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Eppley TM, Borgerson C, Patel ER, Herrera JP, Kirkby AE, Golden CD, Andriamahaihavana M, Andrianandrasana L, Bóveda A, Gibson D, Jaofeno LJ, Rakotondrasoa F, Ramahaleo TA, Rasamisoa DC, Ratelolahy F, Razafindramanana J, Spira C, Welch C, Vasey N. A habitat stronghold on the precipice: A call-to-action for supporting lemur conservation in northeast Madagascar. Am J Primatol 2024; 86:e23483. [PMID: 36851838 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23483] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2022] [Revised: 02/10/2023] [Accepted: 02/18/2023] [Indexed: 03/01/2023]
Abstract
The northeast of Madagascar is as diverse as it is threatened. The area bordering the Analanjirofo and SAVA regions contains six protected areas and at least 22 lemur species. Many applied research and conservation programs have been established in the region with the aim of ensuring both wildlife and people thrive in the long term. While most of the remaining humid evergreen forest of northeast Madagascar is formally protected, the local human population depends heavily on the land, and unsustainable natural resource use threatens this biodiversity hotspot. Drawing from our collective experiences managing conservation activities and research programs in northeast Madagascar, we discuss the major threats to the region and advocate for eight conservation activities that help reduce threats and protect the environment, providing specific examples from our own programs. These include (1) empowering local conservation actors, (2) ensuring effectively protected habitat, (3) expanding reforestation, (4) establishing and continuing long-term research and monitoring, (5) reducing food insecurity, (6) supporting environmental education, (7) promoting sustainable livelihoods, and (8) expanding community health initiatives. Lastly, we provide a list of actions that individuals can take to join us in supporting and promoting lemur conservation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy M Eppley
- Conservation Science and Wildlife Health, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, Escondido, California, USA
- Department of Anthropology, Portland State University, Portland, Oregon, USA
| | - Cortni Borgerson
- Department of Anthropology, Montclair State University, Montclair, New Jersey, USA
- Madagascar Health and Environmental Research (MAHERY), Maroantsetra, Madagascar
| | - Erik R Patel
- Lemur Conservation Foundation, Myakka City, Florida, USA
| | - James P Herrera
- Duke Lemur Center SAVA Conservation, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Andrew E Kirkby
- Birdlife International, Conservation Department, Cambridge, UK
| | - Christopher D Golden
- Madagascar Health and Environmental Research (MAHERY), Maroantsetra, Madagascar
- Department of Nutrition, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - McAntonin Andriamahaihavana
- Mention Zoologie et Biodiversité Animale, Faculté des Sciences, Université d'Antananarivo, Antananarivo, Madagascar
| | | | - Antonio Bóveda
- Wildlife Conservation Society, Madagascar Program, Antananarivo, Madagascar
| | - Dean Gibson
- Conservation Science and Wildlife Health, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, Escondido, California, USA
| | | | | | | | - Delaïd C Rasamisoa
- Conservation Science and Wildlife Health, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, Escondido, California, USA
| | - Felix Ratelolahy
- Wildlife Conservation Society, Madagascar Program, Antananarivo, Madagascar
| | - Josia Razafindramanana
- Mention Anthropobiologie et Développement Durable, Faculté des Sciences, Université d'Antananarivo, Antananarivo, Madagascar
| | - Charlotte Spira
- Wildlife Conservation Society, Madagascar Program, Antananarivo, Madagascar
| | - Charles Welch
- Duke Lemur Center SAVA Conservation, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Natalie Vasey
- Department of Anthropology, Portland State University, Portland, Oregon, USA
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Murphy A, Gerber BD, Farris ZJ, Karpanty S, Ratelolahy F, Kelly MJ. Making the most of sparse data to estimate density of a rare and threatened species: a case study with the fosa, a little‐studied Malagasy carnivore. Anim Conserv 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/acv.12420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- A. Murphy
- Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation Virginia Tech Blacksburg VA USA
| | - B. D. Gerber
- Department of Natural Resources Science University of Rhode Island Kingston RI USA
| | - Z. J. Farris
- Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation Virginia Tech Blacksburg VA USA
- Department of Health and Exercise Science Appalachian State University Boone NC USA
| | - S. Karpanty
- Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation Virginia Tech Blacksburg VA USA
| | - F. Ratelolahy
- Madagascar Program Wildlife Conservation Society Antananarivo Madagascar
| | - M. J. Kelly
- Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation Virginia Tech Blacksburg VA USA
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Farris ZJ, Boone HM, Karpanty S, Murphy A, Ratelolahy F, Andrianjakarivelo V, Kelly MJ. Feral cats and the
fitoaty
: first population assessment of the black forest cat in Madagascar’s rainforests. J Mammal 2015. [DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyv196] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Despite exceptionally high levels of biodiversity and endemism found in Madagascar, much of its wildlife remains little studied, particularly the carnivore community. The recently described, little-known black forest cat (locally known as “ fitoaty ”) is believed to be restricted to NE Madagascar and has been investigated only through village surveys and anecdotal accounts. From 2008 to 2012, we photographically sampled 7 forest sites with varying degrees of degradation and fragmentation across Makira Natural Park with the goals of: 1) estimating landscape occupancy for fitoaty ( Felis spp.), 2) identifying variables influencing fitoaty occupancy, and 3) comparing fitoaty and feral cat ( Felis spp.) occupancy across the landscape. We observed higher occupancy for fitoaty , minimal co-occurrence between fitoaty and feral cats ( n = 2 sites), and strong divergence in habitat use. We provide the 1st assessment of fitoaty morphology, including comparisons with anecdotal reports, and the 1st population assessment of Madagascar’s exotic cat community with insights into factors associated with carnivore population trends in Madagascar. We suggest the described fitoaty is a phenotypically different form of the feral cat, but additional research is needed. Targeted management plans are needed to diminish the spread and potential negative effects of invasive cats across this important biologically diverse ecoregion.
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Farris ZJ, Golden CD, Karpanty S, Murphy A, Stauffer D, Ratelolahy F, Andrianjakarivelo V, Holmes CM, Kelly MJ. Hunting, Exotic Carnivores, and Habitat Loss: Anthropogenic Effects on a Native Carnivore Community, Madagascar. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0136456. [PMID: 26375991 PMCID: PMC4573327 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0136456] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2015] [Accepted: 08/03/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The wide-ranging, cumulative, negative effects of anthropogenic disturbance, including habitat degradation, exotic species, and hunting, on native wildlife has been well documented across a range of habitats worldwide with carnivores potentially being the most vulnerable due to their more extinction prone characteristics. Investigating the effects of anthropogenic pressures on sympatric carnivores is needed to improve our ability to develop targeted, effective management plans for carnivore conservation worldwide. Utilizing photographic, line-transect, and habitat sampling, as well as landscape analyses and village-based bushmeat hunting surveys, we provide the first investigation of how multiple forms of habitat degradation (fragmentation, exotic carnivores, human encroachment, and hunting) affect carnivore occupancy across Madagascar's largest protected area: the Masoala-Makira landscape. We found that as degradation increased, native carnivore occupancy and encounter rates decreased while exotic carnivore occupancy and encounter rates increased. Feral cats (Felis species) and domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) had higher occupancy than half of the native carnivore species across Madagascar's largest protected landscape. Bird and small mammal encounter rates were negatively associated with exotic carnivore occupancy, but positively associated with the occupancy of four native carnivore species. Spotted fanaloka (Fossa fossana) occupancy was constrained by the presence of exotic feral cats and exotic small Indian civet (Viverricula indica). Hunting was intense across the four study sites where hunting was studied, with the highest rates for the small Indian civet (mean=90 individuals consumed/year), the ring-tailed vontsira (Galidia elegans) (mean=58 consumed/year), and the fosa (Cryptoprocta ferox) (mean=31 consumed/year). Our modeling results suggest hunters target intact forest where carnivore occupancy, abundance, and species richness, are highest. These various anthropogenic pressures and their effects on carnivore populations, especially increases in exotic carnivores and hunting, have wide-ranging, global implications and demand effective management plans to target the influx of exotic carnivores and unsustainable hunting that is affecting carnivore populations across Madagascar and worldwide.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zach J. Farris
- Virginia Tech, Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Blacksburg, VA, United States of America
| | - Christopher D. Golden
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, United States of America
- Wildlife Health and Health Policy Program, HEAL (Health & Ecosystems: Analysis of Linkages) Wildlife Conservation Society, NY, United States of America
| | - Sarah Karpanty
- Virginia Tech, Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Blacksburg, VA, United States of America
| | - Asia Murphy
- Virginia Tech, Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Blacksburg, VA, United States of America
| | - Dean Stauffer
- Virginia Tech, Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Blacksburg, VA, United States of America
| | - Felix Ratelolahy
- Wildlife Conservation Society Madagascar Program, Antananarivo, Madagascar
| | | | | | - Marcella J. Kelly
- Virginia Tech, Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Blacksburg, VA, United States of America
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Farris ZJ, Kelly MJ, Karpanty S, Ratelolahy F. Patterns of spatial co-occurrence among native and exotic carnivores in north-eastern Madagascar. Anim Conserv 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/acv.12233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Z. J. Farris
- Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation; Virginia Tech; Blacksburg VA USA
| | - M. J. Kelly
- Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation; Virginia Tech; Blacksburg VA USA
| | - S. Karpanty
- Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation; Virginia Tech; Blacksburg VA USA
| | - F. Ratelolahy
- Wildlife Conservation Society Madagascar Program; Antananarivo Madagascar
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Farris ZJ, Gerber BD, Karpanty S, Murphy A, Andrianjakarivelo V, Ratelolahy F, Kelly MJ. When carnivores roam: temporal patterns and overlap among Madagascar's native and exotic carnivores. J Zool (1987) 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/jzo.12216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Z. J. Farris
- Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation; Virginia Tech; Blacksburg VA USA
| | - B. D. Gerber
- Colorado Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit; Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology; Colorado State University; Fort Collins CO USA
| | - S. Karpanty
- Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation; Virginia Tech; Blacksburg VA USA
| | - A. Murphy
- Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation; Virginia Tech; Blacksburg VA USA
| | | | - F. Ratelolahy
- Wildlife Conservation Society Madagascar Program; Antananarivo Madagascar
| | - M. J. Kelly
- Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation; Virginia Tech; Blacksburg VA USA
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Radespiel U, Olivieri G, Rasolofoson DW, Rakotondratsimba G, Rakotonirainy O, Rasoloharijaona S, Randrianambinina B, Ratsimbazafy JH, Ratelolahy F, Randriamboavonjy T, Rasolofoharivelo T, Craul M, Rakotozafy L, Randrianarison RM. Exceptional diversity of mouse lemurs (Microcebus spp.) in the Makira region with the description of one new species. Am J Primatol 2008; 70:1033-46. [PMID: 18626970 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.20592] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Although the number of described lemur species has increased considerably over the last 20 years, detailed biogeographic data are still lacking from many geographic regions, in particular in the eastern part of Madagascar. This study investigated mouse lemur species diversity in a previously unstudied Inter-River-System in the eastern Makira region. Three sites were visited and 26 individuals were sampled and characterized with 13 external morphometric measurements. Standard phylogenetic analyses were performed on the basis of sequences of three mitochondrial loci by including representatives of all other published mouse lemur species for comparison. The analyses revealed the presence of three mouse lemur species in one study site, two of which were previously undescribed. The two new species are genetically distinct and belong to the larger-bodied mouse lemur species on the island, whereas the third species, Microcebus mittermeieri, belongs to the smaller-bodied mouse lemur species. The study fully describes one of the new species. This study and other lemur inventories suggest that the Makira region is particularly rich in lemur species and the lack of any protected zone in this area should now attract the urgent attention of conservation stakeholders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ute Radespiel
- Institute of Zoology, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hannover, Germany.
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Craul M, Radespiel U, Rasolofoson DW, Rakotondratsimba G, Rakotonirainy O, Rasoloharijaona S, Randrianambinina B, Ratsimbazafy J, Ratelolahy F, Randrianamboavaonjy T, Rakotozafy L. Large rivers do not always act as species barriers for Lepilemur sp. Primates 2008; 49:211-8. [PMID: 18615265 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-008-0092-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2008] [Accepted: 06/04/2008] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Sportive lemurs constitute a highly diverse endemic lemur family (24 species) for which many biogeographic boundaries are not yet clarified. Based on recent phylogeographic models, this study aims to determine the importance of two large rivers (the Antainambalana and Rantanabe) in northeastern Madagascar as species barriers for Lepilemur seali. The Antainambalana River was previously assumed to act as the southern border of its distribution. A total of 1,038 bp of the mtDNA of four individuals stemming from two adjacent inter-river systems south of the Antainambalana River was sequenced and compared to sequences of 22 described Lepilemur species. The phylogenetic reconstruction did not find support for either of the two rivers as species barrier for Lepilemur, as all captured individuals clustered closely with and therefore belonged to L. seali. However, a previously published sequence of an individual from a site south of our study sites belongs to a separate species. The southern boundary of L. seali must therefore be one of two large rivers further south of our study sites. The results suggest that L. seali may possess a relatively large altitudinal range that enabled this species to migrate around the headwaters of the Antainambalana and Rantanabe Rivers. Previous phylogeographic models need to be refined in order to incorporate these findings, and more species-specific altitudinal range data are urgently needed in order to fully understand the biogeographic patterns of lemurs on Madagascar.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathias Craul
- Institute of Zoology, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Buenteweg 17, 30559, Hannover, Germany
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