Abstract
Alopecia syndrome was identified in ring-tailed lemurs in the Berenty Reserve, southern Madagascar, in the late 1990s and spread extensively in 2001–2003. A ring-tailed lemur population inhabiting a 14.2-ha area has been studied with individual identifications since 1989. To understand the alopecia syndrome, we recorded the fur condition of all individuals (around 100 lemurs) in 2001, 2004, and 2005. The number and ratio of alopecic lemurs decreased over time from 19 lemurs (22%) in 2001 to 6 (6%) in 2004, to only 3 (3%) in 2005. Of the 19 alopecic lemurs in 2001, 15 were females and only 4 were males. They ranged in age from 2 to 15 years, with by far the highest occurrence of alopecia among young lemurs (2 years old: 55%; 3 years old: 50%; and 4 years old: 40%). Nine of the 19 animals (47%) recovered their fur condition over 3 years. The mortality rate of the alopecic females over the same period was 43%, similar to that of nonalopecic females (40%) as was their birth rate. Infant mortality was higher for alopecic mothers (57%) than for nonalopecic females (19%), although the difference was not significant.
Resume
Le syndrome d’alopécie qui touche les lémurs cattas de la Réserve de Berenty, située au sud-est de Madagascar, a été identifié à la fin des années 90, et s’est répandu entre 2001 et 2003. Une population de lémurs cattas, occupant une zone d’étude de 14.2 ha, et dont les individus sont tous suivis individuellement est étudiée depuis 1989. Pour mieux comprendre le syndrome d’alopécie, nous avons évalué la condition de la fourrure de tous les individus (environ 100 lémurs) en 2001, 2004 et 2005. Le nombre et la proportion de lémurs touchés par le syndrome d’alopécie a diminué, passant de 19 lémurs (22%) en 2001 à six (6%) en 2004, et seulement trois (3%) en 2005. Sur les 19 lémurs alopéciques observés en 2001, 15 étaient des femelles et seulement quatre des mâles. Les animaux atteints étaient âgés de deux à 15 ans, mais étaient bien plus souvent des jeunes (deux ans : 55% ; trois ans : 50% ; quatre ans : 40%). Neuf animaux sur 19 (47%) ont recouvré une bonne condition de fourrure en trois ans. L’alopécie n’a affecté ni le taux de mortalité des femelles (43% pour 40%), ni leur taux de natalité. La mortalité infantile des femelles alopéciques était plus élevée (57%) que celles des femelles non alopéciques (19%), bien que cette différence ne soit pas significative.
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Acknowledgments
We thank M. Jean de Heaulme and his family for their hospitality at Berenty Reserve and permission to carry out this study; A. Randrianjafy and H. Andriamialison, former directors of the Botanical and Zoological Park of Tsimbazaza; and the government of the Republic of Madagascar for permission to conduct the research. We sincerely thank the Prosimian 2007 congress organizers, especially J. Masters and F. Génin for their kind help. Our work was supported by Grants in Aid for Scientific Research from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan, to S. Kobayashi (no. 16252004) and to Y. Tahakata (no. 21405015), by the Canon Foundation in Europe, the Kyoto University Foundation, and the Young Researcher Overseas Visits Program for Vitalizing Brain Circulation of JSPS to S. Ichino.
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Ichino, S., Soma, T., Koyama, N. (2012). The Impact of Alopecia Syndrome on Female Reproductive Parameters in Ring-Tailed Lemurs (Lemur catta) in Berenty Reserve, Madagascar. In: Masters, J., Gamba, M., Génin, F. (eds) Leaping Ahead. Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4511-1_42
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4511-1_42
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