PAW MADAGASCAR

New population of nearly extinct Madagascar chameleon discovered

2011-04-21T18:17:00.000-07:00

Scientists have discovered a new population of the Belalanda chameleon (Furcifer belalandaensis), boosting hope for one of Madagascar's rarest chameleons.

While the species was known only from a handful of trees in two Malagasy villages, researchers from the University of Kent's Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE) have discovered another population near a third village.

According to DICE professor, Richard Griffiths, the discovery is "very important for [the Belalanda chameleon], which is probably one of the world's rarest reptiles."

Griffiths adds that, "Habitat loss and degradation is the main threat to chameleons and biodiversity in general in Madagascar. Our teams are working closely with local communities and our partners to raise awareness of the plight of these amazing creatures."

New bird discovered in Madagascar

2011-04-21T18:14:00.000-07:00

CITATION: Steve M. Goodman, Marie Jeanne Raherilalao, and Nicholas L. Block. Patterns of morphological and genetic variation in the Mentocrex kioloides complex (Aves: Gruiformes: Rallidae) from Madagascar, with the description of a new species. Zootaxa. 2776: 49-60 (2011).

The rich and unique biodiversity of Madagascar has a new member: a forest dwelling bird in the rail family, dubbed Mentocrex beankaensis. In 2009 US and Malaygasy scientists conducted a survey in Madagascar's dry Beanka Forest. They discovered several new species, of which the new rail is the first to be described.

"This bird they’ve known about for decades, but no one has been able to go find it and get a specimen of it," said Nick Block, a graduate student at the University of Chicago who studied the new birds molecular genetic told the Chicago Sun Times, describing the new species as 'not common at all'.

Similar to another Malagasy rail, researchers were able to show Mentocrex beankaensis is a new species with taxonomic and DNA studies.

The dry Beanka forests, where the species survived, rest on limestone, which in some cases have formed dramatic spires. The Beanka forest protected area is currently managed by Biodiversity Conservation Madagascar (BCM).

"We [BCM] have taken an approach to the conservation of the Beanka Forest resting on working in unison with local people to fulfill aspects of their economic and development needs and bestowing a sense of natural patrimony of the organisms that live in their forest. These are aspects critical for any long-term successful project. The discovery of this new species of bird and other organisms during the late 2009 expedition underlines the importance of our mission and the uniqueness of the Beanka Forest," the director of BCM, Aldus Andriamamonjy, said in a press release.

Saving Madagascar's largest carnivorous mammal: the fossa

2011-04-21T18:12:00.000-07:00

INTERVIEW WITH MIA-LANA LÜHRS

Madagascar is a land of wonders: dancing lemurs, thumbnail-sized chameleons, the long-fingered aye-aye, great baobab trees, and the mighty fossa. Wait—what? What's a fossa? It's true that when people think of Madagascar rarely do they think of its top predator, the fossa—even if they are one of the few who actually recognizes the animal. While the fossa gained a little notice in the first Madagascar film by Dreamworks, its role in the film was overshadowed by the lemurs. In this case, art imitates life: in conservation and research this feline-like predator has long lived in the shadow of its prey, the lemur. Even scientists are not certain what to do with the fossa: studies have shown that it's not quite a cat and not quite a mongoose and so the species—and its few Malagasy relatives—have been placed in their own family, the Eupleridae, of which the fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox) is the biggest. But if this is the first you've heard of such matters, don't feel bad: one of the world's only fossa-researchers, Mia-Lana Lührs also stumbled on the species.

"I found out about fossas only by coincidence. When I was working in a zoo, I became familiar with the European Endangered Species Program (EEP). Searching these programs on the web, I came to the website of Duisburg Zoo where the fossa’s EEP is managed. When I saw the pictures of the fossas on that page, I was absolutely puzzled that I had never heard of this species before, although I have always been interested in carnivores. I couldn’t even tell which family of carnivore this one might belong to," Mia-Lana Lührs, a PhD student at the University of Göttingen in Germany, told mongabay.com. Despite such a puzzling introduction to Madagascar's biggest predator, Lührs has become one of the world's foremost experts on the enigmatic animal.

Mia-Lana Lührs is a PhD student of the department of Sociobiology/Anthropology at the University of Göttingen. Her thesis focuses on the social system of Madagascar’s largest extant carnivore, the fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox). Photo © Melanie Dammhahn.
Lührs says that fossas may have been, in part, neglected by conservationists and researchers for so long, because of the "dominance of primatological research (i.e. lemurs) in Madagascar […] in fact, fossas are such fascinating creatures that they should be popular all around the world despite their limited distribution."

Many characteristics make fossas wildly intriguing: adept arboreal hunting skills to take down lemurs and bizarre mating habits, including smaller females dominating the process, mating that can last hours and occur with multiple partners, and vocalizations that Lührs says "sounds like a murder is occurring."

"What follows is, how David Attenborough put it, 'a delicate affair'," Lührs explains. "Females will mate multiply with many but not all males present. They can copulate up to 57 times with up to 10 different males. A single copulation can last longer than six hours and one female can mate in one such period for 40 hours in total. That is definitely something interesting to look at as a fossa’s mating activity by far exceeds mammal average."

In her study of the fossa, Lührs has also had the thrill of watching these acrobatic carnivores hunt, including the first evidence of cooperative hunting by three fossa males.

"What followed was probably the most impressive scene I have ever seen in my life," she says. "Three male fossas started to hunt the single sifaka. [...] The whole chase went very quickly and at some point I was in the middle of it because the hunting fossas suddenly used the little wooden hut, which I used as a hide, as climbing substrate. Two males jumped right and left from me on the wooden beams of the hut, and splinters of wood, leaves and dust flew around me. […] Forty-five minutes after the very start of this hunt, the three male fossas finally managed to catch the sifaka when it became tired and made a single wrong decision."

Lührs believes the cooperative hunting was an evolutionary behavior leftover from Madagascar's past when giant lemurs would have provided fossas with meatier, and more difficult, prey.

"Now that giant lemurs are extinct, cooperative hunting appears useless unless it allows the participating individuals to catch a sifaka more rapidly. In the case that I have seen, it took three males 45 minutes. All three of them were totally exhausted afterwards and had to share about three kilograms of meat by three. That does not appear to me as an effective strategy," Lührs explains.

The fossa. Photo © Nick Garbutt .
Unfortunately fossas, like much of Madagascar's wild biodiversity, are faced with extinction. Classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List, Lührs says more research is needed to know if fossas are in fact doing worse than believed. The greatest impact on fossas is habitat loss, which has led to numerous challenges for big predators requiring large spaces to hunt. In her study site, Kirindy Forest, Lührs sees what she calls a 'crowding effect', where fossa individuals are forced to compete for dwindling habitat.

"It is likely that we will soon see dramatic consequences of the ongoing habitat destruction, such as an increase in injuries and death due to frequent encounters of fossas with one another, high infant mortality (for the latter reason and because of food shortage), bad body condition, especially during the lean season in winter due to high competition for food, as well as all the problems of small populations such as inbreeding, sex ratio shifts and the threat of diseases. Moreover, more and more fossas seem to leave the forest in search for habitat and food," Lührs says.

Dwindling forests have also pushed fossas into Malagasy villages. The fossas are typically looking for poultry to catch, and seen as pests they are sometimes attacked by villagers.

