Duke Lemur Center

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The Duke Lemur Center (DLC), formerly the Duke University Primate Center (DUPC) is a company incorporated in 1966 primatologische research facility and a captive breeding station for lemurs of Duke University in Durham , North Carolina . According to the number of lemurs kept, the Duke Lemur Center is the largest keeping of this group of animals outside of Madagascar . With more than 1,400 scientific publications since its inception, researchers here have made a significant contribution to the knowledge of lemurs and other primates . The efforts of the DLC to protect the Malagasy fauna include breeding and reintroduction of endangered species as well as supporting educational projects for the population, working against the destruction of habitats and developing alternatives to bushmeat .

history

Since 1958, the American anthropologist John Buettner-Janusch had built up a group of around 90 lemurs and Galagos at Yale University to conduct research on the biochemistry of blood proteins and molecular genetics . In 1963 he was denied a professorship for life , instead Sidney Mintz was given the professorship and Buettner-Janusch left Yale. In 1965 he was appointed Associate Professor at Duke University , where he founded the Duke University Primate Center in 1966 together with primatologist Peter Klopfer . Klopfer wanted to conduct behavioral studies on primate dams, and Buettner-Janusch wanted to continue his biochemical and genetic research. As the site they chose a site on the edge of Duke Forest , west of the campus of Duke University, the University used as a recreational area for their students and as a research site. Klopfer had already carried out behavioral studies on goats there in the past. The establishment of the center was funded by the National Science Foundation and construction of the building was completed in 1968 after several delays. Buettner-Janusch became the head of the Primate Center.

The Primate Center worked with Malagasy partners from an early stage. In 1972, Foreign Minister and later President Didier Ratsiraka forced researchers such as Ian Tattersall , Alison Richard , Robert W. Sussman , Alison Jolly , Peter Klopfer and John Buettner-Janusch to leave the country, forbade them to enter the country and forbade further lemur research by foreigners. The Socialist Revolutionary Council set up after the Ratsiraka's coup in 1975 was undecided whether to work with Western researchers or those from the COMECON countries in the future . When Buettner-Janusch moved to New York University in 1973, the Primate Center also lost its director. As a result, the Primate Center was in decline and its continued existence was threatened.

In 1977 mammalogist , geologist, and paleontologist Elwyn L. Simons became the first director of the Duke University Primate Center. As a paleontologist, Simons had repeatedly negotiated with foreign government agencies in difficult situations, for example with India and Iran in the 1960s and with the Egyptian government during the Six Day War . During several trips to Madagascar, Simons was able to achieve until 1981 that the Duke University Primate Center was allowed to start a collaboration with the Université d'Antananarivo and the Botanical and Zoological Garden of Tsimbazaza . After several years of isolation, the contracts concluded between the participating institutions were the first steps towards opening Madagascar to international research. Simon's most important contact person in Madagascar was the primatologist and professor Berthe Rakotosamimanana from the Université d'Antananarivo. In the decades that followed, Simons and Rakotosamimanana laid the foundations for the protection of Malagasy biodiversity.

Simons was familiar with the fate of the Madagascan giant lemurs, which became extinct over the past thousand years as a result of human influences, and he made species protection and paleontology the focus of the work of the Primate Center. He remained director of the Primate Center until 1992 and was scientific director for another ten years. From 1977 to 2006 he led an annual expedition to the Fayyum fossil site in northern Egypt . Further paleontological excavations led to Madagascar. Significant finds of fossil primates were found in both Egypt and Madagascar. Under Simons, the Primate Center also experienced an upswing in animal husbandry, the number of animals kept and the species, the successes in breeding, the funds tapped and the number of scientific publications related to the Primate Center increased steadily.

As a result of the longstanding isolation of Madagascar, the lemurs of the Primate Center were partially affected by inbreeding and some species such as the larval sifaka were only kept single animals. Of some species, hybrids of different subspecies existed, which in the past had been bred for the study of the karyotypes and the inheritance of transferrins . As zoo animals and under the aspect of species protection, they were of no value. Simons wanted the Primate Center to be a genetic reserve for the endangered lemurs of Madagascar and a conservation breed. To this end, he strove to set up breeding groups for particularly endangered species, such as the finger animal that had never been kept in the United States or the goblin lemurs that had never been brought into captivity .

