KAMILAR, J.M.*; OSSI, K.M.; Stony Brook University; Stony Brook University: The Importance of Genetic and Environmental Factors in Shaping the Ecological Characteristics of Brown Lemur Subspecies (Eulemur fulvus spp.)

Identifying the factors that influence primate variability at the subspecific level can lead to more effective models for the evolution of primate socioecology. The increasing availability of molecular data from wild primate populations allows for the investigation of how environmental factors and genetic relatedness affect primate ecological diversity. If the genetic relationships among subspecies play a significant role in shaping the ecological traits, then there should be a significant positive relationship between genetic and ecological similarity. Alternatively, if environmental factors are more important in shaping a subspecies� ecology, there should be a significant positive correlation between the environmental and ecological similarity among populations. This study examined these influences in the brown lemur (Eulemur fulvus), which occupies a wide range of habitat types and has a broad geographic distribution throughout Madagascar. Molecular and environmental data from five brown lemur populations were gathered from the published literature. In addition, ecological niches were quantified using several dietary, activity budget, and social organization variables. Mantel tests were employed to examine the relationships between molecular, environmental, and ecological similarity among populations. The analyses demonstrate that there is a positive correlation between genetic similarity and social organization similarity among populations. In addition, there is a positive trend between environmental and activity budget similarity, and a negative trend between environment and diet. Therefore, it appears that the relative importance of genetic and environmental effects in brown lemurs depend on the ecological traits in question.