Extension of gray-brown mouse lemur (Microcebus griseorufus) activity period in a disturbed forest in southwestern Madagascar
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.4314/mcd.v9i2.6Keywords:
Mouse lemurs, habitat disturbanceAbstract
Habitat disturbances may impact behaviors of animals, including their activity patterns. In southwestern Madagascar, timing of gray - brown mouse lemur activities was investigated in adjacent forests with different levels of human disturbance. Mouse lemurs were encountered more frequently during the second part of the night in the unfenced, more disturbed forest than in the fenced, less - disturbed forest. The extension of mouse lemur activity period in the unfenced forest may be due to differences in forest composition resulting in higher travel costs or a loss of canopy cover which may limit their use of torpor.
RÉSUMÉ
Les perturbations de l’habitat peuvent avoir un impact sur le comportement des animaux, y compris sur leur rythme d’activité. Le déroulement des activités des microcèbes a été étudié dans des forêts adjacentes du Sud - ouest de Madagascar. Une de ces forêts a été protégée du pâturage par une clôture tandis que l’autre ne profitait pas d’un tel dispositif en étant ainsi nettement exploitée par l’Homme et son bétail. Les microcèbes ont été rencontrés plus fréquemment au cours de la deuxième partie de la nuit dans la forêt non clôturée que dans la forêt clôturée. Bien que cette étude n’ait pas permis de détecter des différences dans la disponibilité des insectes ou des fruits, des évaluations plus détaillées de la composition des espèces d’arbres et l’abondance des insectes sont nécessaires pour déterminer l’impact de la qualité nutritionnelle ou de la distribution des ressources sur les rythmes d’activité des microcèbes dans la forêt non clôturée. D’un autre côté, l’allongement de la période d’activité des microcèbes dans la forêt non clôturée peut être lié à une perte de la couverture de la canopée, elle-même à l’origine d’une élévation des températures diurnes dans la forêt non clôturée qui réduirait la durée pendant laquelle les microcèbes pourraient être en torpeur dans cette forêt.
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