Mid-pass whole-genome sequencing in a Malagasy cohort uncovers body composition associations.

The majority of human genomic research studies have been conducted in European-ancestry cohorts, reducing the likelihood of detecting potentially novel and globally impactful findings. Here, we present mid-pass whole-genome sequencing data and a genome-wide association study in a cohort of 264 self-reported Malagasy individuals from three locations on the island of Madagascar. We describe genetic variation in this Malagasy cohort, providing insight into the shared and unique patterns of genetic variation across the island.

Response of diademed sifaka () to fosa () predation in the Betampona Strict Nature Reserve, Madagascar.

Large-bodied mammals living in fragmented habitats are at higher risk of extinction, and such risk can be influenced by ecological factors such as predator-prey system dynamics. These dynamics can be particularly complex for conservation management when one endangered species preys on another endangered species in an isolated or poor-quality habitat. Here we describe predation events observed over 19 months that involved two threatened species: the largest carnivore in Madagascar, the fosa (), and three groups of diademed sifaka () in the Betampona Strict Nature Reserve.

Evolutionary and phylogenetic insights from a nuclear genome sequence of the extinct, giant, "subfossil" koala lemur .

No endemic Madagascar animal with body mass >10 kg survived a relatively recent wave of extinction on the island. From morphological and isotopic analyses of skeletal "subfossil" remains we can reconstruct some of the biology and behavioral ecology of giant lemurs (primates; up to ∼160 kg) and other extraordinary Malagasy megafauna that survived into the past millennium. Yet, much about the evolutionary biology of these now-extinct species remains unknown, along with persistent phylogenetic uncertainty in some cases.

Re-assessing the applicability of the Jarman/Bell model and Kay's threshold to the insectivorous aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis).

Objectives: Jarman/Bell principle and Kay's threshold suggest that large animals should not be able to sustain themselves on insects. However, animals with specialized morphological and/or behavioral adaptations violate these assumptions. Male aye-ayes were recently identified as having an insectivorous diet despite weighing 2.

Primates in peril: the significance of Brazil, Madagascar, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo for global primate conservation.

Primates occur in 90 countries, but four-Brazil, Madagascar, Indonesia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)-harbor 65% of the world's primate species (439) and 60% of these primates are Threatened, Endangered, or Critically Endangered (IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017-3). Considering their importance for global primate conservation, we examine the anthropogenic pressures each country is facing that place their primate populations at risk. Habitat loss and fragmentation are main threats to primates in Brazil, Madagascar, and Indonesia.