Showing papers by "Lucienne Wilmé published in 2006"
TL;DR: An analysis of watersheds in the context of Quaternary climatic shifts provides a new mechanistic model to explain the process of explosive speciation on Madagascar and provides a framework for biogeographic and phylogeographic studies, as well as a basis for prioritizing conservation actions of the remaining natural forest habitats on the island.
Abstract: The endemic species richness on Madagascar, relative to landmass area, is unparalleled in the world. Many organisms on the island have restricted geographical ranges. A comprehensive hypothesis explaining the evolution of this microendemism has yet to be developed. Using an analysis of watersheds in the context of Quaternary climatic shifts, we provide a new mechanistic model to explain the process of explosive speciation on the island. River catchments with sources at relatively low elevations were zones of isolation and hence led to the speciation of locally endemic taxa, whereas those at higher elevations were zones of retreat and dispersion and hence contain proportionately lower levels of microendemism. These results provide a framework for biogeographic and phylogeographic studies, as well as a basis for prioritizing conservation actions of the remaining natural forest habitats on the island.
440 citations
01 Jan 2006
TL;DR: Sussman et al. as mentioned in this paper investigated the distribution and range of habitats of lemurs in the southern portion of the island of Madagascar and found that the lemur catta is the least forest-dwelling of all the extant species.
Abstract: Although Lemur catta has been the subject of detailed behavioral and ecological field studies at a few localities in the southern portion of Madagascar and is certainly one of the best known of the island’s primates, little has been published about its distribution and the range of habitats it uses. The major exception to this point is a recent assessment of the geographical extent of this species overlaid on anthropogenic habitat degradation (Sussman et al., 2003; see also Sussman et al., Chapter 2, this volume). L. catta is often associated with being a denizen of gallery forests of the southern spiny bush. This is natural as the vast majority of information on the life history of this taxon comes from long-term studies at Berenty and the Reserve Speciale (RS) de Beza Mahafaly and concerns mostly troops living in this forest type. However, as discussed below, this species is the least forest-dwelling of the extant species of lemurs and occurs in a wide range of habitats in the southern third of the island, and the current categorization of certain life-history parameters may be slightly exaggerated given the intensive focus on gallery forest zones. In this contribution, we address four principal points concerning L. catta:
47 citations