Ecological attributes recorded in stable isotope ratios of arboreal prosimian hair.

Abstract

Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios were measured in hair samples from two species of Galago from Gedi Ruins National Monument in eastern Kenya and from Lepilemur leucopus from Beza Mahafaly Special Reserve in southern Madagascar. Forest structure was generally similar in the two areas but average rainfall was lower in Madagascar. Species average 13C values varied with feeding height in the forest canopy and with average rainfall level as expected from reported variation in plant 13C values. G. garnettii, which feeds higher in the forest canopy, had less negative 13C values than G. zanzibaricus, which spends more time below 5 m. L. leucopus, from a drought-afflicted forest, had less negative hair 13C values than the two galago species. The values within the Lepilemur sample showed a positive linear relation with percent dependence on a CAM tree species and with xeric conditions within the species reserve. Nitrogen stable isotope ratios varied with trophic level of feeding and with time spent feeding on leguminous plants. The insectivorous galagos had significantly more positive 15N values than the folivorous L. leucopus. Within the Lepilemur sample, 15N values varied inversely with the percent of feeding time spent on leguminous plants. The range of 15N and 13C values in each of the prosimian species is larger than reported for animals fed monotonous diets and for New World monkey species. The monkey species feed as groups of individuals whereas the prosimians have solitary feeding habits. The ranges in the prosimian species apparently reflect the greater variation in diet among individual prosimians compared to individual monkeys. The isotope data reported here are equivalent, on average, to those reported for other arboreal species from similar forest habitats and with similar dietary habits. This supports the use of such data for paleoecological reconstruction of forest and woodland systems and diet reconstruction of extinct primate populations and species.