Coevolution of Cyanogenic Bamboos and Bamboo Lemurs on Madagascar.
Feeding strategies of specialist herbivores often originate from the coevolutionary arms race of plant defenses and counter-adaptations of herbivores. The interaction between bamboo lemurs and cyanogenic bamboos on Madagascar represents a unique system to study diffuse coevolutionary processes betwe...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2016-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4988758?pdf=render |
| _version_ | 1818525756853059584 |
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| author | Daniel J Ballhorn Fanny Patrika Rakotoarivelo Stefanie Kautz |
| author_facet | Daniel J Ballhorn Fanny Patrika Rakotoarivelo Stefanie Kautz |
| author_sort | Daniel J Ballhorn |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Feeding strategies of specialist herbivores often originate from the coevolutionary arms race of plant defenses and counter-adaptations of herbivores. The interaction between bamboo lemurs and cyanogenic bamboos on Madagascar represents a unique system to study diffuse coevolutionary processes between mammalian herbivores and plant defenses. Bamboo lemurs have different degrees of dietary specialization while bamboos show different levels of chemical defense. In this study, we found variation in cyanogenic potential (HCNp) and nutritive characteristics among five sympatric bamboo species in the Ranomafana area, southeastern Madagascar. The HCNp ranged from 209±72 μmol cyanide*g-1 dwt in Cathariostachys madagascariensis to no cyanide in Bambusa madagascariensis. Among three sympatric bamboo lemur species, the greater bamboo lemur (Prolemur simus) has the narrowest food range as it almost exclusively feeds on the highly cyanogenic C. madagascariensis. Our data suggest that high HCNp is the derived state in bamboos. The ancestral state of lemurs is most likely "generalist" while the ancestral state of bamboo lemurs was determined as equivocal. Nevertheless, as recent bamboo lemurs comprise several "facultative specialists" and only one "obligate specialist" adaptive radiation due to increased flexibility is likely. We propose that escaping a strict food plant specialization enabled facultative specialist bamboo lemurs to inhabit diverse geographical areas. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T06:13:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-56af36e7f7ed46d79f075ef96a33cc60 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T06:13:19Z |
| publishDate | 2016-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-56af36e7f7ed46d79f075ef96a33cc602022-12-22T01:18:03ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032016-01-01118e015893510.1371/journal.pone.0158935Coevolution of Cyanogenic Bamboos and Bamboo Lemurs on Madagascar.Daniel J BallhornFanny Patrika RakotoariveloStefanie KautzFeeding strategies of specialist herbivores often originate from the coevolutionary arms race of plant defenses and counter-adaptations of herbivores. The interaction between bamboo lemurs and cyanogenic bamboos on Madagascar represents a unique system to study diffuse coevolutionary processes between mammalian herbivores and plant defenses. Bamboo lemurs have different degrees of dietary specialization while bamboos show different levels of chemical defense. In this study, we found variation in cyanogenic potential (HCNp) and nutritive characteristics among five sympatric bamboo species in the Ranomafana area, southeastern Madagascar. The HCNp ranged from 209±72 μmol cyanide*g-1 dwt in Cathariostachys madagascariensis to no cyanide in Bambusa madagascariensis. Among three sympatric bamboo lemur species, the greater bamboo lemur (Prolemur simus) has the narrowest food range as it almost exclusively feeds on the highly cyanogenic C. madagascariensis. Our data suggest that high HCNp is the derived state in bamboos. The ancestral state of lemurs is most likely "generalist" while the ancestral state of bamboo lemurs was determined as equivocal. Nevertheless, as recent bamboo lemurs comprise several "facultative specialists" and only one "obligate specialist" adaptive radiation due to increased flexibility is likely. We propose that escaping a strict food plant specialization enabled facultative specialist bamboo lemurs to inhabit diverse geographical areas.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4988758?pdf=render |
| spellingShingle | Daniel J Ballhorn Fanny Patrika Rakotoarivelo Stefanie Kautz Coevolution of Cyanogenic Bamboos and Bamboo Lemurs on Madagascar. PLoS ONE |
| title | Coevolution of Cyanogenic Bamboos and Bamboo Lemurs on Madagascar. |
| title_full | Coevolution of Cyanogenic Bamboos and Bamboo Lemurs on Madagascar. |
| title_fullStr | Coevolution of Cyanogenic Bamboos and Bamboo Lemurs on Madagascar. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Coevolution of Cyanogenic Bamboos and Bamboo Lemurs on Madagascar. |
| title_short | Coevolution of Cyanogenic Bamboos and Bamboo Lemurs on Madagascar. |
| title_sort | coevolution of cyanogenic bamboos and bamboo lemurs on madagascar |
| url | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4988758?pdf=render |
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