Malagasy Lemurs Have More Parasites Because of Climate Change

Researchers at Duke University are using climate projections for the year 2080 as a model for what parasite distributions might be like in the future. Only 10% of the lemurs' natural habit remains on the island because of logging. By 2080, temperatures in Madagascar are expected to rise by between 1 and 2.5 degrees. Anne Yoder is Director of the Duke Lemur Center (best job title ever) says that predicting lemur health in the future is particularly important now because lemurs are officially the most endangered mammal on the planet according to the International Unit on. Poor little guys. Currently, six different species of parasites are known to infect lemurs. Worms, ticks, and mites may be identified in lemur feces or fur. A few lemur-infecting parasites like tapeworms and pinworms can also affect humans, causing dehydration and diarrhea. The expected warmer climate shift will make more of Madagascar hospitable for some parasites. Some parasites that can infect lemurs could experience as much as a 60% increase in the range of their habitats. This also could mean that certain species of lemur could face parasite infections that were never a problem before. Warmer conditions speed reproduction for parasites, and of course increased parasitic activity on the island could also adversely affect human and livestock populations in addition to lemurs. The Duke researchers hope to be able to target potential outbreak hotspots to make response more efficient.

http://today.duke.edu/2013/01/barrettindiri

Giant lemurs and other crazy extinct animals...

I've been fascinated with the fact that giant lemurs used to exist in Madagascar, as Dr. Bob mentioned in class two weeks back. According to a paper I was just reading (link below, but watch out, it's really long!), there were around 16 species of giant lemurs, and they weighed from 11-200 kilograms (440 lbs). For reference, this is less than the weight of a lion, but more than twice that of a sheep. These lemurs, which were in greatest abundance 1000-2000 years ago, ate leaves off trees and shrubs, and moved slowly. (They didn't/couldn't climb trees, as I understand.)

Their extinction was likely due to rapid burning and deforestation of forests that began as of around 1600 years ago, when humans first started inhabiting the island. Annual forest burning is still an important cultural practice today. Along with lemurs, a number of other animals, including pygmy hippos (must have been cute!), Aepyornis (world's largest bird), giant tortoises, a large mammalian predator of lemurs (mountain lion-sized), and two large raptors, which may have eaten giant lemurs, all went extinct, likely around similar times.

Happy reading!
-S

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/(SICI)1096-8644(1999)110:29+%3C31::AID-AJPA3%3E3.0.CO;2-0/abstract

Lemur Memes. Lememes? Memurs?

http://memegenerator.net/Chill-Out-Lemur