Alison F Richard
Biographic Data
| ID | 79745 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Alison F Richard |
| GIVEN NAMES | Alison F |
| FAMILY NAME | Richard |
| SIGNATURE | RICHARD A F |
| AFFILIATIONS | Yale University |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 26 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 227 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 26 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1976 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2023 |
| H-INDEX | 8 |
Terrestrial Tree Hugging in a Primarily Arboreal Lemur (Propithecus verreauxi): A Cool Way to Deal with Heat
The Sloth Lemur's Song: Madagascar from the Deep Past to the Uncertain Present
Madagascar: A History of Arrivals, What Happened, and Will Happen Next
Most of the ancestors of today's human and animal populations reached Madagascar over the last 65 million years, by a variety of routes at a variety of times. Settlers encountered a big, isolated island with an unpredictable climate and a wide array of landscapes. Although patterns of diversification were driven by different mechanisms in humans and animals, the complex interplay between historical contingency and responsiveness to local conditio…
A comparison of salivary pH in sympatric wild lemurs ( Lemur catta and Propithecus verreauxi ) at Beza Mahafaly Special Reserve, Madagascar
Chemical deterioration of teeth is common among modern humans, and has been suggested for some extinct primates. Dental erosion caused by acidic foods may also obscure microwear signals of mechanical food properties. Ring‐tailed lemurs at the Beza Mahafaly Special Reserve (BMSR), Madagascar, display frequent severe tooth wear and subsequent tooth loss. In contrast, sympatric Verreaux's sifaka display far less tooth wear and infrequent tooth loss,…
Evolution in the hypervariable environment of Madagascar
We show that the diverse ecoregions of Madagascar share one distinctive climatic feature: unpredictable intra- or interannual precipitation compared with other regions with comparable rainfall. Climatic unpredictability is associated with unpredictable patterns of fruiting and flowering. It is argued that these features have shaped the evolution of distinctive characteristics in the mammalian fauna of the island. Endemic Herpestidae and Tenrecida…
Intrasexual selection in Verreaux's sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi verreauxi)
Life in the slow lane? Demography and life histories of male and female sifaka ( Propithecus verreauxi verreauxi )
A 16‐year study of wild, unprovisioned sifaka Propithecus verreauxi verreauxi at Beza Mahafaly in south‐west Madagascar provides estimates of age‐specific fertility, mortality, and dispersal in a population of 426 marked animals, and longitudinal records of individual life histories. Sifaka females give birth for the first time later and live longer, for their size, than mammals in other orders; they also give birth later and continue reproducing…
Characterization and screening of microsatellite loci in a wild lemur population ( Propithecus verreauxi verreauxi )
Sixteen dinucleotide microsatellite loci were isolated from the genome of Propithecus verreauxi verreauxi . All loci were polymorphic when genotyped on a minimum of 16 animals. The number of alleles across these loci ranges from two to 11. Additionally, seven of these loci were genotyped across a minimum of 200 animals in order to estimate heterozygosity and their potential for parentage assignment in this population. Using these seven loci, the …
Mass change, environmental variability and female fertility in wild Propithecus verreauxi
Reproduction in free-ranging male Propithecus verreauxi: The hormonal correlates of mating and aggression
Endocrine studies of captive strepsirrhine primates suggest that physical environment and social factors mediate inter-individual variations in testicular function and serum testosterone (sT) in males. While these studies have made major contributions to our understanding of the individual proximate mechanisms influencing androgen activity in male strepsirrhines, none have investigated how these mechanisms work coincidentally in free-ranging popu…
Reproduction in free-ranging malePropithecus verreauxi: The hormonal correlates of mating and aggression
Endocrine studies of captive strepsirrhine primates suggest that physical environment and social factors mediate inter-individual variations in testicular function and serum testosterone (sT) in males. While these studies have made major contributions to our understanding of the individual proximate mechanisms influencing androgen activity in male strepsirrhines, none have investigated how these mechanisms work coincidentally in free-ranging popu…
Application of fecal steroid techniques to the reproductive endocrinology of female verreaux's Sifaka ( Propithecus verreauxi )
Solid phase extraction, high performance liquid chromatography, and radioimmunoassay were used to test the validity of fecal steroid analysis for assessing ovarian function in sifaka ( Propithecus verreauxi ). Daily fecal samples were collected over a 4 month period from two cycling female sifaka, and single samples were collected from females during normal gestation and males while housed at the Duke University Primate Center. Tests of radioimmu…
In Brief
Dispersal by Propithecus verreauxi at Beza Mahafaly, Madagascar: 1984–1991
