PARENT SESSION
Oral Session # 78: Predator - Prey Ecology II: Terrestrial II.
Presiding: M Wolf
Thursday, August 7. 1:30 PM to 5:00 PM, SITCC Meeting Room 103.

Behavioral and ecological interactions of raptors and lemurs in Madagascar: A multiple-predator approach.

Karpanty, Sarah^*,1, ¹ SUNY Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY

ABSTRACT- Predation has been a major topic of debate for ecologists interested in understanding the origins and maintenance of social behavior in primates. The most direct method to understand how predation structures primate groups, populations, and communities and favors particular patterns of social behavior is to conduct studies of the predators themselves. Continuous research since 1999 of the nesting and feeding ecology of the Madagascar Buzzard (11 nests, 1,289 hours observation), Madagascar Harrier-Hawk (7 nests, 975 hrs.), and Hensts Goshawk (7 nests, 1,683 hrs.) in Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar have identified the Harrier-Hawk and Goshawk as significant lemur predators while Buzzards have never been observed to feed on lemurs. Both Harrier-Hawks and Goshawks have been observed feeding on Hapalemur griseus and Microcebus rufus while Hensts Goshawks have also fed frequently on Eulemur sp., Cheirogaleus major, and Avahi laniger. A combination of raptor prey profiles, feeding rates, and density with lemur demographics has allowed a quantification of the annual predation rate by diurnal raptors on the lemur community in southeastern Madagascar. These data demonstrating that the Hensts Goshawk is the major raptorial predator of the lemur guild corresponds with playback experiments of predator vocalizations that show lemurs exhibit the most intense anti-predator behaviors to calls of the Goshawk. These predation rates will be contrasted with other known sources of lemur mortality to emphasize the potential significance of predation in lemur life history evolution, behavior, and community structure.

Key words: anti-predator behavior, primates, predation, raptors