Infants of lemurs at the Duke Lemur Center: (a) Crowned Lemurs ; (b) ring-tailed lemur ; (c) Red Vari ; (d) blue-eyed tarsier ; (e) pygmy loris ; (f) Coquerel Sifaka ; (g) Black and White Vari ; (h) gray mouse lemur ; (i) finger animal

The Primate Center has had numerous breeding successes since the late 1970s, in many cases the first offspring of a species outside of Madagascar. Through a large number of publications, the Primate Center has made a significant contribution to the successful keeping of wet-nosed primates and tarsier in zoos and research facilities around the world. Long-term studies are now available in which the successes and failures in keeping and breeding certain species have been documented over decades.

As the first partnership with a Malagasy corporation after the reopening of the country, the cooperation with the Botanical and Zoological Garden of Tsimbazaza began in 1981. In 1988, in collaboration with the Madagascar Fauna Group, the Parc Ivoloina was established near the city ​​of Ivoloina, which had been devastated by a cyclone two years earlier . Ranomafana National Park was founded in 1991 on the initiative of Elwyn Simons and Patricia C. Wright from the Duke Lemur Center . In the 1990s it was possible for the first time in the Duke Lemur Center to release lemurs, thirteen black and white varis , which were threatened with extinction , in the Betampona National Park. The promotion of species protection and environmental protection projects in Madagascar is a focus of the work to this day. The latest project is the SAVA Conservation Project in the Sava region in the far northeast of Madagascar . A nature reserve has been set up there and, in addition to informing the population, the Duke Lemur Center promotes the use of modern kilns, which emit less CO 2 and other smoke gases, consume less charcoal and thus reduce the deforestation of the lemur habitats. In addition, the establishment of fish farms is being promoted so that the population can meet their needs for animal protein without using bushmeat . Research on the breeding of insects, which in the history of Madagascar was an important foodstuff, is also aiming in this direction.

In 1988, Duke University Primate Center was a founding member of the Madagascar Fauna Group (MFG). The Madagascar Fauna Group is an amalgamation of corporations which, in addition to the Duke Lemur Center Duke, includes numerous US zoos, the New York Zoological Society , the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust , the Marwell Preservation Trust and the Mulhouse Zoo . The aim of the association is the protection of species in relation to all those species of the Malagasy fauna whose populations, according to conservationists or the Madagascar authorities, are too small to ensure long-term survival. For this purpose, financial resources, material and personnel are made available to promote educational projects, conservation breeding in captivity and reintroduction in nature. The Duke Lemur Center has been a member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums for decades and has been involved in creating several species of lemur survival plans .

In 1991, Kenneth E. Glander became head of the Primate Center, which continued Simon's commitment to species protection and led the first reintroductions in Madagascar. His successor William Hylander was director from 2001 to 2005 and once again placed greater emphasis on research. Anne D. Yoder , director from 2006 to 2018, named the three areas of research, species protection and education as the most important tasks. Under her leadership, the Duke University Primate Center was renamed the Duke Lemur Center in April 2006 . Duke University provided 10.4 million dollars for the renovation of the facilities and the expansion of the institution. In July 2018, Greg Dye became interim director, and in February 2019 he took over the permanent position.

In the first 50 years of its existence, the Duke Lemur Center looked after more than 4,000 primates from 31 species and made them available for zoological research, but not for classic animal experiments . Among them were primarily lemurs and lorises , but temporarily also goblin lemurs . In 1987 more than 700 primates from 31 species were kept, including more than 500 lemurs. The concentration on Malagasy lemurs, the improvement of keeping conditions, transfers to other facilities, reintroductions and natural mortality led to a reduced number of animals kept. In 2017 around 250 animals from 18 species were cared for. The Duke Lemur Center has more than 40 employees and an annual budget of more than five million US dollars . The DLC has more than 30,000 visitors annually as part of guided tours through the facility.

