Collecting the Data

I collected data from the lemurs using continuous focal sampling. This means I observed each lemur individually, recording all relevant behaviors. Each lemur was individually observed for 3 hours in total. The observation hours were split into at least 2 separate days for each lemur.

The data were recorded by hand using a pen and notebook paper. All the data were then inputted by hand into a spreadsheet on Google Sheets.

I observed various behaviors that may be associated with limb preference, including grasping for food, grasping at a branch when locomoting, clasping hands, crossing legs, and bipedal locomotion. Here is the list of all the behaviors I observed (aka the ethogram):

Abbreviation	Behavior	Description	"Task"
AG	Allo-grooming	Using teeth, tongue, or digits to pick through the hair of another individual	Grooming
BP	Bipedalism	Individual locomotes using 2 legs	Locomoting
CL	Cross legs	Individual holds legs so that one is on top of the other. Can be crossed at the thigh, knee, or ankle.	Cross legs
E	Eating	Ingestion of solids	Eating
F	Foraging	Investigating with nose, mouth, and/or hands at a potential food source	Eating
G	Grasp	Individual grabs objects (other than food) with hands.	Locomoting or resting
HC	Handclasp	Individual holds hands together with one thumb on top and the other on the bottom	Handclasp
L	Locomotion	Moving from one location to another	Locomoting
La	Land	Individual touches the ground after being on a raised surface	Locomoting
QP	Quadrupedalism	Individual locomotes using 4 limbs	Locomoting
R	Rest	Sitting or laying in the same position for ≥ 30 seconds	Resting
SG	Self-grooming	Using teeth, tongue, or digits to pick through one’s own hair	Grooming
SM	Scent-marking	Rubbing scent glands against another individual, self, object, or substrate	Scent-marking