Zoo_Biofacts,_Carts,_Lemur

Question 1

Q: Taxonomic classification of lemurs

Answer 1

Kingdom - Animalia
Phylum - Chordata
Subphylum - Vertebrata
Class - Mammalia
Order - Primates
Family - Strepsirrhini (wet-nosed primates)
Infraorder - Lemuriformes (also includes bushbabies, pottos, and lorises)
Superfamily - Lemuroidea

Question 2

Q: Where do lemurs live?

Answer 2

All Lemurs are endemic to the island continent of Madagascar.

Question 3

Q: How far away is Madagascar?

Answer 3

It’s almost at the antipode of San Francisco (opposite side of Earth; as far away as you can be).
If you dug a hole straight down, you’d come out south-east of Madagascar.
Over 11,000 miles away.

Question 4

Q: What is the name of our lemur enclosure?

Answer 4

The Lipman Family Lemur Forest

Question 5

Q: Which lemurs can be seen at the SFZG? Conservation status and wild population?

Answer 5

(updated 5/6/2024)
Lemur forest houses 7 lemur species:
-Red-ruffed lemurs (CR; < 1,000)
-Blue-eyed black lemurs (CR; < 7,000)
-Black and white ruffed lemurs (CR; < 10,000)
-Ring-tailed lemurs (EN; < 3,000)
-Crowned lemurs (EN; < 10,000 in 2004)
-Red-bellied lemurs (VU)
-Red-fronted lemurs (VU)
In separate enclosure:
-Coquerel’s Sifaka (CR; 50,000-200,000?)

Question 6

Q: How many lemur species are there?

Answer 6

Over 100, and more are being discovered.

Question 7

Q: Have any lemur species gone extinct due to humans?

Answer 7

Yes.
Many have been hunted to extinction.
E.g.: Archaeoindris. Giant, gorilla-sized lemur that became extinct about 350 BC.

Question 8

Q: Lemur physical adaptations (head)

Answer 8

Eyes
-Relatively large eyes that point forward, allowing stereoscopic vision, though the orbits do not face fully forward like those of monkeys.
-Most have tapetum lucidum (reflective layer behind the retina to improve low light vision)
-No color vision.
Nose:
-Excellent sense of smell, facilitated by their elongated snout, “wet nose,” and relatively large olfactory lobes.
-Wet
-Hairless
-Curved nostrils
-Jacobson’s organ (VMO)
-Wet nose is useful for perception of direction and for sensing pheromones; sensitive cold receptors in skin detect the place where the nose is cooled the most and this indicates the direction of a particular smell or odor.
-(Nose is fused with upper lip, which results in a face with a limited range of expression.)
Mouth:
-“Tooth comb” composed of six of their lower front teeth, (all four lower incisors and the two narrow, elongated canines) for grooming. Fruit-eating Lemurs may also tooth comb to pick out seeds from fruit. Also used to scrape resin/gum from tree bark.
-Two tongues. Second, little tongue is made cartilage, located beneath the regular tongue, used to clean hairs from between the teeth of the tooth comb.
-Gap between the upper incisors allows more efficient transfer of pheromones from moist nose to the Jacobson organ.
-Lower jaw is unfused with the two pieces held together by a ligament.
Other:
-Mobile, sensory whiskers on face enhance tactile ability.

Question 9

Q: Lemur physical adaptations (excluding head)

Answer 9

Limbs:
-Grooming claw on second digit of each foot for scratching.
-Grasping hands and feet have semi-opposable thumbs and toes. Big toe of hind foot is widely separated from other toes allowing for secure grip.
-Hind limbs are longer than forelimbs, providing a powerful launch when jumping through the trees.
Other:
-Thick fur of most lemur species sheds water, helping protect from rain
-Most have long tails for balance.

Question 10

Q: Reasons for great diversity of lemurs?

Answer 10

Isolation of population. No competition from monkeys and apes + few predators.

Question 11

Q: Lemur niche, behavior (overview)

Answer 11

Tend to be diurnal.
Tend to eat fruits, leaves, and other edible plant materials.
Most are arboreal, spend most time at top of rainforest canopy or in forest midlevel. An exception is the ring-tailed lemur, which spends most of its time on the ground.
Live in small social groups where the female is dominant (in most species) and have group hierarchy.

Question 12

Q: Example of lemur that doesn’t live in the rainforest?

Answer 12

Ring-tailed Lemurs live in scrub forests and spend more time on the ground.

Question 13

Q: Lemur communication?

