Behaviour and Ecology of Male Aye-Ayes (Daubentonia madagascariensis) in the Kianjavato Classified Forest, South-Eastern Madagascar.

Previous studies found that aye-ayes (Daubentonia madagascariensis) consume a variety of non-invertebrate resources, supporting the hypothesis that aye-ayes are too large-bodied to focus feeding efforts on insects. However, these conclusions were based on introduced populations, with little known about aye-aye behaviour and ecology in its natural habitat. This study investigates activity budgets, diet, and home range/territories of 2 male aye-ayes in the Kianjavato Classified Forest, a disturbed forest in south-eastern Madagascar, from October 2013 to October 2014. We used radiotelemetry and focal-animal sampling methods to collect behavioural data. We recorded GPS coordinates of the focal animal every 20 min, calculating the home range size for each individual. Results showed that male aye-ayes spent most of their time feeding and travelling. Their feeding time primarily focussed on larvae and adult insects from various substrates, and to a lesser extent Canarium spp. seeds. Home range sizes of the 2 males varied between individuals, overlapped greatly, and appeared to be related to the location of females. Our findings indicate that aye-aye behaviours are strongly indicative of insect-centric feeding ecology.

Complete sequence and gene organization of the mitochondrial genome for Hubbard's sportive lemur (Lepilemur hubbardorum).

The complete mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) genome of Hubbard's or Zombitse sportive lemur (Lepilemur hubbardorum) was generated by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification, primer-walking sequencing and fragment cloning. Comparative analyses of Hubbard's sportive lemur were conducted with available complete mitochondrial genome sequences from eight other lemur species. The mitochondrial genome of Hubbard's sportive lemur is 16,854 base pairs (bp) and contains 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, two ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes and one control region. Three rare start codons were found, in which GTG is the start codon for the ATPase 6 subunit gene (ATP), ATC for the NADH dehydrogenase (ND) 2 subunit gene, and ATT for the ND5 subunit gene. In the control region, sequence analysis found one repetitive unit between conserved sequence blocks (CSB)-1 and CSB-2 for L. hubbardorum. Comparative analysis of eight other lemur species showed different repetitive units between and outside of these two blocks. According to the phylogenetic analysis of the 12 heavy-strand encoded protein-coding genes, all nine lemur species representative of four lemuriformes families were monophyletic. This template and the newly designed primers described in this study will allow scientists to generate comparative sequences for all sportive lemurs to validate phylogenetic discrepancies in the genus Lepilemur and to evaluate evolutionary and biogeographic models.