Primatology.net

I’ve tracked down the paper published in April of 2006, in the journal International Journal of Primatology, on the discovery of the three new species of mouse lemur from Madagascar. The paper is titled, “Revision of the Mouse Lemurs (Microcebus) of Eastern Madagascar” from Edward E. Louis, et al. The abstract reads,

“Phylogenetic analysis of ca. 4500 base pairs of mitochondrial DNA sequence data reveals further genetic diversity in mouse lemurs (Microcebus) on the eastern and western coasts of Madagascar. Molecular data and phylogenetic analyses revise the previously monotypic species of eastern Madagascar, Microcebus rufus, with the description of 3 new species. Three additional Microcebus species are proposed in eastern Madagascar, along with another Microcebus species in western Madagascar. Correlating the molecular data with previously generated sequence data, we present a tentative pattern of distribution along the east coast. We show that the general distribution of Microcebus is based on a traditional eastern/western division. The preliminary model appears strongly influenced by both rivers and altitudinal differences acting independently as barriers.”

I wanted to comment on the article because I feel like the researchers really integrated molecular evolution data and ecological distribution effectively. Mouse lemur have been pretty hard to snag, because (just as their name implies) they are small. Additionally they are nocturnal and shy, making it hard for people to document new species. Only about a dozen known species of mice lemur were to said to have existed up until 2000 (Yoder et al., 2000). With 3 more to add onto the mouse lemur geunus, this discovery significantly raises the question, “Are there more mouse lemurs in eastern Madagascar?”

In order to fully answer that question researchers sequenced 60 mtDNA samples from collected lemurs and their results yielded 15 clades, differentiating the 8 already identificed Microcebus and the 3 newly described species. But to my surprise, since it wasn’t documented in the news headlines, there are also 4 other proposed mouse lemur taxa. Futhermore, Louis and crew also realized a species of mouse lemur, specifically Microcebus griseorufus occupies an ecological niche not previously known at Tsimanampetsotsa.

This new discovery has great potential because it provides more information that there is a really diverse population of lemur occupying Madagascar, convincing me that there is more incentive than ever to promote preservation of habitats and conserve as many species as possible before lemur populations are devastated by deforestation. I justify this because lemur are one of the most primitive primate species alive today. In order to understand primate evolution fully, preserving these “living primate fossils” provides an excellent foundation to understand how primates diversified into the species we see today.

President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda opened the 21st Congress of the International Primatological Society sending this powerful message for the conservation and preservation of great apes,

“The biggest threat to the ecosystems where these animals live is humans engaged in primitive agriculture.”

Museveni suggests that the poor living standards in Uganda specifically lead to the devastating deforestation, bush meat trade, and other human-animal crisis that have brought all great apes close to extinction. Uganda is home to 18 primate species, including 5,000 chimpanzees and more than 300 mountain gorillas in the remote jungle peaks bordering Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo which are all endangered. He drove home the subject that conservation efforts would never work if local communities were not developed at the same time.

This is quite a statement to make, and I fully agree and support this aspect of conservation. Peoples around the world will not help to save great apes nor any other endangered species if their livelyhood and standard of living is so poor that these impoverished resort to killing and consuming primates and devastating forms of agriculture that ruin ecosystems for small yield. Education and development is significantly more impactful in providing sustainable conservation efforts.

I share Jane Goodall’s acknowledgement that Museveni has really put his neck out there, as the first head of state, to help save great apes and his country. This is an excellent idea and approach. Goodall commented saying,

“We have compromised the future of our youth, the future of the Great Apes, other primates and our whole planet. We need support and attention at the highest level.”

Lemur are primates that inhabit Madagascar, and three new species of them have been anounced despite the fact that they were located in the eastern rain forests in 2001. They are all mouse sized primates and have all gotten the genus Microcebus to describe their small bodies.

One of the species have been named, Microcebus mittermeieri, named after primatologist and Conservation International president Russell Mittermeier, “for his commitment and dedication to protecting wildlife and forest habitat all over the world.” The second lemur has been named Microcebus simmonsi, after Lee Simmons, director of the Henry Doorly Zoo, and Microcebus jollyae, for Alison Jolly, a lemur researcher at Princeton University in New Jersey.

The discovery of these new lemurs have influenced the Madagascar’s president to recently announce that the government would be tripling the total size of the island’s protected areas to 14,826,000 acres (6,000,000 hectares), which is a significant contribution to primate research and conservation.

The discovery will be published in the current issue of the scientific journal International Journal of Primatology. You can read more about the discovery over at National Geographic News.

Jane Goodall is by now a household name amongst nearly everyone I know. Her work with chimpanzees in Gombe set the stage for awareness and advocacy towards non-human primates. Goodall has recently expanded her advocacy towards medical research on Cercocebus atys, also known as Sooty Mangabey monkeys. Sooty Mangabeys are listed as an endangered primate species and some medical institutes look to gather more wild C. atys to conduct research, since most in captivity have been breed to be immune to AIDS.

I’ve seen many news pieces on the topic, most of which derive from the Associated Press circulation that documents,

“[Goodall's] letter urges the US Fish & Wildlife Service to reject a request by the Yerkes National Primate Research Center, according to a copy filed with the government… Yerkes officials are proposing to help conserve sooties in the African wild in exchange for permission to do AIDS-related research on captive sooties.”

I share the sentiments of PETA who believe that should the Yerkes deal go through, it would potentially permit applications premised on allowing entities to kill or otherwise harm endangered species in exchange for making financial contributions to conservation programs.

However, I understand but do not condone inhumane treatment of primates used for medical research. A relatively older research paper on immune system reaction of Sooty mangabeys to HIV conducted by Yerkes research in 1986 has been really influential in understanding this devastating epidemic. Ultimately, I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place — how do we be humane towards endangered primates but also effectively study to prevent the deaths of hundreds of thousands of humans? Is there a way we can find a balance?

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