While Eulemur seems to demonstrate some flexibility for ecological adaptations, characteristics related to group size and sex ratio more closely track phylogeny and thus may be less flexible.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to sincerely thank Julia Ostner, Andreas Koenig, Carola Borries, John Fleagle, Charlie Janson, Pat Wright, Steig Johnson, William Jungers, and Wendy Erb for their insightful discussion and advice. We are grateful to Deborah Curtis, Giuseppe Donati, Ben Freed, Jayne Gerson, Julia Ostner, Deborah Overdorff, Michelle Rasmussen, and Natalie Vasey for their generous help, providing additional data from their study populations, and to Jennifer Pastorini for her assistance with the molecular data. Julia Ostner, Andreas Koenig, John Fleagle, and Carola Borries provided constructive comments on an earlier version of this manuscript. Also, we would like to thank Charles Nunn and two anonymous reviewers for their very helpful comments that strengthened this manuscript. JMK was supported by an NSF Dissertation Improvement grant (BCS-0452814) while conducting this research.

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  1. Interdepartmental Doctoral Program in Anthropological Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, 11794-4364, USA

    Kerry Ossi & Jason M. Kamilar

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Ossi, K., Kamilar, J.M. Environmental and phylogenetic correlates of Eulemur behavior and ecology (Primates: Lemuridae). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 61, 53–64 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-006-0236-7

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