The impact of alopecia syndrome on female reproductive parameters in ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) in berenty reserve, Madagascar

Abstract

Alopecia syndrome was identi fied in ring-tailed lemurs in the Berenty Reserve, southern Madagascar, in the late 1990s and spread extensively in 2001- 2003. A ring-tailed lemur population inhabiting a 14.2-ha area has been studied with individual identi fications since 1989. To understand the alopecia syndrome, we recorded the fur condition of all individuals (around 100 lemurs) in 2001, 2004, and 2005. The number and ratio of alopecic lemurs decreased over time from 19 lemurs (22%) in 2001 to 6 (6%) in 2004, to only 3 (3%) in 2005. Of the 19 alopecic lemurs in 2001, 15 were females and only 4 were males. They ranged in age from 2 to 15 years, with by far the highest occurrence of alopecia among young lemurs (2 years old: 55%; 3 years old: 50%; and 4 years old: 40%). Nine of the 19 animals (47%) recovered their fur condition over 3 years. The mortality rate of the alopecic females over the same period was 43%, similar to that of nonalopecic females (40%) as was their birth rate. Infant mortality was higher for alopecic mothers (57%) than for nonalopecic females (19%), although the difference was not signi ficant.