"Given the value of every single chicken for a poor villager, this conflict can result in killings of the respective fossas. […] Mortality of fossas in surrounding village areas seems to be a major problem," Lührs says.

Lührs says she is pessimistic, but not hopeless regarding the long-term survival of the fossa. To save the species the first thing that is needed is more research, including "an intensive fossa survey all over Madagascar" according to Lührs. Right now conservationists simply don't know how many fossas survive and where populations are viable.

Where forest has been burnt down, savannah dominates Madagascar’s landscape. This habitat offers grazing ground for many zebus but its biodiversity is low. Very few native species manage to survive in savannah habitat, mainly generalizers, such as birds and insects. Photo © Melanie Dammhahn.
"On the longer perspective, I see an urgent need to make local people benefit from conservation: possibly the only way to change their mind about how to deal with fossas would be to assign some economic value to a living fossa," Lührs says. "Until now villagers do not see any economic value in a fossa, they just perceive it as a pest. But in fact, many tourists come every year to Kirindy to see exactly this species. Their money, however, rarely ends up in the villages. What we need is the awareness that the forest and its biodiversity are property of Malagasy people and that we should pay money for them to protect this forest and this species thereby creating some alternative income. And we are talking about very little money from our perspective which could make big changes from a Malagasy perspective."

For Lührs working with the fossa, a little known species, has its many rewards, including the chance to make new discoveries and develop a conservation plan that may make all the difference between long-term survival and extinction.

"I've always been much more concerned about species that die out secretly without anyone ever knowing they existed at all. The fossa is certainly one of those species. For the sake of conservation of the world’s biodiversity, I would therefore like to encourage more researchers to focus on the 'forgotten species in the background'," she says.

In a January 2011 interview Mia-Lana Lührs discussed new discoveries about Madagascar's biggest predator, the fossa; conservation efforts needed to save the species; the joy of working with a little-known species; and if she'd whether be a male or female fossa.

A curious fossa. Photo © Nick Garbutt .

The Market Triumph of Ecotourism

2010-11-20T16:27:00.000-08:00

The Market Triumph of Ecotourism: An Economic Investigation of the Private and Social Benefits of Competing Land Uses in the Peruvian Amazon

Annual revenue flow to developing countries for ecotourism (or nature-based tourism) could be as large as US$ 210×1012, providing an enormous financial incentive against habitat loss and exploitation. However, is ecotourism the most privately and/or socially valuable use of rainforest land? The question is rarely answered because the relevant data, estimates of profits and fixed costs, are rarely available. We present a social cost-benefit analysis of land use in an ecotourism cluster in the Tambopata region of Amazonian Peru. The net present value of ecotourism-controlled land is given by the producer surplus (profits plus fixed costs of ecotourism lodges): US$ 1,158 ha−1, which is higher than all currently practiced alternatives, including unsustainable logging, ranching, and agriculture. To our knowledge, this is the first sector-wide study of profitability and producer surplus in a developing-country ecotourism sector and the first to compare against equivalent measures for a spectrum of alternative uses. We also find that ecotourism-controlled land sequesters between 5.3 to 8.7 million tons of above-ground carbon, which is equivalent to between 3000–5000 years of carbon emissions from the domestic component of air and surface travel between the gateway city of Cusco and the lodges, at 2005 emission rates. Ecotourism in Tambopata has successfully monetized the hedonic value of wild nature in Amazonian Peru, and justifies the maintenance of intact rainforest over all alternative uses on narrow economic grounds alone.

Citation: Kirkby CA, Giudice-Granados R, Day B, Turner K, Velarde-Andrade LM, et al. (2010) The Market Triumph of Ecotourism: An Economic Investigation of the Private and Social Benefits of Competing Land Uses in the Peruvian Amazon. PLoS ONE 5(9): e13015. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0013015
Editor: Brock Fenton, University of Western Ontario, Canada
Received: July 2, 2010; Accepted: August 7, 2010; Published: September 29, 2010
Copyright: © 2010 Kirkby et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Madagascar's Atsinanana rainforest is world heritage

2010-11-20T16:07:00.002-08:00

Six national parks along the eastern part of Madagascar have been found so unique that they were inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List today. The Atsinanana site represents almost all the remaining rainforest on the Great Island, and almost 90 percent of all species in the forest live no other place on earth.

The mini-continent of Madagascar completed its separation from all other land masses more than 60 million years ago and has since that lived in splendid isolation. During these years, the Malagasy flora and fauna has become unique, diversifying in the island's desert, savannah and rainforest climate regions.

Especially the Malagasy rainforests, mostly located in the east and north, have a high degree of biodiversity. But deforestation has left just 8.5 percent of Madagascar's original forests and the new World Heritage site - the Rainforests of the Atsinanana - is now to protect the remaining habitat.

The Atsinanana site comprises six national parks of the eastern part of the island and was approved of by a UNESCO committee currently united in New Zealand. Following the inscription, a delegation from Madagascar noted that this is "a wonderful present for the country" and also supported "the commendable vision" of President Marc Ravalomanana to triple the size of the island's protected area system.

Also the UNECO committee applauded what it called "the tremendous efforts of Madagascar in protecting its remaining eastern rainforests," after most has been lost to deforestation. President Ravalomanana has strongly increased efforts to stop deforestation, protect remaining valuable natural sites and boost ecotourism to Madagascar.

The inscription of Atsinanana had been prepared for a long time by Malagasy authorities, who won the full support of the world conservation union IUCN. IUCN is used as consultants by UNESCO when it comes to natural World Heritage sites, and its recommendations are mostly followed. IUCN Vice-President Christine Milne noted that the inscription of these "exceptionally diverse rainforests" was "a great success story for Madagascar and global biodiversity conservation."

IUCN had strongly recommended the naming of Atsinanana as World Heritage. "These forests are critically important for maintaining the island's unique plants and animals, 80 to 90 percent of which can only be found in Madagascar and some of which date back to glacial periods," IUCN noted prior to the decision. "The site comprises a representative selection of the most important habitats of unique rainforest life, including many threatened and endemic plant and animal species," the recommendation read.

The UNESCO committee agreed, holding the Malagasy rainforests to be of great "importance to ecological and biological processes." Uniqueness is a major presupposition to qualify for the prestigious list. "The property is of global significance for fauna, especially primates. Many rare and threatened species occur in this site, including at least 25 species of lemur," UNESCO noted.

And the fauna of the six Malagasy rainforests is indeed unique. All five families of Malagasy primates, all endemic lemur families, seven endemic genera of rodents and six endemic genera of carnivores are represented in Atsinanana. Of 25 endemic and near-endemic mammal species in the rainforests, 22 are threatened; eight are critically endangered and nine endangered.

IUCN hopes that the World Heritage inscription of the six disconnected national parks will lead to further protection of Madagascar's remaining rainforests. The environmentalists were somewhat critical to the Malagasy government's decision to nominate such a fragmented natural site. Geographically, the parks are widely separated, especially a northern and a southern group.

"There are significant discontinuities in habit between the northern and southern groups such that connectivity has essentially been permanently lost; however habitat connectivity still exists within the northern and southern groups, albeit not yet permanently protected," IUCN noted. It is reported that none of the forested areas between the parks are likely to be given national park status or added to current parks, to the disappointment of environmentalists.

For Malagasy authorities, the inscription is welcome news to the country's great effort to promote ecotourism. Several of the parks that are now World Heritage are already developed as tourist destinations. The professionally managed Ranomafana National Park has significant tourism infrastructure and the park shares the income from entrance permits with local communities living adjacent to the park.

