Does habitat disturbance affect stress, body condition and parasitism in two sympatric lemurs?

ABSTRACT: Understanding how animals react to human-induced changes in their environment is a key question in conservation biology. Owing to their potential correlation with fitness, several physiological parameters are commonly used to assess the effect of habitat disturbance on animals' general health status. Here, we studied how two lemur species, the fat-tailed dwarf lemur (Cheirogaleus medius) and the grey mouse lemur (Microcebus murinus), respond to changing environmental conditions by comparing their stress levels (measured as hair cortisol concentration), parasitism and general body condition across four habitats ordered along a gradient of human disturbance at Kirindy Forest, Western Madagascar. These two species previously revealed contrasting responses to human disturbance; whereas M. muri

SUBMITTER: Rakotoniaina JH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5020880 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature