Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-x24gv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-01T08:19:24.229Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The impact of Cyclone Fanele on sifaka body condition and reproduction in the tropical dry forest of western Madagascar

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2011

R. J. Lewis*
Affiliation:
University Station C3200, Department of Anthropology, University of Texas, Austin TX 78712, USA
F. Rakotondranaivo
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Biology, University of Antananarivo, BP 906, 101 Antananarivo, Madagascar
*
1Corresponding author. Email: rjlewis@mail.utexas.edu

Extract

Cyclones have been suggested to play a major role in the evolutionary history of the flora and fauna of Madagascar (Wright 1999). In spite of the proposed significance of cyclonic activity, very little is known about the specific effects of cyclones on Malagasy ecosystems (Birkinshaw & Randrianjanahary 2007). Understanding the effects of these severe natural disturbances requires comparing data collected both before and after the event. Because cyclones are stochastic, researching the influence of cyclones on Madagascar's biodiversity is difficult and opportunities to study their impact on forests are rare. Nevertheless, studies of the impact of cyclones on Malagasy biota are imperative because models of global climate patterns predict that large-scale tropical disturbances will increase in frequency and intensity in the future (Metcalfe et al. 2008).

Type
Short Communication
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

LITERATURE CITED

BEHIE, A. M. & PAVELKA, M. S. M. 2005. The short-term effects of a hurricane on the diet and activity of black howlers (Aloutta pigra) in Monkey River, Belize. Folia Primatologica 76:19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
BERENSTAIN, L. 1986. Responses of long-tailed macaques to drought and fire in eastern Borneo: a preliminary report. Biotropica 18:257262.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
BIRKINSHAW, C. & RANDRIANJANAHARY, M. 2007. The effects of cyclone Hudah on the forest of Masoala Peninsula, Madagascar. Madagascar Conservation and Development 2:1719.Google Scholar
BROCKMAN, D. K. 1994. Reproduction and mating system of Verreaux's sifaka, Propithecus verreauxi, at Beza Mahafaly, Madagascar. Ph.D. dissertation, Yale University, New Haven.Google Scholar
EVERHAM, E. M. & BROKAW, N. V. L. 1996. Forest damage and recovery from catastrophic wind. Botanical Review 62:113185.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
HAMADA, Y., HAYAKAWA, S., SUZUKI, J., WATANABE, K. & OHKURA, S. 2003. Seasonal variation in the body fat of Japanese macaques Macaca fuscata. Mammal Study 28:7988.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
JOHNSON, S. E., INGRALDI, C., RALAINASOLO, F. B., ANDRIAMAHAROA, LUDOVIC, R., BIRKINSHAW, C. A., WRIGHT, P. C. & RATSIMBAZAFY, H. J. in press. Gray-headed lemur (Eulemur cinereiceps) abundance and forest structure dynamics at Manombo, Madagascar. Biotropica.Google Scholar
LEWIS, R. J. 2005. Sex differences in scent-marking in sifaka: mating conflict or male services? American Journal of Physical Anthropology 128:389398.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
LEWIS, R. J. 2009. Chest staining variation as a signal of testosterone levels in male Verreaux's Sifaka. Physiology and Behavior 96:586592.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
LEWIS, R. J. & KAPPELER, P. M. 2005. Seasonality, body condition, and timing of reproduction in Propithecus verreauxi verreauxi. American Journal of Primatology 66:118.Google Scholar
LUGO, A. E. 2008. Visible and invisible effects of hurricanes on forest ecosystems: an international review. Austral Ecology 33:368398.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
METCALFE, D. J., BRADFORD, M. G. & FORD, A. J. 2008. Cyclone damage to tropical rain forests: species- and community-level impacts. Austral Ecology 33:432441.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
NAGY, H. 2007. A preliminary analysis of Verreaux's sifaka habitat in Kirindy Mitea National Park, Madagascar. Master's thesis, Duke University, Durham.Google Scholar
