12 - strepsirrhines Flashcards

1
Q

misconceptions about strepsirrhines

A

Often portrayed inappropriately as ‘basal’,
‘primitive’ or inferior primates
- anthropocentrism
- smaller and less complex brains than haplorrhines

Hinders understanding of strepsirrhine, primate,
and mammalian evolution
- e.g., in the lemurs, natural selection has driven an
isolated population of primates to diversify to fill
a rich variety of ecological niches

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

strepsirrhines in numbers

A

1/3 of all living primates

lemuriformes the largest group of strepsirrhines
now -110 species of living lemur, in 5 families and 15 genera

103 threatened species, 33 critically endangered

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

evolutionary history

A

Lemurs rafted from Africa
to Madagascar

Lorises split from African
galagos around 40 mya
and later colonised Asia

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

adaptive radiation

A

A single species rapidly diversifies into many new species

Evolution of new morphological and physiological traits that allow
organisms to exploit different environments

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

bamboo and bamboo lemurs

A

Abundant food source, little competition. Contains cyanogenic glycosides, which release hydrogen cyanide when chewed (bitter, and toxic)

Greater bamboo lemur (CR) eats mature stalks
Up to 90% of diet of golden bamboo lemur
(CR) is tender shoots (even more cyanide!

Craniodental adaptations to process the bamboo mechanically
As yet unknown digestive/ metabolism system
adaptations to process large daily doses of cyanide

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

aye-aye

A

Largest nocturnal primate
Percussive foraging

Only extant member of the genus Daubentonia and family Daubentoniidae

Endangered

Giant aye-aye extinct <1000 ya

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

lucky lemurs

A
  • no other tree dwelling mammals on Madagascar
  • few predators
    -few competitors
  • 2? successful colonisation events
  • fill niches
  • different to mainland africa
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

extant lemur ecology

A
  • Madagascar
  • Wide range of habitats
  • Except central plateau (mostly treeless)
  • Rivers divide island into
    smaller biogeographic
    regions
  • natural barriers for range
    expansions of many species?
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

lemur ranges vary

A

some species e.g. grey mouse lemur cover almost the length of island

others have some of the smallest known ranges among living primates

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

lorisformes

A

africa and asia -10% living primates

taxonomy, evolutionary history, and biogeography poorly understood

two families:
galagidae
lorisdae

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

galagidae

A
  • galagos or bushbabies
  • 6 genera
  • sub-Saharan Africa
  • west African rainforest to South African
    acacia woodlands
  • True diversity unknown
  • New taxa continue to be discovered
  • Precise range of individual taxa and their
    conservation status unclear
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

lorisdae

A

5 genera, 16 species
Angwantibos and pottos in Africa
slender, slow and pygmy slow lorises in Asia

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

strepsirrhine body size

A

smallest living primate (mouse lemur 30g) to some of the largest known primates (>150kg)

largest extant strepsirrhines <10kg

galagids and lorisids 50-1500g

all lemurs sexually monomorphic or females slightly heavier. lorisforms males 5-20% heavier than females

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

tree living

A
  • all lemurs primarily arboreal
  • locomotor specialisation like vertical clinging and leaping in Indriidae
  • only ring-tailed lemur and some Eulemur spend lots of time on the ground
  • all lorisforms exclusively arboreal
    -some galagos show pronounced leaping
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

what do strepsirrhines eat (1)

A

Dietary diversity greater than in haplorrhines

Extreme specialists and many generalists:

Some lorises almost exclusively
faunivorous

Fork-marked lemurs specialise on tree
gum and sap (>85% of feeding time)

Some sportive lemurs and avahis spend up to 100% of their feeding time on leaves,
buds, and flowers

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

what do strepsirrhines eat? (2)

A

Gentle lemurs (Hapalemur and Prolemur) are bamboo specialists

Ruffed lemurs (Varecia) almost exclusively
frugivorous

All other species combine these majorcomponents regularly or seasonally

Distribution and availability of different types of food have important implications
for ranging patterns, competitive regimes, and life history adaptations

17
Q

energy saving primates

A

lemurs spend day in tree holes,
some lemurs (several species of cheirogaleus and microcebus as well as allocebus) hibernate for up to 7 months during the barren dry season

18
Q

life history

19
Q

what kills strepsirrhines

A

Predators of lemurs
- Raptors (owls, hawks, and eagles), snakes, carnivores
(mongoose, fossa), introduced carnivores (dogs and cats)
- Much larger predators went extinct along with larger subfossil
lemurs

Predation rates on lemurs among highest in primates
- Relatively small
- Relative lack of other mammalian prey on Madagascar

Predators of lorisiforms
- snakes, viverrids, and other primates (orangutans, chimpanzees)

Pathogens

Intrinsic mortality
- Starvation, disease
- Mating season for males in some species

20
Q

activity and vision

A

All lorises and galagos nocturnal
Most extant lemurs nocturnal

Diurnal activity evolved independently 2-4 times in
lemurs

Hapalemur and Eulemur are cathemeral
- irregular bursts of activity around 24-h cycle

Trichromatic colour vision in some diurnal lemurs;
maybe some cathemeral lemurs

Galagos have monochromatic vision

Some variation in colour vision reported for lorises

21
Q

evolution of social systems

A

Strepsirrhines show diversity of social systems

Almost all forms found in haplorrhines

Long independent evolution

Similarities and dissimilarities with
anthropoids -> general principles of primate social evolution

22
Q

social organisation

A

size composition, cohesion and genetic structure of a social unit:
- solitary
- pair
- group

all 3 occur in strepsirrhines

23
Q

solitary species

A
  • up to 1/3 primate species
  • ancestral for all strepsirrhines
  • most lorisforms
  • often association with nocturnal activity
  • behavioural ecology not as studied
24
Q

solitary not asocial

A
  • mothers associate with their offspring
  • some individuals sleep in groups
  • widespread communication among neighbours by sounds and odours
  • individuals meet conspecifics regularly
  • highly complex lifestyle and challenging to study
25
Q

the myth of the uniform solitary primate

A

Rich intra- and inter-specific variation in social organisation of solitary primates

Differences in sleeping group composition and
interactions

Theoretical and empirical work has focussed on
why most primates live in groups

Selective pressures favouring solitary life remain
unclear

Benefits of feeding on non-shareable resources
outweigh antipredator benefit of being
gregarious?

26
Q

pair living

A
  • smallest permanent cohesive social units
  • rare in mammals
  • twice as common in primates (about 10%) than in other mammals
  • up to 1/3 lemur species
  • evolved independetly in several families and independent of activity period or body size
27
Q

pair living lemurs

A
  • some pairs rarely interact or sleep together
  • use vocal duetting to synchronise activities at a distance
  • home ranges of pair partners coincide
  • both sexes defend the same home range
  • minimal overlap with ranges of other adults
28
Q

group living

A

permanent cohesive groups with 3+ adults that coordinate their activities closely

  • evolved at least twice in lemurs (in lumeridae and indriidae)
  • no group-living lorises and galagos
  • group-living lemurs among largest extant species
  • all at least partially diurnal
29
Q

group living lemurs vs group living haplorrhines

A
  1. lemur groups smaller, controlling for body size and phylogeny
  2. relatively even adult sex ratios
  3. some types of social organisation found in haplorrhines have not evolved in lemurs
30
Q

mating system

A

Pattern of observed mating interactions

Reproductive system—who reproduces with whom—can only be determined with genetic paternity analyses

Male reproductive strategies determined by distribution of receptive females in space and time

various mating systems in strepsirrhines

31
Q

mating systems

32
Q

social structure

A

nature and patterning of interactions between pairs of individuals.
nature frequency and intensity of affiliative and agonistic interactions
-> relationships

social structures of nocturnal strepsirrhines poorly understood

33
Q

dominance

A

competition for resources favours dominance relationships when conscpecifics interact regularly, one individual consistency shows submissive behaviour towards the other which reduces probability of costly fighting.
leads to dominance hierarchy at group level

34
Q

dominance examples/not examples

A

ring tailed lemurs form largest groups, with linear hierarchies, stable over several years among females

red fronted lemurs - most dyads do not maintain dominance relations; no clear hierarchy at group level

sifakas - dominance relations exist but low interaction rates make them difficult to define

35
Q

male-female relationships

A

Widespread female dominance over males

All adult females consistently elicit submissive behaviour from all adult males in dyadic interactions in all
behavioural contexts

Facilitated by lack of sexual size dimorphism

Not found in other primates
Rare in other mammals
Remains unexplained!