New directions in lemur studies [proceedings of the XVIIth Congress of the International Primatological Society, held August 9-14, 1998, in Antananarivo, Madagascar

Over the course of the past decade, there has been an enormous augmentation in the amount of information available on the lemurs of Madagascar. These advances are closely coupled with an increase in the number of national and international researchers working on these animals. As a result, Madagascar has emerged as one of the principal sites of primatological studies in the world. Furthermore, the conserva­ tion community has a massive interest in the preservation of the natural habitats of the island, and lemurs serve as one of the symbols of this cause. Between 10 and 14 August 1998, the XVIIth International Primatology Society (IPS) Congress was held in Antananarivo, Madagascar. For a country that about a decade ago was largely closed to foreign visitors, this Congress constituted a massive event for the Malagasy scientific community and was assisted by about 550 primatolo­ gists from 35 different countries. Naturally, given the venue and context of the Con­ gress, many of the presentations dealt with lemurs and covered a very wide breadth of subjects. Front Matter....Pages i-x Ancient DNA in Subfossil Lemurs....Pages 1-17 Past and Present Distributions of Lemurs in Madagascar....Pages 19-53 Skeletal Morphology and the Phylogeny of the Lemuridae....Pages 55-68 Support Utilization by Two Sympatric Lemur Species....Pages 69-81 Field Metabolic Rate and the Cost of Ranging of the Red-Tailed Sportive Lemur ( Lepilemur Ruficaudatus )....Pages 83-91 Metabolic Strategy and Social Behavior in Lemuridae....Pages 93-118 Cathemeral Activity of Red-Fronted Brown Lemurs ( Eulemur Fulvus Rufus ) in the Kirindy Forest/CFPF....Pages 119-137 Social Organization of the Fat-Tailed Dwarf Lemur ( Cheirogaleus Medius ) in Northwestern Madagascar....Pages 139-157 Demography and Floating Males in a Population of Cheirogaleus Medius ....Pages 159-172 Influence of Social Organization Patterns on Food Intake of Lemur Catta in the Berenty Reserve....Pages 173-188 The Importance of the Black Lemur ( Eulemur Macaco ) for Seed Dispersal in Lokobe Forest, Nosy Be....Pages 189-199 Taste Discrimination in Lemurs and Other Primates, and the Relationships to Distribution of Plant Allelochemicals in Different Habitats of Madagascar....Pages 201-219 Folivory in a Small-Bodied Lemur....Pages 221-239 Conservation of the Alaotran Gentle Lemur....Pages 241-248 Teaching Primatology at the Université de Mahajanga (NW Madagascar)....Pages 249-268 Lemurs as Flagships for Conservation in Madagascar....Pages 269-281 Back Matter....Pages 283-295 This book contains selected presentations on lemurs made at the 17th IPS Congress in 1998. The chapters highlight new and exciting developments in lemur research, touching several important fields from conservation to theoretical aspects of behavioral ecology, as well as nutrition and public education. This volume also presents an important landmark for the advancement of Malagasy scientists