ACTIVITY BUDGETS IN RED RUFFED LEMURS (VARECIA RUBRA) ON THE MASOALA PENINSULA, MADAGASCAR: SEASONALITY AND REPRODUCTIVE ENERGETICS |
| N. Vasey Howard University, College of Medicine, Department of Anatomy, Howard University College of Medicine, 520 W Street NW, Washington, DC, 20059, USA |
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| Activity budgets in Varecia rubra are examined here over an annual cycle. I recorded time spent feeding, resting, and traveling at 5-min intervals, and divided the sample by sex, season, and reproductive stage for multivariate analysis of frequencies. Due to its relatively high reproductive costs, large body size, and patchy food resources, I predicted that V. rubra would: 1) conserve energy by traveling less and feeding more during resource scarcity, 2) show sex differences in activity budgets due to differing reproductive investment. Contrary to one prediction, V. rubra does not increase feeding time during food scarcity. Rather, females feed a consistent amount of time all year (30%-33%), while males feed most during the resource-rich hot dry season (25%). Meeting other predictions, V. rubra travels less in the resource-scarce cold rainy season when food patches are more closely spaced. Furthermore, sex differences are pronounced, with females feeding more and resting less than males in every season and reproductive stage except gestation. Nonetheless, there are also provocative similarities between the sexes: during gestation, both sexes minimize travel time, and feed, rest, and travel in equal measure, while during lactation, both sexes rest least, travel most, and travel in equal measure. These convergent budgets appear related to bi-parental infant care. Higher energetic costs of reproduction in females may require greater nutrient intake and activity budgets more directly responsive to seasonal food distribution and reproductive stages. |
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