Investments

The Duke Lemur Center is located on 32 hectares Book - pine - mixed forest in Duke Forest. It is located about two miles southeast of Duke University's main campus across US Highway 15 .

During the first few years, the lemurs at the Primate Center were conventionally kept in small enclosures. With this type of husbandry, it was impossible for the animals to show their natural social behavior. At the instigation of Elwyn L. Simons and Kenneth E. Glander and with the support of Robert W. Sussman, large outdoor enclosures were built in 1981. On August 4, 1981, a first group of 15 brown Makis and on October 14, 1981 a group of eight ring-tailed lemurs were released into their new outdoor enclosure. The mild climate of North Carolina enables most species to be kept in open enclosures all year round. During the winter, the animals have heated retreat rooms, but they also use the opportunity to stay outdoors during the day when it is very cold. Within five years, more enclosures were set up with areas ranging from 0.4 to 8 hectares. To prevent the lemurs from escaping, the trees were cut back at the fences and the fences were energized. The lemurs immediately accepted the new enclosures, including the boundaries, and began eating the leaves and fruits of native trees. Free-range husbandry enables a wealth of observations that are impossible in cages and small enclosures, such as the cooperation of lemurs in the hunt for songbirds and the warning of a group of predators. In addition to optimizing its own animal husbandry, the work of the Duke Lemur Center had a great influence on the keeping of endangered lemurs in zoos and research institutions around the world, as a large number of husbandry recommendations were developed and published.

Research and Teaching

Today, the Duke Lemur Center is the world's leading institution in the research and protection of lemurs . No other facility outside of Madagascar is home to more lemurs, and no facility in the world is home to more endangered primates. The collection of fossil primates that Elwyn L. Simons built up over decades is also unique in the world.

Primate-related research at the Duke Lemur Center encompasses a large number of disciplines, in addition to behavioral research and the study of the cognitive abilities of the lemurs, their genetics, physiology and paleontology. Because of the rarity of primates, nature conservation biology is a focus of research. With its animal population and facilities, the Duke Lemur Center is a great attraction for researchers from all over the world. Many of the primatologists trained over the past 50 years have completed at least part of their studies at the Duke Lemur Center, and in many cases their dissertations focused on research at the Duke Lemur Center. Since the Duke Lemur Center was founded, more than 1,400 scientific publications have been published there.

Examples of the research carried out at the Duke Lemur Center:

Coquerel Sifaka ( Propithecus coquereli ) in different ages, pictures from the Duke Lemur Center: (a) newborn; (b) infant; (c) yearling; (d) subadult; (e); young adult (f) reproductive adult and (g) aging adult Propithecus coquereli
  • Linda Taylor and Robert W. Sussman researched the relationships and social behavior of lemurs of different ages and collected data on reproduction.
  • Michael E. Pereira dealt with the concern of the lemurs for their offspring.
  • Kenneth E. Glander and colleagues described the cooperation of lemurs in hunting songbirds.
  • Joseph M. Macedonia examined the utterances of lemurs and the warning calls when predators approached.
  • Carl J. Erickson researched the foraging of the finger animals in the 1990s and described in detail the acoustic examination of trees for cavities and the echolocation of the finger animals.
  • Peter M. Kappeler studied female dominance behavior and the development of different lemur species.
  • Anne D. Yoder studied the anatomy and genetics of wet-nosed primates to answer open questions about their phylogeny and evolution.
  • From 1988 to 1994 Michael E. Pereira examined female aggressive behavior in two groups of ring-tailed lemurs in a long-term study.
  • Elwyn L. Simons related the observed behavior of the primates kept at the Duke Lemur Center to the findings on the giant lemurs, which became extinct a few centuries ago. In this way he was able to draw conclusions about their behavior and ecology, and contribute to understanding the causes of their extinction.

media

The release of five lemurs into the wild was the subject of the 1998 BBC documentary In the Wild: Operation Lemur with John Cleese , in which British actor John Cleese appears as a speaker. The Duke University Primate Center was the location of the children's series Zoboomafoo, which was produced from 1999 to 2001 . The title role of the talking lemur Zoboomafoo was taken over by Jovian , a Coquerel sifaka who was born in 1994 at the Primate Center and died there in 2014 at the age of 20.