From 1984 to 1991, 126 males and females were marked and monitored in a wild population of Propithecus verreauxi in southwest Madagascar. Animals were assigned birth years, based on known birth date or degree of dental wear calibrated by recapture data. Twenty‐one of 27 groups identified in 1984 persisted within stable home range boundaries, 6 groups disappeared, and 6 new groups formed. Only males transferred between existing groups, although in…
Obituary: John Buettner‐Janusch (1924–1992)
Aggressive competition between males, female-controlled polygyny and sexual monomorphism in a Malagasy primate, Propithecus verreauxi
The evolutionary determinants of sexual dimorphism among primates continue to be debated. This paper uses field observations of a Malagasy primate, Propithecus verreauxi, to argue that one problem underlying this debates is the unrecognized heterogeneity of mating system categories used in comparative analyses investigating the importance of sexual selection in determining sexual dimorphism. It is suggested that at least one new mating system cat…
Social relations in semi‐free‐ranging sifakas ( Propithecus verreauxi coquereli ) and the question of female dominance
Female social dominance over males is thought to characterize most of the prosimian primates of Madagascar. It has been reported in Propithecus verreauxi coquereli in the wild but intersexual relations were not fully characterized. In this paper we examine female‐male spatial and agonistic relations in semi‐free‐ranging P. v. coquereli in order to evaluate intersexual social dominance and related behavioral asymmetries. Two hundred hours of focal…
Demography of Propithecus verreauxi at Beza Mahafaly, Madagascar: Sex ratio, survival, and fertility, 1984–1988
Eighty‐five sifakas ( Propithecus verreauxi ) have been captured, marked, released, and monitored between September 1984 and August 1988 at the Beza Mahafaly Special Reserve in southwest Madagascar. Estimates are presented of the age and sex structure of this population and of age‐specific fertility and survival. Using data from this and other studies, it is shown that sifaka tertiary sex ratios do not depart significantly from 50:50, but that th…
Weed macaques: The evolutionary implications of macaque feeding ecology
Ecology of rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) in northwest Pakistan
Female social dominance and basal metabolism in a malagasy primate, Propithecus verreauxi
Tight energetic constraints on reproductively active females are hypothesized to be an important determinant of the phenomenon of female dominance in Propithecus verreauxi , a primate endemic to Madagascar. Five wild sifakas were captured in the Beza Mahafaly Special Reserve in southern Madagascar, and resting metabolic rates (RMR) were measured. Levels were low, as predicted, with the exception of a possibly pregnant female.; Although the data w…
Social boundaries in a Malagasy Prosimian, the Sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi)
Male migration and inbreeding avoidance in wild rhesus monkeys
Genetic, demographic, and behavioral evidence from a population of wild rhesus monkeys ( Macaca mulatta ) were analyzed to test the widely held assumption that social subdivision of mammalian populations, as seen in the rhesus monkey, results in inbreeding. This assumption has been important in attempts to explain rapid rates of evolution among mammals. Demographic records were kept over a period of 42 months on a study population comprising 292 …
Sociobiology: Primate Field Studies
Sociobiology is concerned with the evolution and adaptive significance of social behavior. Certain kinds of social behavior, such as aggression, are readily explained by Darwin's concept of individual selection. In contrast, until recently acts of altruism seemed to be in direct contradiction to Darwinian thinking [see Alexander (2) for a history of the subject]. The first major step toward the resolution of this apparent paradox came with the de…
Changing Assumptions in Primate Ecology
Ecological research on nonhuman primates developed separately from the discipline of ecology as a whole, and has in the past been characterized by a distinctive set of goals and assumptions. This paper examines some of the problems surrounding these assumptions. Recently, primate ecologists have begun to adopt the conceptual framework of other ecologists; it is argued here that this trend does not in fact solve all the old problems. Finally, the …
Weed macaques: The evolutionary implications of macaque feeding ecology
Demography of Propithecus verreauxi at Beza Mahafaly, Madagascar: Sex ratio, survival, and fertility, 1984–1988
Eighty‐five sifakas ( Propithecus verreauxi ) have been captured, marked, released, and monitored between September 1984 and August 1988 at the Beza Mahafaly Special Reserve in southwest Madagascar. Estimates are presented of the age and sex structure of this population and of age‐specific fertility and survival. Using data from this and other studies, it is shown that sifaka tertiary sex ratios do not depart significantly from 50:50, but that th…
Mass change, environmental variability and female fertility in wild Propithecus verreauxi
Ecology of rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) in northwest Pakistan
Intrasexual selection in Verreaux's sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi verreauxi)
Social boundaries in a Malagasy Prosimian, the Sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi)
Changing Assumptions in Primate Ecology
