Life on the edge: behavioural and physiological responses of Verreaux's sifakas (Propithecus verreauxi) to forest edges.

ABSTRACT: Forest edges change micro-environmental conditions, thereby affecting the ecology of many forest-dwelling species. Understanding such edge effects is particularly important for Malagasy primates because many of them live in highly fragmented forests today. The aim of our study was to assess the influence of forest edge effects on activity budgets, feeding ecology, and stress hormone output (measured as faecal glucocorticoid metabolite - fGCM - levels) in wild Verreaux's sifakas (Propithecus verreauxi), a group living, arboreal lemur. We observed five habituated groups: three living in the forest interior and two at an established forest edge. There was no difference in average daily temperatures between edge and interior habitats; however, within the edge site, the average daily tem

SUBMITTER: Dinter K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8129909 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature