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Using Conservation Endocrinology To Assess the Risk of Local Extinction: A Case Study of Malagasy Lemurs

EPA Grant Number: U915657
Title: Using Conservation Endocrinology To Assess the Risk of Local Extinction: A Case Study of Malagasy Lemurs
Investigators: Durham, Debra L.
Institution: University of California - Davis
EPA Project Officer: Edwards, Jason
Project Period: August 1, 1999 through August 1, 2002
Project Amount: $84,152
RFA: STAR Graduate Fellowships (1999)
Research Category: Fellowship - Life Sciences , Biology/Life Sciences , Academic Fellowships

Description:

Objective:

The goal of this research project is to elucidate the impact of habitat alteration on female reproductive endocrinology and its implications for the risk of local extinction in mammal populations. If the females of one species reproduce less effectively than the females of another species when both are faced with habitat change, differences in reproductive endocrinology could be important factors contributing to variations in risk of local extinction.

Approach:

To determine if there are consequences for risk of local extinction by virtue of species' differences in the sensitivity of reproductive cycles to habitat disturbance, the research will test whether the degree of habitat alteration is correlated with hormonal measures of reproductive performance in one high-risk and one low-risk lemur species at Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar. To relate ecological characteristics of disturbed habitats to differences in reproductive endocrinology that may exist between high- and low-risk lemur species, a crossdisciplinary approach that draws upon endocrinology, animal behavior, and ecology, and includes both field and laboratory components, will be used. Laboratory techniques that have been modified for use in the field make it possible to collect data about the association between sensitivity to habitat disturbance and attributes of the female reproductive cycle. These measures, combined with ecological and behavioral analyses, will contribute to the study of the impact of habitat alteration on female reproductive endocrinology and its implications for the risk of local extinction.

Expected Results:

The results of this research will contribute to the study of the impact of habitat alteration on female reproductive endocrinology and its implications for the risk of local extinction.

Supplemental Keywords:

risk assessment, mammals, threatened populations. , Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, Geographic Area, Scientific Discipline, Habitat, Molecular Biology/Genetics, Biochemistry, International, risk assessment, animal responses, multidisciplinary approach, genetic consequences, habitat disturbance, habitat loss, Madagascar, ecological consequences, lemurs

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The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.

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