Also Agence Nationale pour la Gestion des Aires Protégées (ANGAP) - the managing authority of all the parks - gets a great part of its revenues from tourism taxes and fees. In all parks, ANGAP shares revenues from fees with communities neighbouring the parks on a 50-50 basis.

The growing tourism market in Madagascar therefore is increasingly important to both the management of the island's unique nature and to fighting widespread poverty in the Malagasy countryside. It is a win-win situation and the publicity given by the prestigious World Heritage List may become an important drive for ecotourism in Madagascar.

By staff writers

© Geoffroy Mauvais/IUCN/afrol News

Madagascar gets US$ 20M to protect nature

2010-11-20T16:07:00.001-08:00

Madagascar government has signed largest debt-for-nature swap agreement with France, allocating US$ 20 million to preserve the country’s rich biodiversity.

The agreement is part of Madagascar’s ambitious national effort, pledged by President Ravalomanana, to triple the size of the country’s protected areas. The singing also brings to total, funding for this purpose to its targeted US$ 50 million endowment, which shall be managed independently by an established conservation trust between Malagasy government and its partners, aimed at supporting the country’s distinct ecosystems and extraordinary wildlife.

Nearly 98 percent of Madagascar’s land mammals, 92 percent of its reptiles, and 80 percent of its plants are found nowhere else on earth and according to international wildlife conservationists, there is a need to stabilise revenues, resources and credibility to fight against deforestation and biodiversity loss in that country.

“This initiative is an excellent example of innovative financing for sustainable development,” said Nanie Ratsifandrihamanana, acting regional representative for WWF in Madagascar further adding that increasing funding to endowment means support for protected areas' recurrent costs will be available long term.

Madagascar’s ecosystems provide essential services that support local communities and an array of economic activities. With 70 percent of Madagascar’s population living below poverty line, the country is one of the poorest in the world. Burdened with high levels of debt, Madagascar has limited domestic resources to address environmental degradation and preserve its unique and globally significant biodiversity.

Debt-for-nature swaps, such as this one, are designed to free up resources in debtor countries for much needed conservation activities.

This historic agreement demonstrates the commitment of both the French and Malagasy governments to protect biodiversity in Madagascar and serves as a prime example of a debt-for-nature swap success that other nations can follow, WWF have said following the signing.

Madagascar Foundation for Protected Areas and Biodiversity was created in 2005 to support sustainable financing for protecting, maintaining and expanding the country’s protected areas network, including certain buffer zones and ecological corridors, and ultimately to reduce dependence on external project assistance. The Foundation is already widely recognized as a “model” foundation for Africa and an anchor for sustainable financing of Madagascar’s protected areas system.

By staff writer

© afrol News

Madagascar selected to benefit from conservation fund

2010-11-20T16:04:00.000-08:00

Madagascar will be one of the ten beneficiaries of the new fund aimed at assisting professional and organisational development of selected national conservation NGOs within the BirdLife network in key biodiversity countries around the world.

The grant from Arcadia, formerly the Lisbet Rausing Charitable Trust, a new fund has been established to strengthen NGOs in key countries around the world, with a US$1.5 million that will help organisations achieve objectives such as preventing extinctions, securing land for conservation, and tackling climate change through strengthening local capacity.

The goal of the fund is to create a dynamic network of high-impact, self-sufficient conservation NGOs, able to work effectively with local people, governments and the international community, and empowered to protect key species, sites and habitats in their own countries.

Through the fund the ten countries: Turkey, Ukraine, Latvia, Romania, Brazil, Ecuador, Madagascar, Vietnam, Indonesia and Fiji with be provided financial support over five years, at the end of which it is anticipated that the organisations and their activities will be self-sustaining.

"Many NGOs in financially poor but biodiversity rich countries are facing serious challenges to resource their vital conservation activities, particularly now in a climate of global downturn," said Dr Marco Lambertini, BirdLife's Chief Executive.

He said through the programme, an 'NGO Health Check' at the start of the programme - a self assessment, against an ideal scenario for a thriving, successful NGO - will provide a base line to work from, and highlight the priority areas in which the selected NGOs need the most support.

A development plan, listing training and support activities, will then be agreed between each Partner NGO and the BirdLife Secretariat. Each development plan will have clearly agreed targets, measuring conservation impact, NGO sustainability, and NGO stability.

"The Arcadia/BirdLife fund will provide targeted core support to develop long term sustainable plans, retaining key staff and enabling our partners to grow in confidence and effectiveness," he added.

By staff writer

© afrol News

Malagasy NGOs unite against plunder of natural resources

2010-11-20T16:03:00.000-08:00

Asity Madagascar has joined a group of Malagasy civil society organisations, Voahary Gasy, calling for an end to the plundering of natural resources in the national parks of north-east Madagascar.

Following the change of government in March this year, all but essential humanitarian aid has been withdrawn by the international community, leaving Madagascar's national park and forestry services with little or no funding.

Loggers are said to have moved into the protected areas, stripping the forests of valuable hardwoods such as rosewood, ebony and mahogany. They work for influential business people who are in possession of illegal but "official" documentation permitting them to export these hardwoods.

Local communities who depend on forest resources and on tourism have been threatened and attacked when opposing these illegal and highly destructive activities. A new trade in bushmeat has developed, according to reports, with Lemurs in particular being killed in large numbers, and some hunters are supplying restaurants 'to order'.

According to BirdLife Madagascar, a number of endemic birds are largely or entirely confined to pristine primary forest in north-east Madagascar, among them the Endangered Madagascar Serpent Eagle Eutriorchis astur and Vulnerable Helmet Vanga Euryceros prevostii and Bernier's Vanga Oriolia bernieri. With the complete breakdown of the enforcement of protected area regulation, and armed gangs operating with impunity in the forests, it has not been possible to assess the impact on these and other threatened species, the group said.

The Malagasy NGOs which have come together to form Voahary Gasy are calling for an immediate halt to exports of hardwoods, particularly rosewood, the enforcement of protected area regulation, the creation of a task force to combat environmental crime, and a campaign to raise awareness within Madagascar of the nature and extent of the destruction of the island's remaining forests.

Voahary Gasy also emphasise that the range of new and extreme threats to Madagascar's environment and biodiversity is very broad and not restricted to the north-east of the country or to precious hardwoods - although most severe here. Other parts of the country, and valuable resources such as reptiles, shark fins and rare plants, are also affected or at least at risk.

Asity Madagascar is working with other groups to control or prevent problems in the far south-east, where the largest expanse of lowland forest, Tsitongambarika, is under threat, and similar initiatives are taking place elsewhere.

Global Witness and the Environmental Investigation Agency are currently preparing a detailed report on the illegal timber trade in Madagascar, due to be released in the coming weeks.

Ms Voninavoko Raminoarisoa, Coordinator of Asity Madagascar warned that if this situation is allowed to continue, many of the conservation gains in Madagascar, including the efforts of local communities to protect their resources, will be lost. "Asity Madagascar, as BirdLife Affiliate, calls on the international community to join efforts to solve these urgent problems."

"These events are a disaster for Madagascar, profiting a tiny number of individuals at immense cost to the country’s economy and extraordinary heritage," said Dr Roger Safford, Senior Programme Manager at BirdLife International. "The global community must help to resolve the situation, but the emergence of Voahary Gasy is a very positive step, showing the commitment of Malagasy institutions and individuals to lead in publicising and tackling the problems."