NORSCIA, I., CARRAI, V. & BORGOGNINI-TARLI, S. M. 2006. Influence of dry season and food quality and quantity on behavior and feeding strategy of Propithecus verreauxi in Kirindy, Madagascar. International Journal of Primatology 27:10011022.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O'BRIEN, T. G., KINNAIRD, M. F., NURCAHYO, A., PRASETYNINGRUM, M. & IQBAL, M. 2003. Fire, demography and persistence of siamang (Symphalangus syndactylus: Hylobatidae) in a Sumatran rainforest. Animal Conservation 6:115121.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
PAVELKA, M. S. M. & BEHIE, A. M. 2005. The effect of hurricane Iris on food supply on black howlers (Alouatta pigra) in southern Belize. Biotropica 37:102108.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
PAVELKA, M. S. M. & CHAPMAN, C. A. 2006. Population structure of black howlers (Alouatta pigra) in southern Belize and responses to Hurricane Iris. Pp.143163 in Estrada, A., Garber, P. A., PAVELKA, M. S. M. & LUECKE, L. (eds.). New perspectives on in the study of Mesoamerican primates: distribution, ecology, behavior, and conservation. Springer, New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
PAVELKA, M. S. M., BRUSSELERS, O. T., NOWAK, D. & BEHIE, A. M. 2003. Population reduction and social disorganization in Alouatta pigra following a hurricane. International Journal of Primatology 24:10371055.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
PAVELKA, M. S. M., MCGOOGAN, K. C. & STEFFENS, T. S. 2007. Population size and characteristics of Alouatta pigra before and after a major hurricane. International Journal of Primatology 28:919929.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
RASAMIMANANA, H., RATOVONIRINA, JOLLY, A. & PRIDE, E. 2000. Storm damage at Berenty Reserve. Lemur News 5:78.Google Scholar
RICHARD, A., RAKOTOMANGA, P. & SCHWARTZ., M. 1993. Dispersal by Propithecus verreauxi at Beza Mahafaly, Madagascar: 1984–1991. American Journal of Primatology 30:120.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
RICHARD, A. F. 1974. Patterns of mating in Propithecus verreauxi. Pp. 4974 in Martin, R. D., Walker, A. C. & Doyle, G. (eds.). Prosimian biology. Duckworth, London.Google Scholar
RICHARD, A. F., DEWAR, R. E., SCHWARTZ, M. & RATSIRARSON, J. 2000. Mass change, environmental variability and female fertility in wild Propithecus verreauxi. Journal of Human Evolution 39:381391.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
RICHARD, A. F., DEWAR, R. E., SCHWARTZ, M. & RATSIRARSON, J. 2002. Life in the slow lane? Demography and life histories of male and female sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi verreauxi). Journal of Zoology (London) 256:421436.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
TARNAUD, L. & SIMMEN, B. 2002. A major increase in the population of brown lemurs on Mayotte since the decline reported in 1987. Oryx 36:297300.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
TSUJI, Y. & TAKATSUKI, S. 2008. Effects of a typhoon on foraging behavior and foraging success of Macaca fuscata on Kinkazan Island, Northern Japan. International Journal of Primatology 29:12031217.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
VANDERMEER, J., BRENNER, A. & GRANZOW, DE LACERDA, I. 1998. Growth rates of tree height six years after hurricane damage at four localities in eastern Nicaragua. Biotropica 30:502509.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
VASEY, N., & BORGERSON, C. 2009. Social and ecological factors associated with temporary reproductive collapse in cooperatively breeding red variegated lemurs (Varecia rubra) on the Masoala Peninsula, Madagascar. American Journal of Physical Anthropology Suppl. 48:261.Google Scholar
WAIDE, R. B. 1991. Summary of the response of animal populations to hurricanes in the Caribbean. Biotropica 23:508512.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
WALKER, M. L., SCHWARTZ, S. M., WILSON, M. E. & MUSEY, P. I. 1984. Estimation of body-fat in female rhesus monkeys. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 63:323329.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
WILSON, R. F., GOOSE, M. W. & WILSON, G. W. 2008. Resilience of arboreal folivores to habitat damage by a severe tropical cyclone. Austral Ecology 33:573579.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
WRIGHT, P. C. 1999. Lemur traits and Madagascar ecology: coping with an island environment. Yearbook of Physical Anthropology 42:3172.3.0.CO;2-0>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
WUNDERLE, J. M., LODGE, D. J. & WAIDE, R. B. 1992. Short-term effects of Hurricane Gilbert on terrestrial bird populations on Jamaica. Auk 109:148166.CrossRefGoogle Scholar