{"id":{"repo_id":"wustl","oai_identifier":"oai:openscholarship.wustl.edu:etd-1175"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/wustl/oai:openscholarship.wustl.edu:etd-1175","repository":{"repo_id":"wustl","name":"Washington University in St. Louis","base_url":"https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/do/oai/"},"display":{"title":"Lemur catta in the Region of Cap Sainte-Marie, Madagascar: Introduced cacti, xerophytic Didiereaceae-Euphorbia bush, and tombs","abstract":"This is the first study to document the natural history of <italic>Lemur catta</italic>, ring-tailed lemurs, outside of gallery forest environments: in xerophytic Didiereaceae-<italic>Euphorbia</italic>, bush habitat that represents over 90% of this species' potential range. Moreover, this study is the first to document ring-tailed lemurs, or any primate species for that matter, as cactus dwellers. Data were collected for 15 consecutive months on two different troops in the Cap Sainte-Marie: CSM) area, which is Madagascar's southernmost region. All-day follows, nutritional analyses, and health assessments were the methods used to test hypotheses on the following themes: a) behavioral flexibility, b) ecology, health, and nutrition, c) the shared use of space with humans, and d) the utilization of nonnative species. Significant findings include: extremely large home ranges, highly social and spatially cohesive: juvenile centered) groups, coexistence with Antandroy villagers, and diverse diets comprised of native species despite the population's adaptation to <italic>Opuntia monacantha</italic> and <italic>Opuntia stricta</italic>. Based on these findings, I suggest that <italic>L. catta</italic> have historically been present in the CSM region, but that this population likely persists here today only because of the presence of <italic>Opuntia</italic>.","abstract_html":"This is the first study to document the natural history of &lt;italic&gt;Lemur catta&lt;/italic&gt;, ring-tailed lemurs, outside of gallery forest environments: in xerophytic Didiereaceae-&lt;italic&gt;Euphorbia&lt;/italic&gt;, bush habitat that represents over 90% of this species&#x27; potential range. Moreover, this study is the first to document ring-tailed lemurs, or any primate species for that matter, as cactus dwellers. Data were collected for 15 consecutive months on two different troops in the Cap Sainte-Marie: CSM) area, which is Madagascar&#x27;s southernmost region. All-day follows, nutritional analyses, and health assessments were the methods used to test hypotheses on the following themes: a) behavioral flexibility, b) ecology, health, and nutrition, c) the shared use of space with humans, and d) the utilization of nonnative species. Significant findings include: extremely large home ranges, highly social and spatially cohesive: juvenile centered) groups, coexistence with Antandroy villagers, and diverse diets comprised of native species despite the population&#x27;s adaptation to &lt;italic&gt;Opuntia monacantha&lt;/italic&gt; and &lt;italic&gt;Opuntia stricta&lt;/italic&gt;. Based on these findings, I suggest that &lt;italic&gt;L. catta&lt;/italic&gt; have historically been present in the CSM region, but that this population likely persists here today only because of the presence of &lt;italic&gt;Opuntia&lt;/italic&gt;.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Kelley, Elizabeth"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Anthropology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Robert Sussman"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2011,"date_issued":"2011-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2011-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T06:12:41Z","subjects":["Physical Anthropology","Behavioral Sciences","Antandroy","Cap Sainte-Marie","Lemur catta","Madagascar","Opuntia","sacred forests"],"languages":["English (en)"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.doi","label":"DOI","values":["https://doi.org/10.7936/K708639J"],"render_values":[{"text":"https://doi.org/10.7936/K708639J","href":"https://doi.org/10.7936/K708639J","code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/etd/176","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Robert Sussman"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Kelley, Elizabeth"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2010-01-01T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Anthropology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Physical Anthropology","Behavioral Sciences","Antandroy","Cap Sainte-Marie","Lemur catta","Madagascar","Opuntia","sacred forests"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English (en)"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/etd/176"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.doi","label":"DOI","values":["https://doi.org/10.7936/K708639J"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This is the first study to document the natural history of <italic>Lemur catta</italic>, ring-tailed lemurs, outside of gallery forest environments: in xerophytic Didiereaceae-<italic>Euphorbia</italic>, bush habitat that represents over 90% of this species' potential range. Moreover, this study is the first to document ring-tailed lemurs, or any primate species for that matter, as cactus dwellers. Data were collected for 15 consecutive months on two different troops in the Cap Sainte-Marie: CSM) area, which is Madagascar's southernmost region. All-day follows, nutritional analyses, and health assessments were the methods used to test hypotheses on the following themes: a) behavioral flexibility, b) ecology, health, and nutrition, c) the shared use of space with humans, and d) the utilization of nonnative species. Significant findings include: extremely large home ranges, highly social and spatially cohesive: juvenile centered) groups, coexistence with Antandroy villagers, and diverse diets comprised of native species despite the population's adaptation to <italic>Opuntia monacantha</italic> and <italic>Opuntia stricta</italic>. Based on these findings, I suggest that <italic>L. catta</italic> have historically been present in the CSM region, but that this population likely persists here today only because of the presence of <italic>Opuntia</italic>."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Lemur catta in the Region of Cap Sainte-Marie, Madagascar: Introduced cacti, xerophytic Didiereaceae-Euphorbia bush, and tombs"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Robert Sussman"],"dc:creator":["Kelley, Elizabeth"],"dc:date.available":["2010-01-01T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This is the first study to document the natural history of <italic>Lemur catta</italic>, ring-tailed lemurs, outside of gallery forest environments: in xerophytic Didiereaceae-<italic>Euphorbia</italic>, bush habitat that represents over 90% of this species' potential range. Moreover, this study is the first to document ring-tailed lemurs, or any primate species for that matter, as cactus dwellers. Data were collected for 15 consecutive months on two different troops in the Cap Sainte-Marie: CSM) area, which is Madagascar's southernmost region. All-day follows, nutritional analyses, and health assessments were the methods used to test hypotheses on the following themes: a) behavioral flexibility, b) ecology, health, and nutrition, c) the shared use of space with humans, and d) the utilization of nonnative species. Significant findings include: extremely large home ranges, highly social and spatially cohesive: juvenile centered) groups, coexistence with Antandroy villagers, and diverse diets comprised of native species despite the population's adaptation to <italic>Opuntia monacantha</italic> and <italic>Opuntia stricta</italic>. Based on these findings, I suggest that <italic>L. catta</italic> have historically been present in the CSM region, but that this population likely persists here today only because of the presence of <italic>Opuntia</italic>."],"dc:identifier":["https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/etd/176"],"dc:identifier.doi":["https://doi.org/10.7936/K708639J"],"dc:language":["English (en)"],"dc:subject":["Physical Anthropology","Behavioral Sciences","Antandroy","Cap Sainte-Marie","Lemur catta","Madagascar","Opuntia","sacred forests"],"dc:title":["Lemur catta in the Region of Cap Sainte-Marie, Madagascar: Introduced cacti, xerophytic Didiereaceae-Euphorbia bush, and tombs"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Anthropology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T06:12:41Z"}