Web links

Commons : Duke Lemur Center  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c Anne D. Yoder, Elwyn L. Simons, and Jon Pollock: Conservation at Duke University Primate Center . In: IUCN / SSC Primate Specialist Group Newsletter 1984, Volume 4, pp. 48-50.
  2. ^ A b Peter Kobel: The Strange Case of the Mad Professor. A True Tale of Endangered Species, Illegal Drugs, and Attempted Murder . Lyons Press, Guilford, CT 2013, ISBN 978-0-7627-9656-4 , pp. 426-433.
  3. ↑ a b c d e Anne D. Yoder: Duke Lemur Center . In: Agustín Fuentes: The International Encyclopedia of Primatology . John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken 2017, doi : 10.1002 / 9781119179313.wbprim0329 .
  4. ↑ Bruce Lambert: John Buettner-Janusch, 67, Dies. NYU Professor Poisoned Candy , The New York Times , July 4, 1992, accessed April 1, 2019.
  5. ↑ a b c d e f Patricia C. Wright: Decades of Lemur Research and Conservation. The Elwyn Simons Influence . In: John G. Fleagle and Christopher C. Gilbert (Eds.): Elwyn Simons: A Search for Origins . Springer, New York 2008, ISBN 978-0-387-73895-6 , pp. 283-310.
  6. ↑ Matt C. Cartmill et al .: Hand ‐ rearing twin Ruffed lemur Lemur variegatus at the Duke University Primate Center . In: International Zoo Yearbook 1979, Volume 19, No. 1, pp. 258-261, doi : 10.1111 / j.1748-1090.1979.tb00576.x .
  7. ^ Lauren E. Charles-Smith, Peter Cowen, and Robert Schopler: Environmental and Physiological Factors Contributing to Outbreaks of Cryptosporidium in Coquerel's Sifaka (Propithecus coquereli) at the Duke Lemur Center: 1999-2007 . In: Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine 2010, Volume 41, No. 3, pp. 438-444, doi : 10.1638 / 2009-0160.1 .
  8. ^ Sarah M. Zehr et al .: Life history profiles for 27 strepsirrhine primate taxa generated using captive data from the Duke Lemur Center . In: Scientific Data 2014, Volume 1, Article 140019, doi : 10.1038 / sdata.2014.19 .
  9. ^ Katherine Cassady, John M. Cullen and Cathy V. Williams: Mortality in Coquerel's Sifakas (Propithecus coquereli) under human care: a retrospective survey from the Duke Lemur Center 1990-2015 . In: Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine 2018, Volume 49, No. 2, pp. 315–323, doi : 10.1638 / 2017-0242.1 .
  10. ↑ Adam Britt et al .: The re-stocking of captive bred ruffed lemurs (Varecia variegata variegata) into the Betampona Reserve: Methodology and recommendations . In: Biodiversity and Conservation 2004, Volume 13, P. 3, 635-657, doi : 10.1023 / B: BIOC.0000009497.24917.ae .
  11. ^ SAVA Conservation , Duke Lemur Center website, accessed April 4, 2019.
  12. ↑ Capacity Building , Duke Lemur Center website, accessed April 4, 2019.
  13. ↑ Matt Simon: Save the Lemurs! Eat the crickets! , Wired , March 5, 2019, accessed April 4, 2019.
  14. ^ Andrea S. Katz: The Madagascar Fauna Group . In: Lon Alterman, Gerald A. Doyle and M. Kay Izard (Eds.): Creatures of the Dark. The Nocturnal Prosimians . Springer, New York 1995, ISBN 978-1-4419-3250-1 , pp. 515-517.
  15. ↑ Barbara S. Coffman: Hand-rearing and reintroduction of a Golden-crowned sifaka: Propithecus tattersalli at the Duke University Primate Center . In: International Zoo Yearbook 1990, Volume 29, No. 1, pp. 137-143, doi : 10.1111 / j.1748-1090.1990.tb03341.x .
  16. ^ Barbara S. Coffman: The Nocturnal Prosimian Colony at the Duke University Primate Center . In: Lon Alterman, Gerald L. Doyle, and M. Kay Izard: Creatures of the Dark. The Nocturnal Prosimians . Springer, Boston, MA 1995, pp. 527-530, doi : 10.1007 / 978-1-4757-2405-9_34 .
  17. ↑ David M. Haring and Kate Davis: Management of the Gray gentle or Eastern lesser bamboo lemur Hapalemur griseus griseus at Duke University Primate Center, Durham . In: International Zoo Yearbook 1998, Volume 36, No. 1, pp. 20-34, doi : 10.1111 / j.1748-1090.1998.tb02881.x .
  18. ↑ David M. Haring et al .: Natural history and captive management of the Aye-aye Daubentonia madagascariensis: at the Duke University Primate Center, Durham . In: International Zoo Yearbook 1994, Volume 33, No. 1, pp. 201-219, doi : 10.1111 / j.1748-1090.1994.tb03574.x .
  19. ↑ Robin Smith: Lemur center names Greg Dye new executive director , Duke Lemur Center website, accessed April 5, 2019.
  20. ^ Elwyn L. Simons: Update on the primate colony at the Duke University Primate Center . In: Primate Conservation. The Newsletter and Journal of the IUCN / SSC Primate Specialist Group 1997, Volume 8, p. 51.
  21. ↑ Patricia C. Wright: Psychological well-being of nocturnal primates in captivity . In: Evaly F. Segal (Ed.): Housing Care and Psychological Wellbeing of Captive and Laboratory Primates . Noyes Publications, Park Ridge, New Jersey 1989, ISBN 0-8155-1201-5 , pp. 61-74.
  22. ^ Robert Jay Russell: Body Temperatures and Behavior of Captive Cheirogaleids . In: Ian Tattersall and Robert W. Sussman (Eds.): Lemur Biology . Plenum Press, New York 1975, ISBN 978-1-4684-2123-1 , pp. 193-206.
  23. ↑ Mark S. Rea et al .: Daily Activity and Light Exposure Levels for Five Species of Lemurs at the Duke Lemur Center . In: American Journal of Physical Anthropology 2014, Volume 153, No. 1, pp. 68-77, doi : 10.1002 / ajpa.22409 .
  24. ↑ Patricia C. Wright, Lisa M. Toyama and Elwyn L. Simons: Courtship and copulation in Tarsius bancanus . In: Folia Primatologica 1986, Volume 46, No. 3, pp. 142-148, doi : 10.1159 / 000156247 .
  25. ↑ Patricia C. Wright: Are tarsiers leaping into extinction? In: Patricia C. Wright, Elwyn L. Simons and Sharon Gursky (Eds.): Tarsiers. Past, Present and Future . Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, New Jersey 2003, ISBN 0-8135-3236-1 , pp. 296-308.
  26. ↑ Linda Taylor and Robert W. Sussman: A preliminary study of kinship and social organization in a semi free-ranging group of Lemur catta . In: International Journal of Primatology 1985, Volume 6: 601-614.
  27. ↑ Linda Taylor: Old Lemurs. Preliminary data on behavior and reproduction from the Duke University Primate Center . In: John G. Fleagle and Christopher C. Gilbert (Eds.): Elwyn Simons: A Search for Origins . Springer, New York 2008, ISBN 978-0-387-73895-6 , pp. 319-334.
  28. ↑ Michael E. Pereira, Annette Klepper and Elwyn L. Simons: Tactics of care for young infants by forest ‐ living ruffed lemurs (Varecia variegata variegata): Ground nests, parking, and biparental guarding . In: American Journal of Primatology 1987, Volume 13, No. 2, pp. 129-144, doi : 10.1002 / ajp.1350130204 .
