Comportement De Territorialité De Propithecus Deckenii Dans Les Aires Protégées Complexe Tsimembo Manambolomaty Et Mandrozo

Abstract

This study aims to understand the behavior territoriality of the lemur Decken's Sifaka Propithecus deckenii in the Protected Areas (PAs) Complexe Tsimembo Manambolomaty and Mandrozo in the central-west of Madagascar between November 2017 and April 2018, and between July and October 2018. The continuous focal animal sampling method was used to monitor eight groups of Sifakas, two groups of the intact habitat and two groups from the disturbed habitat in each PA. Scent marking frequencies per focal groups differs between the two habitats types and is influenced by sex in favor of males. Season does not impacted this activity. The home range (define by MCP and 95% Kernel density estimate) and core area varies between monitored groups and the daily path length can reach 234 ± 98 m to 362 ± 110 m. These parameters are not influenced by season and habitat types. However, the intensity of territory use does not have any variation among the studied groups. The mean average « defensibility index » value for P. deckenii is 1.74 ± 0.70 (n = 8). The studied species has ability to adjust their territorial behavior, despite the degradation of habitat in sustainable use zones