By staff writer

© afrol News

Prehestoric snakes still alive in Madagacar

2010-11-20T15:59:00.000-08:00

Researchers have studied a rare form of blindsnakes, "not being very pretty", living in Madagascar. It turns out the species is a prehistoric remain from the times Madagascar still was part of the Gondwana continent about 155 million years ago.

Blindsnakes have been discovered to be one of the few species now living in Madagascar that existed there when it broke from India about 100 million years ago

© Frank Glaw/afrol News

"Blindsnakes are not very pretty, are rarely noticed, and are often mistaken for earthworms," admits Blair Hedges, professor of biology at the US Penn State University. "Nonetheless, they tell a very interesting evolutionary story."

Mr Hedges and Nicolas Vidal, of the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris, were among a team that discovered that blindsnakes are one of the few groups of organisms that inhabited Madagascar when it broke from India about 100 million years ago and are still living today. The results of their study were published in the latest issue of the scientific journal 'Royal Society journal Biology Letters'.

Blindsnakes comprise about 260 different species and form the largest group of the world's worm-like snakes - scolecophidians. These burrowing animals typically are found in southern continents and tropical islands, but occur on all continents except Antarctica. They have reduced vision - which is why they are called "blind" - and they feed on social insects including termites and ants.

"Because there are almost no known fossil blindsnakes, their evolution has been difficult to piece together," the scientists explain. "Also, because of their underground lifestyle, scientists have long wondered how they managed to spread from continent to continent."

The scientists investigated the evolution of blindsnakes by examining the genetics of living species. They reconstructed the branching pattern of their evolution, which allowed the team to estimate the times of divergence of different lineages within blindsnakes using molecular clocks. "Our findings show that continental drift had a huge impact on blindsnake evolution," explains Mr Vidal, "by separating populations from each other as continents moved apart."

Mutations in the genes record the history of these blurry-eyed serpents. The genetic research had revealed that "the original stock of worm-like snakes arose on Gondwana, the ancient southern supercontinent." The initial split occurred about 155 million years ago as Gondwana divided into East Gondwana (the landmasses of Antarctica, India, Madagascar, and Australia) and West Gondwana (the landmasses of South America and Africa).

The residents of East Gondwana - the blindsnakes - then diverged into several lineages including a new family named in this study and found only on Madagascar. Later, East Gondwana further divided into a new paleolandmass - called by the researchers "Indigascar" (India plus Madagascar) - and another comprised of Australia and Antarctica. The research suggests that the new family on Madagascar arose as a result of the break-up of the Indigascar landmass about 94 million years ago.

Madagascar's long isolation has led to the evolution of many unique endemic animals including this family of blindsnakes, various lemurs, and other rare mammals. Unfortunately, both the animals and plants of Madagascar are now endangered by habitat loss.

Says team member Miguel Vences, a professor at the Technical University of Braunschweig, Germany, and authority on the biodiversity of Madagascar, "Finding such ancient roots for a group of animals in Madagascar gives us even more reason to protect their rapidly declining habitat."

If blindsnakes got their start on Indigascar, leaving an endemic living family as evidence on Madagascar, how did they get to all of those other places in the world that they occupy today - Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, and the Americas?

The phylogeny constructed by the researcher team had shown a series of diversifications within the blindsnakes, outside of Madagascar, that occurred between 63 and 59 million years ago. The period of greatest diversification coincided with a time of low sea levels, when connections between continents were forming and the dispersal of such unlikely animals by floating on flotsam was easier.

"Blindsnakes must have moved either out of Africa via Europe and Asia - the ancient northern supercontinent Laurasia - or out of India and then from southeast Asia to Australia at about 28 million years ago," they hold.

Meanwhile, West Gondwana broke up about 100 million years ago, making Africa and South America separate continents, but the genetic split between African and South American blindsnakes occurred only at about 63 million years ago. "This finding shows that blindsnakes probably were confined to Africa when West Gondwana broke up and only later traveled to South America - and still later to the West Indies - by floating across the Atlantic from east to west," they conclude.

By staff writer

© afrol News

Origin of Madagascar's peculiar species

2010-11-20T15:44:00.000-08:00

© Washington University in St Louis
afrol News -

Origin of Madagascar's peculiar species

Lemurs are Madagascar's signature species, mostly confined to the island's ever-shrinking forests.

Madagascar's isolated and fascinating fauna has puzzled scientists and laymen for centuries. The main question has been: How did they get to the Great Island in the first place, thus being allowed to evolve in splendid isolation?

It is well known that the Great Island once was connected to the African continent, to what is now the Mozambican coast. Popular wisdom has it that, since the island split from the continent, Malagasy animals and plants have been isolated from the evolution in Africa. Therefore, without competition from continental apes, the lemurs could survive, evolve into many species.

This popular belief however has a major shortcoming. Madagascar appears to have been an island for at least 120 million years, at a time when the lemurs and other typical Malagasy species had not yet evolved on the continent. In fact, Madagascar's animal population began arriving much later, sometime after 65 million years ago.

This contradiction has puzzled scientists for a century. Altering theories to the origin of Malagasy species therefore have prevailed during time.

As the evolution of species through natural selection had been scientifically accepted, Darwin's theories seemed to fit perfectly to the large island of Madagascar. The island's isolated fauna seemed to have frozen a moment of evolution when it drifted away from Africa, back to the time when lemurs had yet to evolve into monkeys and apes. Even modern encyclopaedias refer to this age-old theory, stating that "the resulting isolation left Madagascar's plants and animals to evolve independently" (encyclopedia.com).

Indeed, Madagascar has more unique species of animals than any location except Australia, which is 13 times larger. The island's population includes 70 kinds of lemurs found nowhere else and about 90 percent of the other mammals, amphibians and reptiles are unique to its 587,000 square kilometres.

The original theories about the origin of Madagascar's unique fauna stem from an age when the processes of plate tectonics were not well known. Critically, scientists of those times were unable to date geological processes.

Dating processes of fossils and sediments however improved. As it became more and more probable that Madagascar drifted away from Mozambique before the lemurs had evolved in Africa, the theory had to be altered. Scientists now held that the animals arrived on Madagascar via a land bridge that was later obliterated by shifting continents.

Yet, the land bridge hypothesis also is problematic in that there is no geologic evidence that such a bridge existed during the time in question. Also, there are no large mammals such as apes, giraffes, lions or elephants, indigenous to Madagascar. Only small species such as lemurs - the island's signature species - hedgehog-like tenrecs, rodents, mongoose-like carnivores and similar animals populate the island.

But already a century ago, some scientists started doubting the prevailing split-and-isolation theory. In 1915, the first alternative theory was launched, saying many of the animals found in Madagascar could have rafted to the island.

Rafting would have involved animals being washed out to sea during storms, either on trees or large vegetation mats, and floating to the mini-continent, perhaps while in a state of seasonal torpor or hibernation.

As improved dating made the land bridge theory even less plausible, the very influential palaeontologist and evolution theorist George Gaylord Simpson in 1940 launched a more detailed rafting theory. Mr Simpson introduced the concept of a "sweepstakes" process to explain the chance of raft colonisation events taking place through vast stretches of geological time. Once the migrants arrived on the island, their descendants evolved into the distinctive and sometimes bizarre forms seen today.

