Lemur social systems and their ecological basis /

Lemurs are "lower" primates, generally accepted to be less advanced in intelligence and other systems than their relatives the monkeys, apes, and humans. The term "lemur" is confusing, as it is used to denote species of the genus Lemur; more broadly, those of the family Lemuridae; or more broadly still (as here), all "lower" primates found on Madagascar, although they do not form a complete evolutionary group (some even use the term for all "lower" primates, including the Afro-Asian lorisoids). This outgrowth of a 1992 symposium provides new studies on the interaction between social structure and ecology in Malagasy primates. Most of the 17 chapters discuss work on lemurs in the narrower senses, with single contributions on Lepilemur, Daubentonia, and Propithecus. Topics range from first reports of studies on poorly known species to surveys of predation, range utilization, and seasonal changes in behavior in response to climate. Two theoretical syntheses examine the relationships between sexual selection and female social dominance, and social systems and daily activity patterns, respectively. The papers are of good quality, but they have no common focus to make this a book rather than a collection of articles. Moreover, the type has been compressed to the point where it hinders readability, presumably for economic reasons. Graduate; faculty. E. Delson; Herbert H. Lehman College, CUNY