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Between June and August of 2014 I studied the demography of a population of Milne-Edward's sifaka (Propithecus edwardsi) in an unprotected forest, known locally as Ampatsona and Ambohidaza, north of Ranomafana National Park in southeastern Madagascar. P. edwardsi groups in Ranomafana had been found to exhibit variable ratios of adult males and females (i.e. one-male/multi-female, multi-male/one-female, multi-male/multi-female, and pairs) in equal proportions over time. I was interested in examining this flexible social organization extended to other P. edwardsi populations as well. Working together with a team of Malagasy field assistants and local guides, we found that groups in Ampatsona-Ambohidaza are smaller on average than groups in Ranomafana and predominantly contained only one adult male and one adult female (i.e. pairs). We also collected botanical data on the forest and ranging data on the P. edwardsi groups which are currently being analyzed to examine what might be causing these differences in group compositions of P edwardsi in Ampatsona-Ambohidaza. This site has been heavily degraded since the mid 20th century and continues to experience anthropogenic pressure, mainly through slash-and-burn agriculture and mining. Our team participated in ongoing conservation efforts in Ampatsona-Ambohidaza begun by my colleague James Herrera. It is our hope that a continued research presence will bring much-needed attention to the people and lemurs of Ampatsona-Ambohidaza.
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