title: Aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis) feeding strategies at Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar: an indirect sampling method.
abstract: In this research, we focused on aye-aye populations in Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar. From August to December 2008, we tested how aye-aye feeding was influenced by presence/absence of both fruiting and non-fruiting Canarium trees. Deadwood feeding traces were used as a proxy for evidence of Canarium feeding. We enumerated deadwood feeding traces in 20 locations, 10 with Canarium, 10 without. Each location contained two transects (80 m L × 20 m W) for a total area of 5.6 ha. Feeding trace results for Canarium locations compared to non-Canarium locations were not significant (Z = -1.926, p = 0.083); however, feeding trace results were significant when comparing fruiting and non-fruiting Canarium locations (Z = -2.417, p = 0.016). These results highlight the importance of Canarium in the diet of aye-ayes and demonstrate how the distribution of this resource may influence the foraging behavior of aye-ayes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, San Diego State University, CA 92182-6040, USA. tsefczek@mail.sdsu.edu
authors.forename: Timothy M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Sefczek
authors.forename: Zach J
authors.initials: ZJ
authors.lastname: Farris
authors.forename: Patricia C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Wright
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D029403:Burseraceae; D004777:Environment; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D020387:Food Chain; D005638:Fruit; D007313:Insecta; D007814:Larva; D008270:Madagascar; D012621:Seasons; D011443:Strepsirhini / Q000502:physiology*; D014197:Trees