Ecological research on nonhuman primates developed separately from the discipline of ecology as a whole, and has in the past been characterized by a distinctive set of goals and assumptions. This paper examines some of the problems surrounding these assumptions. Recently, primate ecologists have begun to adopt the conceptual framework of other ecologists; it is argued here that this trend does not in fact solve all the old problems. Finally, the …
Madagascar: A History of Arrivals, What Happened, and Will Happen Next
Most of the ancestors of today's human and animal populations reached Madagascar over the last 65 million years, by a variety of routes at a variety of times. Settlers encountered a big, isolated island with an unpredictable climate and a wide array of landscapes. Although patterns of diversification were driven by different mechanisms in humans and animals, the complex interplay between historical contingency and responsiveness to local conditio…
Sociobiology: Primate Field Studies
Sociobiology is concerned with the evolution and adaptive significance of social behavior. Certain kinds of social behavior, such as aggression, are readily explained by Darwin's concept of individual selection. In contrast, until recently acts of altruism seemed to be in direct contradiction to Darwinian thinking [see Alexander (2) for a history of the subject]. The first major step toward the resolution of this apparent paradox came with the de…
The Sloth Lemur's Song: Madagascar from the Deep Past to the Uncertain Present
Preliminary observations on the birth and development ofPropithecus verreauxi to the age of six months
Changing Assumptions in Primate Ecology
Ecological research on nonhuman primates developed separately from the discipline of ecology as a whole, and has in the past been characterized by a distinctive set of goals and assumptions. This paper examines some of the problems surrounding these assumptions. Recently, primate ecologists have begun to adopt the conceptual framework of other ecologists; it is argued here that this trend does not in fact solve all the old problems. Finally, the …
Sociobiology: Primate Field Studies
Sociobiology is concerned with the evolution and adaptive significance of social behavior. Certain kinds of social behavior, such as aggression, are readily explained by Darwin's concept of individual selection. In contrast, until recently acts of altruism seemed to be in direct contradiction to Darwinian thinking [see Alexander (2) for a history of the subject]. The first major step toward the resolution of this apparent paradox came with the de…
Male migration and inbreeding avoidance in wild rhesus monkeys
Genetic, demographic, and behavioral evidence from a population of wild rhesus monkeys ( Macaca mulatta ) were analyzed to test the widely held assumption that social subdivision of mammalian populations, as seen in the rhesus monkey, results in inbreeding. This assumption has been important in attempts to explain rapid rates of evolution among mammals. Demographic records were kept over a period of 42 months on a study population comprising 292 …
Social boundaries in a Malagasy Prosimian, the Sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi)
Female social dominance and basal metabolism in a malagasy primate, Propithecus verreauxi
Tight energetic constraints on reproductively active females are hypothesized to be an important determinant of the phenomenon of female dominance in Propithecus verreauxi , a primate endemic to Madagascar. Five wild sifakas were captured in the Beza Mahafaly Special Reserve in southern Madagascar, and resting metabolic rates (RMR) were measured. Levels were low, as predicted, with the exception of a possibly pregnant female.; Although the data w…
Weed macaques: The evolutionary implications of macaque feeding ecology
Ecology of rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) in northwest Pakistan
Demography of Propithecus verreauxi at Beza Mahafaly, Madagascar: Sex ratio, survival, and fertility, 1984–1988
Eighty‐five sifakas ( Propithecus verreauxi ) have been captured, marked, released, and monitored between September 1984 and August 1988 at the Beza Mahafaly Special Reserve in southwest Madagascar. Estimates are presented of the age and sex structure of this population and of age‐specific fertility and survival. Using data from this and other studies, it is shown that sifaka tertiary sex ratios do not depart significantly from 50:50, but that th…
Aggressive competition between males, female-controlled polygyny and sexual monomorphism in a Malagasy primate, Propithecus verreauxi
The evolutionary determinants of sexual dimorphism among primates continue to be debated. This paper uses field observations of a Malagasy primate, Propithecus verreauxi, to argue that one problem underlying this debates is the unrecognized heterogeneity of mating system categories used in comparative analyses investigating the importance of sexual selection in determining sexual dimorphism. It is suggested that at least one new mating system cat…
Social relations in semi‐free‐ranging sifakas ( Propithecus verreauxi coquereli ) and the question of female dominance
Female social dominance over males is thought to characterize most of the prosimian primates of Madagascar. It has been reported in Propithecus verreauxi coquereli in the wild but intersexual relations were not fully characterized. In this paper we examine female‐male spatial and agonistic relations in semi‐free‐ranging P. v. coquereli in order to evaluate intersexual social dominance and related behavioral asymmetries. Two hundred hours of focal…