Though influential, Mr Simpson failed to convince all scientists - and laymen at large. His theory had a major flaw. The prevailing currents and winds in Mozambique Channel - the straight splitting Madagascar from the continent - flow and blow south and southwest, away from, not toward, the island.

Since this controversy, no generally accepted theory could explain how the lemurs, flying foxes and narrow-striped mongooses got to the large, isolated island of Madagascar sometime after 65 million years ago. The split-and-isolation theory has therefore prevailed in popular science and belief, despite a 60 million year timing error.

Professor Jason Ali of the University Hong Kong, who has a research focus in plate tectonics - the large-scale motions of the Earth's outer shell - a few years ago caught interest in this unsolved major evolutionary mystery.

Mr Ali kept running across the land bridge hypothesis in the course of his work. The question intrigued him because the notion of a bridge between Madagascar and Africa appeared to break rules of plate tectonic theory. A background in oceanography also made him think ocean currents between Africa and Madagascar might have changed over time.

"Critically, Madagascar and Africa have together drifted more than 1,600 kilometres northwards and could thus have disrupted a major surface water current running across the tropical Indian Ocean, and hence modified flow around eastern Africa and Madagascar," says Mr Ali, an earth sciences professor. Maybe, he thought, Mr Simpson's rafting theory from 1940 still could prove right.

That led the Hong Kong professor to contact Professor Matthew Huber, a palaeoclimatologist who reconstructs and models the climate millions of years in the past, at the US Purdue University. Mr Huber has a particular interest and expertise in ocean currents and had recently developed a very potent programme modelling ancient ocean currents and climates.

The Purdue professor was able to show that 20 million to 60 million years ago, when scientists have determined ancestors of present-day animals likely arrived on Madagascar, currents flowed east, toward the island. Climate modelling showed that currents were strong enough - like a liquid jet stream in peak periods - to get the animals to the island without dying of thirst. The trip appears to have been well within the realm of possibility for small animals whose naturally low metabolic rates may have been even lower if they were in torpor or hibernating.

Mr Huber's computer modelling also indicates that the area was a hotspot at the time, just as it is today, for powerful tropical cyclones capable of regularly washing trees and tree islands into the ocean.

"It seems likely that rafting was a distinct possibility," their study concludes. "All signs point to the Simpson sweepstakes model as being correct: Ocean currents could have transported rafts of animals to Madagascar from Africa during the Eocene."

The new theory, published in the renowned journal 'Science' on 4 February 2010, has already found some support. "The raft hypothesis has always been the most plausible," says Anne Yoder, director of the Duke University Lemur Center. She specialises in the evolutionary history of Madagascar. "But Ali and Huber's study now puts hard data behind it," she adds.

The theory would also solve a problem related to new knowledge about Madagascar's evolutionary history. The island's animals appear to have arrived in occasional bursts of immigration by species rather than in a continuous, mixed migration. They likewise appear to have evolved from single ancestors, and their closest relatives are in Africa, scientists say. All of which suggests Mr Simpson's old theory was correct.

While the first reception in the scientific community seems to be positive, it remains to be seen whether the currently applied computer models of the region's palaeoclimate and ancient currents will have to be corrected. But surely, the popular split-and-isolation theory prevailing in most textbooks, in encyclopaedias and in popular belief, will not disappear for years to come.

Also surely, Madagascar's fascinating and poorly studied biodiversity will continue to pose challenges and present surprises for researchers and laymen in the future.

Only in 2006, three new species of lemurs were identified on the Great Island. Globally, new mammals are very nowadays very seldom identified, again showing how poorly Madagascar's amazing ecology has been studied.

Also in 2006, the first-ever comprehensive theory explaining the island's exceptionally rich biodiversity was presented. This is the only thorough study into Madagascar's evolutionary history and regional speciation. Also the island's geology and palaeoclimate is understudied.

Major discoveries are still to be expected on the Great Island.

By afrol News staff and Greg Kline

Some glimpses of Antananarivo

2009-11-14T23:20:00.000-08:00

Antananarivo City Album

Visit to local Tana lemur Park

2009-11-14T23:18:00.002-08:00

Visit to Lemur Park October 2009

Visit to Government Depts and Vet Board and School

2009-11-14T23:18:00.001-08:00

Visit to Government departments October 2009

Visit to Animal SOS Vet Clinic October '09

2009-11-14T22:41:00.000-08:00

Visit to Animal SOS in Antananrivo, Madagascar 13th October 2009

INVASIVE STRAY AND FERAL DOGS ANKARAFANTSIKA NATIONAL PARK, MADAGASCAR

2009-11-05T20:40:00.000-08:00

INVASIVE STRAY AND FERAL DOGS LIMIT FOSA (CRYPTOPROCTA FEROX) POPULATIONS IN
ANKARAFANTSIKA NATIONAL PARK, MADAGASCAR

Masters project submitted in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the Master of Environmental Management degree in
the Nicholas School of the Environment of
Duke University
2009

ABSTRACT
The fosa (Cryptoprocta ferox) is a medium sized carnivore of the family Eupleridae which is endemic to
the island of Madagascar. Recent publications have shown that the fosa is under significant pressure
from deforestation and fragmentation, leading to its classification as Threatened under the Endangered
Species Act. A trap study was conducted from 1999 to 2008 in Ankarafantsika National Park,
Madagascar, to ascertain the health of a population and measure additional threats to its survival. Feral
dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) appeared in the park in 2004 and a comparison of trap rates of the two
species shows an inverse relationship between the presence of dogs and the presence of fosa. In this
paper I discuss reasons for this relationship, the effect of the continued presence of dogs, and
implications for the management of the park.

Domestic dogs and the Bras´ılia National Park

2009-11-05T20:35:00.000-08:00

Animal Conservation. Print ISSN 1367-9430

Domestic dogs as an edge effect in the Bras´ılia National
Park, Brazil: interactions with native mammals

Abstract
Edge effects are a well-known result of habitat fragmentation. However, little has
been published on fragmentation, isolation and the intrusive influence from the
surrounding matrix at the landscape level. The objectives of the present study are
to evaluate the presence of dogs in the Brası´ lia National Park (BNP) in relation to
habitat type and the influence from the surrounding matrix. In addition, this study
examines the response of the native mammal fauna to the presence of dogs. Track
stations were built along dirt roads in the BNP and subsequently examined for the
presence or absence of tracks. We used a stepwise logistic regression to model the
occurrence of five mammal species relative to habitat variables, with an a=0.05 to
determine whether to enter and retain a variable in the model. A simulation of each
species occurrence probability was conducted using a combination of selected
habitat variables in a resource selection probability function. Results indicate a
negative relationship between distance from the BNP edge and the probability of
dog occurrences. From an ecological perspective, the presence of dogs inside the
BNP indicates an edge effect. The occurrence of the maned wolf was positively
associated with distance from a garbage dump site and negatively associated with
the presence of dog tracks. The maned wolf and giant anteater seem to avoid areas
near the garbage dump as well as areas with dog tracks. There is no support for the
possible existence of a feral dog population inside the BNP, but the effects of freeranging
dogs on the wildlife population in such an isolated protected area must not
be neglected. Domestic dog Canis familiaris populations and disease control
programs should be established in the urban, sub-urban and rural areas surrounding
the BNP, along with the complete removal of the garbage dump from the BNP
surroundings.

