The following research projects, fully or partly financed by AEECL,
are currently being carried out:
Nutritional ecology of the blue-eyed black lemur (Eulemur macaco flavifrons)
Christoph Schwitzer1, Sandra Polowinsky1, Werner Kaumanns1 & Clément Rabarivola2
1 Zoologischer Garten Köln, Köln, Germany
2 Université de Mahajanga, Faculté des Sciences, Mahajanga, Madagascar
The study is aiming to find out about the quality, quantity and spatiotemporal distribution of the food consumed by the blue-eyed black lemur. It is focusing on the circadian and spatial distribution of foraging behaviour and food intake, and on whether there are seasonal differences in items fed on or time spent feeding. Samples of foodstuffs (fruits, leaves etc.) as well as of faeces are being collected to be analysed for macronutrient and energy content. Digestibility trials are carried out in different European zoological gardens to complement the data obtained from the wild.
Habitat use and parasitic status of the blue-eyed black lemur (Eulemur macaco flavifrons) in a fragmented forest
Nora Schwitzer1,2, Werner Kaumanns1, Horst Zahner2, Clément Rabarivola3 & Christoph Schwitzer1
1 Zoologischer Garten Köln, Köln, Germany
2 Institut für Parasitologie, Justus-Liebig-Universität Giessen, Giessen, Germany
3 Université de Mahajanga, Faculté des Sciences, Mahajanga, Madagascar
The study comprises the analysis of the prevalence and diversity of parasites as well as parasite load in blue-eyed black lemurs and domestic animals living in areas with different degrees of contact between each other. The question being asked here is whether habitat use of the lemurs is being altered because of human activities (agriculture, tree logging etc.), and if this has an effect on the lemurs’ parasite burden.
Socioecology of the blue-eyed black lemur (Eulemur macaco flavifrons)
Guy Hermas Randriatahina1, Jean-Jaques Roeder2, Clément Rabarivola3 & Yves Rumpler4
1 Université d’Antananarivo, Département de la Biologie Animale, Antananarivo, Madagascar
2 Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
3 Université de Mahajanga, Faculté des Sciences, Mahajanga, Madagascar
4 Institut d’Embryologie, Faculté de Médecin, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
The study is looking at the degree of relatedness within and between groups of blue-eyed black lemurs and on the social behaviour and group composition over the course of three years. A number of lemurs are being trapped, individually collared, and samples are taken for cytogenetic analysis. The animals are then released back into the wild.