Dispersal by Propithecus verreauxi at Beza Mahafaly, Madagascar: 1984–1991
From 1984 to 1991, 126 males and females were marked and monitored in a wild population of Propithecus verreauxi in southwest Madagascar. Animals were assigned birth years, based on known birth date or degree of dental wear calibrated by recapture data. Twenty‐one of 27 groups identified in 1984 persisted within stable home range boundaries, 6 groups disappeared, and 6 new groups formed. Only males transferred between existing groups, although in…
Obituary: John Buettner‐Janusch (1924–1992)
In Brief
Application of fecal steroid techniques to the reproductive endocrinology of female verreaux's Sifaka ( Propithecus verreauxi )
Solid phase extraction, high performance liquid chromatography, and radioimmunoassay were used to test the validity of fecal steroid analysis for assessing ovarian function in sifaka ( Propithecus verreauxi ). Daily fecal samples were collected over a 4 month period from two cycling female sifaka, and single samples were collected from females during normal gestation and males while housed at the Duke University Primate Center. Tests of radioimmu…
Reproduction in free-ranging male Propithecus verreauxi: The hormonal correlates of mating and aggression
Endocrine studies of captive strepsirrhine primates suggest that physical environment and social factors mediate inter-individual variations in testicular function and serum testosterone (sT) in males. While these studies have made major contributions to our understanding of the individual proximate mechanisms influencing androgen activity in male strepsirrhines, none have investigated how these mechanisms work coincidentally in free-ranging popu…
Reproduction in free-ranging malePropithecus verreauxi: The hormonal correlates of mating and aggression
Endocrine studies of captive strepsirrhine primates suggest that physical environment and social factors mediate inter-individual variations in testicular function and serum testosterone (sT) in males. While these studies have made major contributions to our understanding of the individual proximate mechanisms influencing androgen activity in male strepsirrhines, none have investigated how these mechanisms work coincidentally in free-ranging popu…
Mass change, environmental variability and female fertility in wild Propithecus verreauxi
Characterization and screening of microsatellite loci in a wild lemur population ( Propithecus verreauxi verreauxi )
Sixteen dinucleotide microsatellite loci were isolated from the genome of Propithecus verreauxi verreauxi . All loci were polymorphic when genotyped on a minimum of 16 animals. The number of alleles across these loci ranges from two to 11. Additionally, seven of these loci were genotyped across a minimum of 200 animals in order to estimate heterozygosity and their potential for parentage assignment in this population. Using these seven loci, the …
Life in the slow lane? Demography and life histories of male and female sifaka ( Propithecus verreauxi verreauxi )
A 16‐year study of wild, unprovisioned sifaka Propithecus verreauxi verreauxi at Beza Mahafaly in south‐west Madagascar provides estimates of age‐specific fertility, mortality, and dispersal in a population of 426 marked animals, and longitudinal records of individual life histories. Sifaka females give birth for the first time later and live longer, for their size, than mammals in other orders; they also give birth later and continue reproducing…
Intrasexual selection in Verreaux's sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi verreauxi)
Evolution in the hypervariable environment of Madagascar
We show that the diverse ecoregions of Madagascar share one distinctive climatic feature: unpredictable intra- or interannual precipitation compared with other regions with comparable rainfall. Climatic unpredictability is associated with unpredictable patterns of fruiting and flowering. It is argued that these features have shaped the evolution of distinctive characteristics in the mammalian fauna of the island. Endemic Herpestidae and Tenrecida…
A comparison of salivary pH in sympatric wild lemurs ( Lemur catta and Propithecus verreauxi ) at Beza Mahafaly Special Reserve, Madagascar
Chemical deterioration of teeth is common among modern humans, and has been suggested for some extinct primates. Dental erosion caused by acidic foods may also obscure microwear signals of mechanical food properties. Ring‐tailed lemurs at the Beza Mahafaly Special Reserve (BMSR), Madagascar, display frequent severe tooth wear and subsequent tooth loss. In contrast, sympatric Verreaux's sifaka display far less tooth wear and infrequent tooth loss,…
Madagascar: A History of Arrivals, What Happened, and Will Happen Next
Most of the ancestors of today's human and animal populations reached Madagascar over the last 65 million years, by a variety of routes at a variety of times. Settlers encountered a big, isolated island with an unpredictable climate and a wide array of landscapes. Although patterns of diversification were driven by different mechanisms in humans and animals, the complex interplay between historical contingency and responsiveness to local conditio…
The Sloth Lemur's Song: Madagascar from the Deep Past to the Uncertain Present
Biology (24 works) · Primate Behavior and Ecology (19 works) · Ecology (17 works) · Animal Behavior and Reproduction (16 works) · Primate (14 works) · Zoology (14 works) · Ecology (11 works) · Demography (10 works) · Lemur (10 works) · Population (10 works)