Luxury bushmeat trade threatens lemur conservation

2009-09-30T00:19:00.000-07:00

NATUREVol 46124 September 2009

Meredith A. Barrett Box 90338,
University Program in Ecology,
Duke University, Durham,
North Carolina 27705, USA
e-mail: meredith.barrett@duke.edu
Jonah Ratsimbazafy Durrell Wildlife
Conservation Trust, BP 8511,
Antananarivo 101, Madagascar
e-mail: jonah.ratsimbazafy@
durrell.org

Luxury bushmeat
trade threatens
lemur conservation
SIR — Shocking new proof of an
emerging trade in lemur bushmeat
in Madagascar (see http://tinyurl.
com/mqsx7w) is refocusing
attention on the conservation
and health challenges in one
of the world’s most important
biodiversity hotspots.
The growth of this market,
in which lemurs are sold as a
delicacy to luxury consumers,
could mean extinction for alreadyendangered
lemur species, which
are found only in Madagascar.
Furthermore, as in other countries,
bushmeat hunting carries serious
risks to public health by fostering
emergence of disease.
Madagascar has experienced
an upsurge in environmental
crime since its political upheaval
in March this year. Increasing
illegal harvesting of precious
hardwoods and animal trafficking
bodes poorly for the future of
Madagascar’s already-degraded
environment, where 90% of its
original forest cover has been lost.
Political chaos and the withdrawal
of foreign aid mean that these
environmental crimes have
continued almost unchecked.
Russell Mittermeier, president
of Conservation International,
has warned that certain lemur
species, such as the goldencrowned
sifaka (Propithecus
tattersalli), could vanish as a result
of hunting for the new market.
There may be as many as 99 lemur
species in Madagascar (R. A.
Mittermeier et al. Intl. J. Primatol.
29, 1607–1656; 2008). Wiping
out any of these would disrupt the
ecological balance and undermine
the country’s ecotourism industry.
Some 75% of emerging
diseases have zoonotic origins
(L. H. Taylor et al. Phil. Trans.
R. Soc. Lond. B 356, 983–989;
2001). Ebola and simian foamy
virus outbreaks, for example,
as well as HIV, have been
traced to bushmeat hunting
and butchering. The increase
in human–wildlife contact in
Madagascar’s degraded forests,
along with its extreme biodiversity
and wide distribution of domestic
animals, could enhance the risk of
disease emergence and spread,
potentially to a global level.
The country’s interim
government has responded
to the crisis by firing several
forestry officials, but more
cohesive enforcement is needed.
Mittermeier has urged the
international community to
reinstate conservation funding
to Madagascar, in order to save
this pinnacle of biodiversity.
With 20% of the world’s
primate species in peril, and
with increased risks of disease
emergence, an integrated solution
must and can be achieved by
conservation, public health

Bats as bushmeat: a global review

2009-09-29T20:46:00.000-07:00

Title: Bats as bushmeat: a global review Author(s):Simon Mickleburgh, Waylen Kerry, Racey PaulOnline Publication date: 2009 Volume: 43 Start page:217Publication: OryxDOI: 10.1017/S0030605308000938URL: http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=5487716&fulltextType=RV&fileId=S0030605308000938

Abstract A questionnaire survey and literature review
revealed the extent of hunting of bats for bushmeat in
the Old World tropics. High levels of offtake were reported
throughout Asia, the Pacific islands and some Western
Indian Ocean islands, where fruit bats of the genus
Pteropus are eaten extensively. Most hunting in Africa was
reported in western states and the largest fruit bat Eidolon
helvum was preferred. Insectivorous bats are also eaten,
particularly Tadarida in Asia. Hunting is both for local
consumption and commercial, sometimes involving crossborder
transactions. The high levels of hunting reported
and the low reproductive rate of bats indicate there are
likely to be severe negative effects on bat populations, and
declines of several species are documented. Although there
has been only one reported attempt to manage offtake, this
indicates that it is possible and apparently successful. Furthermore,
voluntary controls on hunting have halted declines
in bat numbers. There have been several initiatives
to reduce hunting pressure and conserve threatened bat
species, mainly on islands that, when sustained, have been
successful. More education projects and community-based
conservation initiatives should be encouraged together
with further attempts at sustainable harvesting in situations
where disease risk has been evaluated.
Keywords Bats, bushmeat, commercial hunting, Eidolon,
Pteropus, sustainability, Tadarida.
This paper contains supplementary material that can be
found online at http://journals.cambridge.org

New Virus, Old Tale: Animals Share Bugs With Us

2009-06-02T15:56:00.000-07:00

New Virus, Old Tale: Animals Share Bugs With Us

By Joel AchenbachWashington Post Staff Writer Thursday, May 7, 2009
Somewhere out there, somewhere along the way, a single creature got all this started. A pig, presumably. Pig Zero.
Scientists suspect that two influenza viruses common in swine, one rooted in Eurasia and the other in North America, came together in a single cell within a pig. The two viruses exchanged their genes like a couple of kids swapping school clothes. The result was a novel strain of virus, with, according to scientists, two genes from the Eurasian virus and six genes from the North American virus.
The new strain then jumped to humans. Where is unknown. Mexico is a possibility, but so far the virus hasn't been found in any Mexican swine.
All of this is the latest iteration of a phenomenon dating to the dawn of mankind: zoonosis. A zoonotic disease is one that spreads from animals to humans, or vice versa. Bubonic plague came from a bacterium that infects rats and can spread via fleas to humans. HIV is a virus that passed into people from a monkey. Malaria, tuberculosis, rabies, yellow fever and typhoid fever are zoonotic.
And it's a two-way street, as seen recently when a Canadian farmworker infected with the new H1N1 swine flu apparently passed the disease to a herd of pigs. When it comes to influenza, the thoroughfare between Homo sapiens and Sus scrofa -- domesticated pigs -- is something of a superhighway.
From the perspective of an influenza virus, the receptors on the lungs of a human being -- the places where the little spiky knobs on the virus can attach themselves -- look very much like the receptors in a pig. A pig's anatomy is so similar in certain respects to a human being's that pig heart valves are routinely transplanted into human heart patients.
"Zoonotic agents don't care whether it's a human or an animal ," said Juergen Richt, a professor of veterinary medicine at Kansas State University.
Increased Crowding
Thanks to vaccines and antibiotics, the war against infectious diseases seemed to be nearly won by the second half of the 20th century, but the pathogens have shown themselves to be resilient and adaptive. Meanwhile, the human population has grown to more than 6 billion, sustained by billions of farm animals, many raised in close quarters on factory farms, said JoLynn Montgomery, an epidemiologist at the University of Michigan.
"There's more crowding in animals, and more crowding in people, and the crowding is merging," she said. "People are getting diseases from animals more frequently. I'm not sure the diseases themselves are getting worse." Public health measures -- careful surveillance of zoonotic diseases -- can counterattack the problem, she said.
Zoonotic diseases can also come from wild animals, and new pathogens can emerge as human beings penetrate remote, isolated regions of the planet, said Thomas J. Inzana, a bacteriologist at Virginia Tech. Some exotic pathogens are so "hot" that they can't spread as easily as viruses that are less lethal, he noted: "It doesn't do the pathogen any good to kill its host."
Which is why flu is such a problem: It has essentially co-evolved with people, pigs, birds and other animals. And it's malleable. Influenza is what is known as an RNA virus. Such viruses, mere snippets of genetic material, replicate inexactly, like photocopy machines on the fritz. That sloppiness enables them to evolve rapidly and find new hosts, and makes them a moving target for vaccine makers.
The specific origin of the new flu strain remains a matter of intense investigation. Even the presumption of a Pig Zero is just educated guesswork. The new virus conceivably could have spliced itself together inside a human being or some kind of bird. A pig is the most likely source simply because two ancestral viruses had clear genetic markers of swine-related flu, and a pig is the most likely place for two swine flus to converge, said Andrew Pekosz, a virologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

