P A G E 7
V O L . 4 , N O . 1
J U L Y 2 0 1 5
First Master’s Thesis by Malagasy Student Completed on the Silky Sifaka
by Dr. Erik Patel
It is with great pleasure that we an-
nounce the completion of the first Master’s
Thesis by a Malagasy student on the criti-
cally endangered silky sifaka. On April 24,
Mr. Manitra Fabien Rajaonarison was
awarded a Diplôme d’Etudes Approfondies
(D.E.A.) from the Department of Animal
Biology at the University of Antananarivo.
The title and abstract of his thesis are pub-
lished below, and resembles our co-
authored poster at the Prosimian Congress
(2013). Manitra has become a regular par-
ticipant on SAVA Conservation research
projects. He has not only worked with me
in Makira and Marojejy on silky sifaka pro-
jects, but also closely assisted former Duke University Masters Student Jennifer Moore, as well as DLC post-doc Dr.
Marina Blanco. He has earned a reputation for working in some of the most challenging and remote field sites! He
hopes to pursue a PhD, and we look forward to working with Manitra in the future.
Feeding Ecology and Behavior of Propithecus candidus (Grandidier, 1871) Inhabiting the Andaparaty Forest in the
Makira Natural Park in northeastern Madagascar
Manitra Fabien Rajaonarison
Memoire Pour L’obtention du Diplôme d’Etudes Approfondies (D.E.A.)
University of Antananarivo, Department of Animal Biology
A dietary and behavioral study of
Propithecus candidus
was conducted in the Andaparaty forest in the Makira
Natural Park in northeastern Madagascar, from July to November 2011. Similar work had been conducted in Maro-
jejy National Park but this is first long term study of this species outside of Marojejy. The Andaparaty group of five
individuals inhabits a low elevation and partially disturbed habitat approximately 30km northeast of Maroantsetra
and just north of the Antainambalana River. This is the southern-most group of silky sifakas in Madagascar. Meth-
ods included focal animal sampling, recording of GPS points and establishment of botanical plots.
P. candidus
was
found to be a folivorous seed-predator which consumed 70 different plant food species in 34 plant families. Their
most preferred food was “Mampay” (
Cynometra sp.
) [Fabaceae] which comprised 22% of their feeding time. Inter-
estingly, this food has never been documented in the diets of silky sifakas in Marojejy. Seasonal differences were
found in the consumption of seeds, fruits, and leaves. Resting (62.98%) and feeding (28.50%) comprised most of the
activity budget but seasonal changes were significant. Scent marking and grooming were frequent social behaviors,
and while aggression rates were quite low, the adult female dominated the group during feeding contexts (“female
feeding priority”). The home range of this group is the largest known for
P. candidus
, and one of the largest of any
sifaka in Madagascar: 100% Minimum Convex Polygon is 98.6ha; 95% Kernel method is 67.8ha and 50% kernel is
21.8ha. The elevations occupied by this group (235m to 565m asl) are the lowest ever documented for this species.
These results illustrate the flexibility of
P. candidus
and provide new information about their ability to cope with
habitat disturbance.
Manitra, on the right, in Marojejy
