Publication Date

2026

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

First Advisor

Irwin, Mitchell T.

Degree Name

M.A. (Master of Arts)

Legacy Department

Department of Anthropology

Abstract

Madagascar’s biodiversity is heavily affected by anthropogenic change and consequently, conservation management plans need to reflect current research to protect biodiversity. Primate nutritional ecology offers valuable insights into ecology, evolution, health, habitat requirements, social behavior, and conservation management strategies. Macronutrients (fat, carbohydrates, and protein) provide consumers with energy whereas micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) are essential to metabolic processes but are frequently overlooked. This study provides a novel examination of dietary niche separation by comparing mineral consumption between three sympatric species differing in feeding strategies: 1) Grey Bamboo lemur (Hapalemur griseus), a bamboo specialist, 2) Diadema sifaka (Propithecus diadema), a folivore, and 3) Common Brown lemur (Eulemur fulvus), a frugivore. Through this comparison, I investigated how sympatric lemurs meet their mineral requirements and how their requirements differ.

I quantified the macro- and micronutrient content of H. griseus diet across two habitats varying in disturbance and seasons, and then compared my dataset with existing micronutrient datasets on P. diadema and E. fulvus. H. griseus did not experience significant nutritional (macro- and micronutrients) differences between habitats nor seasons, but significant variation was found across plant parts. Across seasons young leaves were the plant part that contributed the greatest quantities of minerals to the diet of H. griseus. Generally, H. griseus consumed a diet rich in protein, fiber and zinc, but was lacking in sugars, fat, and several minerals. I identified four food resources that are likely to be consumed by H. griseus for their mineral content: Talapetraka (Hypochaeris sp.), a weed-like plant that thrives in disturbed areas, young leaves of Hanambolotsangana (Isoglossa gracillima), young stems of non-bamboo species, and mushrooms (Auricularia sp.). The interspecific species comparison revealed differences among species with the diet of H. griseus containing higher mineral concentrations than the diets of both E. fulvus and P. diadema, with the latter having the lowest concentrations in their diet. Most mineral concentrations of foods consumed by sympatric lemurs either fell far below or surpassed the National Research Council’s nutritional guidelines yet I observed no behaviors of mineral deficiencies or toxicity, suggesting current guidelines are not accurate for these lemurs. This study provides important implications for understanding nutrient requirements, food selection, species coexistence and conservation management.

Extent

153 pages

Language

en

Publisher

Northern Illinois University

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Rights Statement 2

NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.

Media Type

Text

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