That said, a veterinarian and spokeswoman for the National Pork Producers Council, Jen Greiner, emphatically rejects any presumption that the new strain emerged in a pig: "It has not been found in any pigs in Mexico; it has not been found in any pigs in the U.S.," she says.
Influenza is hardly just a human-and-pig tango. Birds can also get flu. So can horses. But although humans can, in rare cases, catch bird flu, it doesn't then spread from person to person. Humans can't catch horse flu. Dogs, however, can catch horse flu. Why these viruses do what they do and jump where they jump is not well understood, Richt says. He says that's all the more reason for veterinary health research to be on equal funding footing with human medical research. "You need to understand what's happening in the cattle, the pig, the raccoon, to protect the human population," Richt said.
There's a lot a human would recognize in a pig with flu. "The pig feels hot, and it doesn't eat as much," Richt said. If the condition of pigs worsens, "they develop nasal and ocular secretions. And if they go further, they start to have respiratory distress, so they breathe faster, and they can go to coughing, sneezing."
Although factory farming has been a target of much criticism, it has its defenders. Marie Gramer, a veterinarian at the University of Minnesota, said enclosed farm buildings offer "biosecurity" from pathogens carried by wild animals.
"The health now of the collective animal agriculture is better than it was 20, 40, 60 years ago, " Gramer said.
Although some of the worst fears about the current swine flu outbreak have subsided -- the virus doesn't appear to be as virulent as first thought -- the very nature of influenza makes the future of this strain impossible to predict. It will surely evolve further, Pekosz said.
"This is a brand-new virus and a brand-new host," Pekosz said. The process of natural selection will tug the virus in new directions, he said. His scientific prediction -- "That gene constellation is probably going to optimize itself to replicate" -- strongly suggests that human beings haven't heard the last of this new swine flu.

Recession sparks rise in dumped pets

2009-05-14T23:50:00.000-07:00

Telegraph.co.uk

Recession sparks rise in dumped pets
Pets are becoming victims of the recession, the RSPCA is warning after recording a 57 per cent rise in the number of abandoned animals.

The RSPCA said it dealt with 11,586 dumped pets last year, compared with 7,347 in 2007 Photo: MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS

Melanie Johnson took the puppies home, before taking them to an RSPCA centre, where staff treated the dogs and are now looking to find them new homes Photo: MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS

The RSPCA said it dealt with 11,586 dumped pets last year, compared with 7,347 in 2007. Photo: AFP
An average of more than 30 animals were dumped across England and Wales every day last year, according to the animal welfare charity.
It called for people to donate money or time to help it cope with rising demand amid the country's financial problems.

The RSPCA said it dealt with 11,586 dumped pets last year, compared with 7,347 in 2007.
In the first two months of this year, a further 1,432 unwanted animals were abandoned.
In addition to the increased workload, the RSPCA said it was under pressure financially because of a reduction in donations while income from legacies also took a hit following the fall in property prices.
As RSPCA Week begins, the charity asked the public to help raise funds for its rehoming work, or to serve as volunteers or foster carers for the pets.
Tim Wass, chief officer of the RSPCA inspectorate, said: "Now more than ever we need the public's support.
"It is a challenging time for the RSPCA, but more importantly it is a crisis out there for the animals, and it's only because of the public's help that we're able to do what we can."
Animals abandoned last year included two cats left in a drawstring bag by the roadside.
The grey tabby cats, named Zig and Zag by charity staff, were found on a freezing January night on Zig Zag hill, near Shaftesbury.
A new home was found for the pair, believed to be father and son, within a few weeks.
Another case involved a litter of puppies found dead in a shoebox in Bretton Woods, Peterborough, while a dog whose coat was so badly matted it looked like a pile of dirty rags was discovered in a bin liner in Cannock, Staffs.
The number of abandoned cats rose by 50% last year, while dogs increased by nearly a third, the RSPCA said.
"It is an offence to abandon any animal and there is never any excuse for doing so," Mr Wass added.
"If people have pets they cannot care for, for any reason, then help and advice is always available from the RSPCA."

Hundreds of new frog species found in Madagascar

2009-05-14T23:28:00.000-07:00

Hundreds of new frog species found in Madagascar
Story Highlights
Political instability in the country makes conservation efforts extra difficult
A study identified between 129 and 221 new species of frogs on the island. The Spanish Scientific Research Council (CSIC), who carried out the study, believe the find could practically double the number of amphibians known in the world if the results are extrapolated at a global scale.
The study, published in the journal "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA," suggests that the number of amphibian species in Madagascar has been significantly underestimated.
"The diversity of species in Madagascar is far from being known and there is still a lot of scientific research to be done. Our data suggest that the number of new species of amphibians not only has been underestimated but it is spatially widespread, even in well studied areas," said Professor David R. Vieites, CSIC researcher to the press at the Spanish National Natural Sciences Museum in Madrid.
"For example, two of the most visited and studied national parks, Ranomafana and Mantadía/Analamazaotra, harbor 31 and 10 new species respectively."
Dr. Frank Glaw, curator of herpetology at the Zoologische Staatssammlung from Munich was part of the research team: "During the past 15 years, we discovered and described over 100 new frog species from Madagascar, which led us to believe that our species inventory is almost complete. But as our new surveys show, there are many more species than we suspected," he said in a press statement.
The paper suggests that the total biodiversity on the island could be much higher in other species as well, so the actual destruction of natural habitats may be affecting more animals than previously thought.
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This has important consequences for conservation planning, as the rate of destruction of rainforests in Madagascar has been one of the highest in the planet, with more than 80 percent of the historic surface of rainforest already lost, according to the study's authors.
Almost a quarter of the new species discovered have not been found yet in protected areas, but the unstable political situation in Madagascar has also been cited as hampering conservation efforts.
"Although a lot of reserves and national parks have been created in Madagascar during the last decade, the actual situation of politic instability is allowing the cut of the forest within national parks, generating a lot of uncertainty about the future of the planned network of protected areas", said Vieites.
Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world and one of the most biodiverse areas globally, with a high degree of endemic species. "To get an idea of its biodiversity --while in the Iberian Peninsula [there] are about 30 species of amphibians and in Germany about 20, in a single locality in Madagascar we can find around 100 species of frogs," said Vieites.
Dr. Miguel Vences, professor at the Technical University of Braunschweig, Germany, who was also part of the study team, and believes that a century of new species discovery is just beginning: "People think that we know which plant and animal species live on this planet. But the majority of life forms on Earth is still awaiting scientific recognition."