  29. ↑ Kenneth E. Glander, Benjamin Z. Freed and Jörg U. Ganzhorn: Meat-eating and predation in captive-born Lemur fulvus and caged Lemur macaco . In: Zoo Biology 1985, Volume 4, No. 4, pp. 361-365, doi : 10.1002 / zoo.1430040406 .
  30. ↑ Joseph M. Macedonia: What is communicated in the antipredator calls of lemurs: evidence from playback experiments with ringtailed and ruffed lemurs . In: Ethology 1990, Vol. 86, No. 3, pp. 177-190, doi : 10.1111 / j.1439-0310.1990.tb00428.x .
  31. ↑ Carl J. Erickson: Tap-scanning and extractive foraging in aye-ayes, Daubentonia madagascariensis . In: Folia Primatologica 1994, Volume 62, pp. 125-135, doi : 10.1159 / 000156769 .
  32. ^ Carl J. Erickson: Feeding sites for extractive foraging by the aye-aye, Daubentonia madagascariensis . In: American Journal of Primatology 1995, Vol. 35, No. 3, pp. 235-240, doi : 10.1002 / ajp.1350350306 .
  33. ↑ Carl J. Erickson et al .: Percussive foraging: Stimuli for prey location by aye ayes (Daubentonia madagascariensis) . In: International Journal of Primatology 1998, Volume 19, No. 1, pp. 111-122, doi : 10.1023 / A: 1020363128240 .
  34. ↑ Carl J. Erickson: Perspectives on percussive foraging in the Aye-Aye (Daubentomnia madagascariensis) . In: Lon Alterman, Gerald A. Doyle and M. Kay Izard (Eds.): Creatures of the Dark. The Nocturnal Prosimians . Springer, New York 1995, ISBN 978-1-4419-3250-1 , pp. 251-260.
  35. ↑ Peter M. Kappeler : Female dominance in Lemur catta: more than just female feeding priority? In: Folia Primatologica 1990, Volume 55, pp. 92-95, doi : 10.1159 / 000156504 .
  36. ^ Peter M. Kappeler: Causes and consequences of life-history variation among strepsirhine primates . In: American Naturalist 1996, Volume 148, No. 5, pp. 868-891, doi : 10.2307 / 2463410 .
  37. ^ Anne D. Yoder : The applications and limitations of ontogenetic comparisons for phylogeny reconstruction: The case of the strepsirhine internal carotid artery . In: Journal of Human Evolution 1992, Volume 23, No. 2, pp. 183-195, doi : 10.1016 / 0047-2484 (92) 90106-J .
  38. ^ Anne D. Yoder: Relative position of the Cheirogaleidae in strepsirhine phylogeny: A comparison of morphological and molecular methods and results . In: American Journal of Physical Anthropology 1994, Volume 94, No. 1, pp. 25-46, doi : 10.1002 / ajpa.1330940104 .
  39. ^ Anne D. Yoder et al .: Ancient single origin for Malagasy primates . In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Science 1996, Volume 93, No. 10, pp. 5122-5126, doi : 10.1073 / pnas.93.10.5122 .
  40. ↑ Michael E. Pereira: Obsession with Agonistic Power . In: Alison Jolly et al. (Ed.): Ringtailed Lemur Biology. Lemur catta in Madagascar . Springer, New York 2006, ISBN 0-387-32669-3 , pp. 245-270.
  41. ↑ Elwyn L. Simons: Lemurs: Old and new . In: Steven M. Goodman and Bruce D. Patterson (Eds.): Natural Change and Human Impact in Madagascar . Smithsonian Press, Washington, DC 1997, ISBN 1-56098-682-4 , pp. 142-166.

Coordinates: 35 ° 59 ′ 39.4 "  N , 78 ° 57 ′ 37.7"  W.