A comparative study of breeding seasonality and litter size in eleven taxa of captive lemurs (Lemur andVarecia) |
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Authors: | D Tab Rasmussen |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Anthropology, Duke University, 27706 Durham, North Carolina |
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Abstract: | Breeding records of 11 taxa of captive lemurs housed at the Duke University Primate Center (DUPC), North Carolina, were analyzed
for differences in the timing of births, for the relationship between breeding season and photoperiod, and for differences
in litter size. At DUPC there are significant differences in the timing of births among certain taxa, including differences
among some subspecies of Lemur fulvus.However, changes in latitude result in changes in the timing of the breeding season. Lemurs moved to higher latitudes mate
at lower light-dark ratios than on Madagascar. The data presented here are consistent with the following model: a photoperiodic
cue initiating reproductive activity, presumably a light-dark threshold, precedes the actual mating season by approximately
2 months, with an intervening period of physiological and social preparation. On Madagascar, selection may have favored births
that coincide with the end of dry seasons and the beginning of wet seasons, which results in lactation and weaning during
times of resource abundance. Taxa from the north and east have the highest mean litter sizes; those from the west have the
lowest. |
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Keywords: | Lemur Varecia breeding seasonality litter size photoperiod |
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