Although variation in effect sizes and predicted values among studies of similar phenomena is inevitable, such variation far exceeds what might be produced by sampling error alone. One possible explanation for variation among results is differences among researchers in the decisions they make regarding statistical analyses. A growing array of studies has explored this analytical variability in different fields and has found substantial variability among results despite analysts having the same data and research question. Many of these studies have been in the social sciences, but one small “many analyst” study found similar variability in ecology. We expanded the scope of this prior work by implementing a large-scale empirical exploration of the variation in effect sizes and model predictions generated by the analytical decisions of different researchers in ecology and evolutionary biology. We used two unpublished datasets, one from evolutionary ecology (blue tit, Cyanistes caeruleus, to compare sibling number and nestling growth) and one from conservation ecology (Eucalyptus, to compare grass cover and tree seedling recruitment). The project leaders recruited 174 analyst teams, comprising 246 analysts, to investigate the answers to prespecified research questions. Analyses conducted by these teams yielded 141 usable effects (compatible with our meta-analyses and with all necessary information provided) for the blue tit dataset, and 85 usable effects for the Eucalyptus dataset. We found substantial heterogeneity among results for both datasets, although the patterns of variation differed between them. For the blue tit analyses, the average effect was convincingly negative, with less growth for nestlings living with more siblings, but there was near continuous variation in effect size from large negative effects to effects near zero, and even effects crossing the traditional threshold of statistical significance in the opposite direction. In contrast, the average relationship between grass cover and Eucalyptus seedling number was only slightly negative and not convincingly different from zero, and most effects ranged from weakly negative to weakly positive, with about a third of effects crossing the traditional threshold of significance in one direction or the other. However, there were also several striking outliers in the Eucalyptus dataset, with effects far from zero. For both datasets, we found substantial variation in the variable selection and random effects structures among analyses, as well as in the ratings of the analytical methods by peer reviewers, but we found no strong relationship between any of these and deviation from the meta-analytic mean. In other words, analyses with results that were far from the mean were no more or less likely to have dissimilar variable sets, use random effects in their models, or receive poor peer reviews than those analyses that found results that were close to the mean. The existence of substantial variability among analysis outcomes raises important questions about how ecologists and evolutionary biologists should interpret published results, and how they should conduct analyses in the future.

Animal seed dispersers are crucial in tropical forests because they provide beneficial impacts to plants, from organisms to communities. Besides frugivorous species, omnivorous, small‐bodied, and nocturnal animals might also disperse seeds in their habitats; yet we know relatively little about their role and impacts. The Cheirogaleidae (dwarf and mouse lemurs) in Madagascar are examples of such animals, whose seed dispersal role has been overlooked until recently. Here, I provide an overview of their potential contribution to seed dispersal based on their ecological traits and future directions for studying seed dispersal ecology in Madagascar's forest ecosystems. The limited literature, published between 1971 and 2022, on the feeding ecology and seed dispersal services of the Cheirogaleidae shows that they could potentially disperse small‐sized seeds (<15 mm). Also, they could surprisingly take seeds relatively long distances away from the parents (up to 1 km) despite their small body mass, both in disturbed and undisturbed forest habitats. The passage of seeds through their guts could also enhance seed germination and seedling survival. Only four Cheirogaleid species out of 40 are currently demonstrated to be effective seed dispersers. Studying the seed dispersal by small‐bodied and nocturnal primates could greatly inform their long‐term conservation as it will provide information for better awareness of their ecological role and needs.Abstract in Malagasy is available with online material.

Finding sleeping sites is important for the fitness of many mammal species. Like most nonhuman primates, Madagascar's mouse lemurs (genus: Microcebus) are thought to exclusively use arboreal sleeping sites. The rufous mouse lemurs (Microcebus rufus) in Ranomafana National Park (southeastern Madagascar) have always been documented to sleep in either tree holes or leaf nests. However, in our recent field expedition, we observed, with the help of telemetry technologies, an unprecedented event of M. rufus sleeping in a burrow on the rainforest ground, curled up with a very slow heartbeat. Thus far, such behavior has not been observed in any other Microcebus species but is common in high‐altitude dwarf lemurs (genus: Cheirogaleus), a closely related genus to the mouse lemurs. We believe that this discovery could illustrate an ecophysiological response strategy to habitat changes, which warrants further investigation.

Lemurs, a highly diverse primate group endemic to Madagascar, have captivated the attention of researchers for nearly 120 years. Here, we conducted a literature review and a bibliometric analysis to provide an overview of how various aspects of “Lemurology” or the scientific studies of lemurs, have changed over time. Focusing only on original scientific articles, we described the trends in the topics and taxa studied, the publication languages, the authorship, and study sites. We used two datasets: one from the Web of Science (WoS; 2223 articles) and another from three Madagascar‐focused journals (MFJ; 329 articles). The observation of lemurs in the wild is the oldest form of Lemurology, starting under the French colonization, and remains the main data source for articles in both datasets. Microcebus and Eulemur are the most studied genera in WoS and Propithecus and Eulemur in MFJ. At this time, no articles are written in Malagasy, but English and French are the main languages used in Lemurology. Although Malagasy scientists are still underrepresented at the international level, there is a recent shift toward an increased number of Malagasy scientists as first and last authors. We found no gender bias in WoS, but MFJ exhibited noticeable male author dominance. Most Lemurology has been conducted at the Duke Lemur Center (USA), followed by Kirindy and Ranomafana forests in Madagascar. Lemurology thus shows different portraits at international and local levels, suggesting that unequal access to resources and opportunities may hinder the effective investigation and conservation of lemurs.