Titre |
Living in forest fragments reduces group cohésion in diademed sifakas (Propithecus diadema) in eastern Madagascar by reducing food patch size. |
Descripteur géographique |
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Titre de la série |
American Journal of Primatology. |
Résumé |
Forest fragmentation is thought to threaten primate populations, yet the mechanisms by which this occurs remain largely unknown. However, fragmentation is known to cause dietary shifts in several primate species, and links between food resource distribution and within-group spatial dynamics are well documented. Thus, fragmentation has the potential to indirectly affect spatial dynamics, and these changes may present additional stresses to fragmented populations. I present the results from a 12-month study of Propithecus diademaat Tsinjoarivo, eastern Madagascar, including two groups in fragments and two in continuous forest. Instantaneous data on activity and spatial position were collected during all-day focal animal follows. Fragment groups had much lower cohesion, being more likely to have no neighbor within 5 and 10?m. |