Answer 13

-Lemurs are generally the most social of the Strepsirrhini and communicate more with scents and vocalizations than with visual signals.
-Scent marking is an important behavior in all species.
-Glands on chest, wrists, and anal area produce strong scents used for marking troop territories and communication with troop members.
–Stink fights!*
-Tail plays a significant role in signaling both visually and by wafting pheromones.
-Black and white ruffed lemurs make very loud and dramatic sounds. The most characteristic calls are an intense roar of alarm and a powerful plaintive-sounding call for territorial expression, followed by loud, rather birdlike clucks.
(“A stink fight occurs when a male who is feeling threatened secretes a clear liquid through the glands on his wrists. He rubs his tail between his wrists and then proceeds to wave his tail through the air to distribute the smell. They will continue with this behavior until one lemur decides to give up and run away. Luckily for us, research hasn’t shown if the odor can be detected by the human nose.” - Samantha L., keeper at Zoo Atlanta.)

Question 14

Q: Lemur social behavior?

Answer 14

-Females are dominant in lemur social groupings. (Exception: red-fronted brown lemur.)
-Reciprocal grooming is a socializing pastime in Lemur troops. (see grooming card)
-Distinct breeding period (rather than individual cycles): Each of the species is somewhat different. Some last less than three weeks.
-Typically give birth to single baby, but ruffed lemurs have litters, usually consisting of 2-4 offspring.
(also see communication card)

Question 15

Q: Lemur grooming (adaptations and purpose)

Answer 15

Lemurs have flat nails except for a grooming claw on second toe.
Lower incisors form a dental comb used in grooming and for scraping bark in lemurs whose diet includes barks and gums (e.g., ring-tailed lemur).
Second tongue used to clean hairs from between the teeth of the tooth comb.
Grooming promotes social cohesion.

Question 16

Q: One lemur behavioral adaptation for warming body?

Answer 16

Ring-tailed Lemurs especially like to sunbathe during the early morning hours.
Sit upright on the ground, arms held out from the sides and resting on their knees, palms open exposing their stomach skin to the sun (much like a human in a yoga meditation position) allowing them to warm their bodies in the cool mornings.
Lemurs do this to warm up before foraging. (according to National Zoo)

Question 17

Q: What do lemurs eat?

Answer 17

Lemurs are largely herbivorous.
Shoots, leaves, fruits.
They are important for seed distribution of forest trees.

Question 18

Q: One ecological role of lemurs?

Answer 18

Seed dispersers for forest trees.

Question 19

Q: Madagascar geography and climate

Answer 19

266 miles off east coast of southern Africa.
Oldest geological island on the Earth.
Fourth largest island.
Generally has two seasons: a hot, rainy season; cooler, dry season
Variety of ecosystems.
East coast is the wettest part. Rainforests found there.
Central highlands are considerably cooler and drier.
West coast is home to dry deciduous forests; the deciduous trees lose their leaves during dry season.
Southwest of Madagascar has driest climate; parts of this area can be considered desert.

Question 20

Q: Importance of Madagascar, ecologically?

Answer 20

Has been isolated for over 165 million years => unique biodiversity.
90% of plant and animal species are endemic.
Early lemurs radiated into island’s many niches without much competition or predation, especially from other primates.
Over 90 lemur species.

Question 21

Q: Discuss threats to native species, ecosystems, and biodiversity in Madagascar.

Answer 21

-One of the poorest countries; day-to-day survival of its people is dependent upon natural resource use.
-Hunting for bushmeat and pet trade
–Native species have been aggressively hunted and collected by people seeking to provide for their families. While it has been illegal to kill or keep lemurs as pets since 1964, lemurs are hunted today in areas where they are not protected by local taboos.
-Deforestation
–Each year as much as a third of the country burns and one percent of its remaining forests are leveled.
–Tropical rainforests being converted into rice fields.
–Logging for timber especially in eastern rainforests. High value of Malagasy hardwoods (mostly ebony and rosewood, which may fetch $2,000 a ton in international markets) makes illegal logging a significant problem in some protected areas.
–Endemic spiny forests are being cut at alarming rate using slash and burn techniques for charcoal production.
–Deforestation => significant soil erosion problem.

Question 22

Q: Threats to lemurs

Answer 22

-Of the 111(ish) species, about 1/3 are CR. About half are EN. Almost all are threatened. (updated 5/2024)
-Have suffered extensively from deforestation and habitat fragmentation for charcoal (from timber; for cooking), crops, and cattle.
–Crop examples: Rice, orchids, cloves, vanilla beans.
–Deforestation has resulted in significant soil erosion problem. Visible from space. Astronauts have commented that it looks as if Madagascar is bleeding to death with its rivers running blood red and staining the surrounding Indian Ocean.
–No trees = no habitat; difficulty finding food.
-Trapping and hunting.
–Bushmeat
–Pet trade
–Has driven many species toward extinction.
–In some locations killed because of cultural belief that they are evil spirits that would bring strife to the people. Especially true of the Aye-aye, a strictly nocturnal lemur.

Question 23

Q: How have the ecological threats in Madagascar (details on separate cards) affected Lemurs specifically?

Answer 23

Lemur populations have suffered extensively from deforestation and habitat fragmentation. Over half of all species are either Endangered or Critically Endangered, and nearly all populations are in decline.

Question 24

Q: Conservation efforts

Answer 24

-Conservation in Madagascar must address the needs of local people. Must focus on alleviation of extreme poverty and economic development as well as protecting wildlife and ecosystems.
-Promulgation of solar cookers to relieve the extensive dependence on charcoal.
-Madagascar must promote sustainable agriculture for its native crops such as coffee and the vanilla orchid, which produces the vanilla bean.
–Vanilla planifolia has long been a lucrative, but eco-friendly crop for many farmers in northeastern Madagascar since the orchid grows best under the shade of canopy trees. Farmers know that to continue to raise a harvest and put food on the table in the future, they must switch to new sustainable farming techniques. A farming cooperative is making it possible for these families to earn a living by growing and processing vanilla in a sustainable way.
-Orchids and cloves are also exports of Madagascar that can be grown sustainably as well as coffee and raffia. (Note: orchids are covered under CITES regulations and export permits are required to transport any plants out of Madagascar.)

Question 25

Q: What should we keep in mind when developing conservation strategies for Madagascar?

Answer 25

-Conservation in Madagascar must address the needs of local people.
-Madagascar is a very poor country. To sustain themselves, many families were clearing the rainforest to plant a variety of food crops.
-Conservation efforts must focus on alleviation of extreme poverty and economic development as well as protecting wildlife and ecosystems.

Question 26

Q: What’s that recently completed construction in the middle of the zoo with the big tree?

Answer 26

The Lipman Family Madagascar Center
Opened Sept. 2023.
Can enter giant replica of Baobab tree from upper level on elevated boardwalk from Liman Family Lemur Forest.
Inside you will find variety of Malagasy invertebrate species.
Just across from baobab on same level, see the female fossa
Fossa: Madagascar’s largest carnivorous mammal, the island’s apex predator, and listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. (Male fossa will continue to be off exhibit)

Question 27

Q: Notable features of our lemur habitat

Answer 27

The Lipman Lemur Forest is the largest outdoor lemur habitat in the country.
One of the only ones to give lemurs access to climb numerous large, natural trees throughout the exhibit.
Multi-species habitat exhibits the plight of lemurs in Madagascar and brings global awareness to Madagascar as a biodiversity hotspot.

Question 28

Q: Adaptive radiation

Answer 28

-process in which organisms diversify rapidly into a multitude of new forms, particularly when a change in the environment opens up new niches, making new resources available, creating new challenges.
-e.g., diversified lemur species in Madagascar
-often follows mass extinctions

Question 29

Q: Speciation

Answer 29

The evolutionary process by which populations become distinct species. A lineage-splitting event that produces two or more separate species.
Happens when a subset gets isolated from the rest of the population and does not interbreed.
May occur due to geographic isolation or environmental changes.
Slow process, usually involves development of subspecies first.
Example: Madagascar island isolation -> large number of endemic species. E.g., lemurs.

Question 30

Q: List some fun facts about lemurs that could get kids’ attention

Answer 30

-How many tongues do you have? Lemurs have two!
-What do you use to comb/brush your hair? Do you ever use your teeth? What if your teeth looked like this?! (show tooth comb)
-Stink fights!
-Some lemurs exhibit polymorphic trichromacy!
-Have you ever felt a dog’s nose? How does it feel? (wet) Lemurs have a wet nose! Can you think of one benefit of a wet nose? Have you ever seen someone stick their finger in their mouth and hold it up in the air to test the wind direction? (one benefit of wet nose: easier to determine which direction a smell is coming from)
-Have you ever sunbathed? Ring-tailed Lemurs especially like to sunbathe during the early morning hours. Sit like yogi meditating.

Question 31

Q: Thinking about the importance of preserving biodiversity, name an example product that benefits humans that came from a species in Madagascar

Answer 31

The Madagascar periwinkle (endemic)is a source of the drugs vincristine and vinblastine, used to treat cancer.
Madagascar has been isolated for over 165 million years => unique biodiversity.
90% of plant and animal species are endemic. They aren’t found anywhere else, so ecosystem destruction means we lose unique species forever.
Who knows what other beneficial plants and animals we might find?

Question 32

Q: What is the Madagascar Fauna and Flora Group?

Answer 32

NGO that enables individual zoos, aquariums, botanical gardens and related institutions to collaborate for the united purpose of conserving Madagascar’s biodiversity.