In very general terms, "scaling" can be defined as the structural and func tional consequences of differences in size (or scale) among organisms of more or less similar design. Interest in certain aspects of body size and scaling in primate biology (e. g., relative brain size) dates to the turn of the century, and scientific debate and dialogue on numerous aspects of this general subject have continued to be a primary concern of primatologists, physical an thropologists, and other vertebrate biologists up to the present. Indeed, the intensity and scope of such research on primates have grown...

The landscapes of Madagascar have long delighted zoologists, who have discovered, in and among the island s baobab trees and thickets, a dizzying array of animals, including something approaching one hundred species of lemur. Madagascar s mammal fauna, for example, is far more diverse, and more endemic, than early explorers and naturalists ever dreamed of. But in the past 2,500 or so yearsa period associated with natural climatic shifts and ecological change, as well as partially coinciding with the arrival of the island s first human settlersa considerable proportion of Madagascar s forests...