Meeting Abstract
Madagascar is one of the world’s “richest” biodiversity hotspots with many endemic and threatened species and yet the island is threatened by widespread habitat degradation. Little is known about how habitat degradation is affecting the endemic animal species. Golden-crowned sifakas (Propithecus tattersalli), listed as critically endangered on the IUCN red list, are folivorous, group living primates endemic to forests of the Daraina region of Madagascar. Their range encompasses a unique biogeographical transition zone from Daraina’s northern and western dry deciduous forests to southern humid forests. This unique spectrum of forests across a limited geographical range allows for a natural study of how golden-crowned sifaka are influenced by landscape type and varying degrees of habitat fragmentation. To understand the effects of environment on glucocorticoid hormone activity, we completed full-day behavioral follows for nine groups of golden-crowned sifakas in an array of forest fragments (August 2018-July 2019). Fecal samples were collected daily from individually identified lemurs and fecal glucocorticoid levels were analyzed by radioimmunoassay. By understanding how degree of habitat fragmentation and degradation, as well as habitat type influence P. tattersalli glucocorticoid hormone levels, we start to understand how habitat quality influences physiological state and work towards ensuring that their territory is maintained at the level necessary for their sustained health.
