Functional Diversity and Abundances of the Lemur Community at Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar
Abstract
Lemurs in Madagascar have been facing losses to population and diversity across the country, potentially resulting in a loss of functional and ecosystem diversity. While species diversity has long been studied, functional diversity allows us to more closely examine how abundances and traits of species are distributed in the community. I use lemur surveys conducted in 2004 at eight sites within Ranomafana National Park (RNP) to test the effects of habitat characteristics and anthropogenic disturbance on lemur functional diversity. In addition, I examine whether functional redundancy is present in the lemur community of RNP - that is, do multiple species fill similar functional roles. Niche separation should affect the traits present in the lemur community such that I expected functional redundancy to be low in most locations. Disturbance, elevation, and vegetation characteristics were all important factors in explaining functional diversity metrics. I found that most communities have low functional redundancy across all measures. I also resampled the site Valohoaka in 2015 to examine lemur abundances over time. The results suggest abundances have remained generally stable, however, Microcebus rufus abundances appear to be rising. Used in conjunction with individual species studies, the information presented here can be useful in understanding what is shaping lemur community composition and the sensitivity of these communities to environmental change. It is important to continue monitoring for long-term population trends and responses to both natural and anthropogenic change.
Description
Keywords
Anthropology, Ecology
Citation
Houston, B. E. (2017). Functional Diversity and Abundances of the Lemur Community at Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/26242