Research Training Program

Holly Ober
Duke University
Durham, North Carolina

Brian Robbins, Ph.D.
Project Advisor
Department of Vertebrate Zoology
Division of Mammals

"The RTP sparked within me an interest in primates and I now plan to devote the rest of my life to their study and conservation."

Mammalian Species Account: Daubentonia madagascariensis

This project involved the preparation of a mammalian species account. Using the extensive library system of the Smithsonian, a thorough literature search was conducted. Much of the material obtained was written in French, thus necessitating the recollection of and improvement upon junior high school knowledge of the language. After collecting well over one hundred sources, an accurate summary of all of the information found was compiled. The information was assembled into the standard format of those accounts appearing in Mammalian Species. The concise summary included the following topics: a generic account, synonymy, context and content, diagnosis, general characters, distribution, fossil record, form, function, ontogeny and reproduction, ecology, behavior, and genetics. A distribution map was also prepared. Brian Robbins, was instrumental in the revision process. The species chosen for this research was Daubentonia madagascariensis, an endangered species of primate found only on the island of Madagascar. The reason for this choice is the plan to do an independent research project on Daubentonia next semester at the Duke Primate Center. The research done here provided preparationl to design a relevant independent project on the animal's behavior.

This research was supported by a grant from the James Smithson Society.