Lemurs Making a Living in Unpredictable Environments

Abstract

The lemurs of Madagascar have been the subject of field research for over five decades, the resulting considerable body of literature providing important new insights into the ecology, behavior, and evolution of Madagascar’s unique primate radiation. Lemurs: Ecology and Adaptation, edited by Lisa Gould and Michelle Sauther, represents a compilation of 20 chapters by 29 contributors who have conducted field work in Madagascar. The editors’ rationale for publishing this volume is to provide a single source for disseminating the results of new research on lemurs spanning the last fifteen years, including summaries of long-term research on well-known taxa as well as newly studied species. They believe these contributions will provide a better understanding of mammalian adaptations to harsh environments, many of which arise from anthropogenic causes. The book is divided into four sections covering lemur origins and ecology, the evolution of lemur traits, ecology and adaptation, and lemur adaptations to changing environments. Section One sets the evolutionary stage for the sections that follow, its three chapters providing reviews of lemur origins (Tattersall), the history of ecological studies of lemurs (Jolly and Sussman), and the ecology of recently extinct lemurs (Godfrey et al.). Malagasy lemurs are, not surprisingly, monophyletic, most likely derived, according to Tattersall, from a single forest canopy dwelling African strepsirrhine ancestor that colonized Madagascar during the early Tertiary. We learn from Godfrey et al.’s fascinating contribution that the ecological profiles of Madagascar’s primate communities were substantially different in the past than they are in the present, and that the special adaptations that are present in extinct forms most likely reflect the species’ energy conservation lifestyles. Jolly and Sussman catapult us into the present with a comprehensive and engagingly written review of the history of ecological studies of Malagasy lemurs, supplemented with a detailed summary of all lemur research conducted since the 1950s. Section Two is composed of three review and two data chapters focusing on the evolution of lemur traits. Cuozzo and Yamashita review recent data on the impact of ecology on teeth in extant lemurs and conclude (unsurprisingly) that tooth morphology is related to physical properties of food, yielding optimal designs for processing specific food. Curtis explores the proximate J Mammal Evol (2008) 15:215–217 DOI 10.1007/s10914-008-9073-y