Invasive Stray and Feral Dogs Limit Fosa (Cryptoprocta ferox) Populations in Ankarafantsika National Park, Madagascar

2009-05-14T23:23:00.000-07:00

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10161/1037
Title:
Invasive Stray and Feral Dogs Limit Fosa (Cryptoprocta ferox) Populations in Ankarafantsika National Park, Madagascar
Authors:
Barcala, Owen
Advisors:
Pimm, Stuart
Keywords:
fosaferal dogsankarafantsikacarnivore managementcryptoprocta feroxcompetition with domesticated animals
Publication Date:
24-Apr-2009
Abstract:
The fosa (Cryptoprocta ferox) is a medium sized carnivore of the family Eupleridae which is endemic to the island of Madagascar. Recent publications have shown that the fosa is under significant pressure from deforestation and fragmentation, leading to its classification as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act. A trap study was conducted from 1999 to 2008 in Ankarafantsika National Park, Madagascar, to ascertain the health of a population and measure additional threats to its survival. Feral dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) appeared in the park in 2004 and a comparison of trap rates of the two species shows an inverse relationship between the presence of dogs and the presence of fosa. In this paper I discuss reasons for this relationship, the effect of the continued presence of dogs, and implications for the management of the park.
Department:
Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences
URI:
http://hdl.handle.net/10161/1037
Appears in Collections:
Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences

2009-03-06T13:53:00.000-08:00

News : Reptiles Abandoned at O.R. Tambo Airport, South Africa.

http://www.nspca.co.za

MEDIA RELEASEISSUED ON 7 MARCH 2008
REPTILES ABANDONED AT O.R. TAMBO AIRPORT
It was with outrage that an Inspector of the Kempton Park SPCA and National Inspectors of the National Council of SPCAs (NSPCA) arrived at a warehousing agent at OR Tambo Airport after a tip off, and found three animal transport crates that had been abandoned by a forwarding agent.
The stench emanating from the crates was nauseating. It is understood that some of the crates had arrived from Madagascar on 23 February 2008. The consignment was destined for the Czech Republic. A further consignment destined for Spain, which had also stood for a period of time, was returned to Madagascar on the morning of 6 March 2008.
As these animals were in sealed containers and OR Tambo was being used as a springboard to Spain and the Czech Republic, the animals had not undergone quarantine and therefore the contents of the crates was unknown at time of seizure. With the assistance of the Johannesburg Zoo, who is a registered quarantine facility, the crates were moved to this facility for opening. Staff of the NSPCA , Johannesburg Zoo as well as the Gauteng State Veterinarian worked throughout the night unpacking the hundreds of reptiles and other animals that were crammed into the three containers. Although the consignment listed lizards and frogs it was found that the first container contained a large number of snakes. Further to this species of gecko, lizard, chameleons and arthropods were unpacked. The species content is yet to be confirmed but the consignments included a vast quantity of endangered and threatened animals.
Due to the fact that these animals had been placed in cloth bags within the containers, without provision having been made for hydration and feed, a number of individuals had perished. Further mortalities are expected. Were it not for the intervention of the parties involved and veterinary treatment rendered, one can be certain that if the containers had been returned to Madagascar as was planned, all the animals would have died.
“I was appalled by the lack of compassion shown by all those involved with the importation and storage of these animals. It again proves the fact that animal welfare concerns are not adequately addressed by Airports Company South Africa, warehousing agents as well as the authorities involved in overseeing the animal trade in this country,” said Alistair Sinclair, National Inspector of the NSPCA.
Due to the mass neglect and cruelty in this incident, a case will be opened with the South African Police Services by the Kempton Park SPCA. This case is one of many that takes place on a daily basis in South Africa and around the world to feed the trade in exotic “pets”. This unscrupulous trade not only causes insurmountable welfare concerns but also depletes the indigenous populations of wild species worldwide. It is an unfortunate fact that animals are sent out of third world countries to supplement this trade on permits issued by CITES.
The NSPCA appeals to people working in the import and export business to report any suspected animal cruelty cases to the Wildlife Unit of the NSPCA or their nearest SPCA to circumvent the reoccurrence of a similar tragedy.

Angola, Luanda stray dogs

2009-03-04T01:29:00.000-08:00

www.news24.com

Rabies kills Angolan childrenFeb 03 2009 09:11:11:530PM
Rabies has killed over 50 children in Angola's capital Luanda in the past three months, raising alarm in a city with thousands of stray dogs.
Luanda - Rabies has killed over 50 children in Angola's capital Luanda in the past three months, raising alarm in a city with thousands of stray dogs.
"This is something I have never seen in Angola before. The virus is extremely serious because it is like a death sentence to humans," said hospital director Luis Bernardino.
Rabies is an acute viral infection that is fatal when left untreated. It is usually transmitted through saliva in the bite of an infected animal, often a dog.
Children are usually the biggest victims of rabies because they cannot protect themselves from dogs.
Authorities in Luanda have struggled to contain the virus. Last month a citywide vaccination campaign was carried out, in which 100 000 animals - dogs, cats and monkeys - were inoculated.
"In most cases children die from the virus because their families do not seek medical treatment on time," Bernardino said.

Cape Town USA vets visit 2001

2009-02-24T19:36:00.001-08:00

(Cape Town, South Africa – 5 December 2001) – A group of American and Canadian veterinary surgeons got to grips with grassroots animal welfare issues today visiting the Community Led Animal Welfare (CLAW) clinic in Kliptown shack settlement, Soweto, South Africa.As more than 300 people came with their pets, CLAW vet Dr. Nthethe Raditapole sterilized pets in a class room dressed to the hilt with Christmas decorations and traditional “gumboot” dancers and a brass band performed while helpers worked to deworm, vaccinate and dip animals at the Kliptown Franciscan convent during the visit facilitated by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW—www.ifaw.org).“The work we have viewed here today is astonishing,” said Dr. Sheri Nutter of North Carolina, leader of the group. “It’s working proof that you don’t need a whole bunch of fancy facilities to make a difference to animal welfare. As long as you have dedicated personnel and an equally dedicated community, organizations like this can really help. IFAW should be applauded for helping this organization, which receives virtually no support from elsewhere.”The visiting vets have been brought to South Africa by People to People International, which provides professionals worldwide the opportunity to interact with their peers in other countries.CLAW, a project of IFAW, began its work in 1998, as a response to the lack of animal welfare in the former black townships. The organization provides a primary healthcare service to domestic pets in 14 of Gauteng’s most destitute informal settlements and has so far spay/neutered over 6,000 dogs and cats.IFAW is hoping the vets – who represent high profile practices in America and Canada – will return home to encourage other animal professionals to lend support on a voluntary basis to primary health care initiatives in South Africa.“CLAW receives almost no funding whatsoever other than that provided by IFAW which spends much of its annual grant on paying veterinary fees for sterilizations,” said Jason Bell, IFAW’s director for the Southern African Region.“Not only would a volunteer vet program be a wonderful support to CLAW, but it would give foreign vets interested in an African experience the option of combining such a trip with acquiring hands on veterinary experience in South Africa.“Additionally it would allow the veterinary component of our budget to be used for more extensive work,” said Bell.Kliptown shanty settlement is one of South Africa’s most impoverished communities. Home to 15,000 people who live mostly in shacks built from corrugated iron and recycled material, the area is without sewage or access to a formal water supply.The domestic animal population is estimated to number just over 2,000 pets – all adult pets have been spay/neutered under CLAW’s sterilization effort.The People to People vets, led by Dr. Sheri Nutter of North Carolina, USA, are small animal specialists and specially requested the opportunity to view CLAW as one of South Africa’s only community led animal welfare projects, which provides destitute people with a completely free health service for their pets.Dr. Nutter and her group who were taken on a walking tour of the informal settlement said they would return to the U.S. to encourage other veterinarians to follow their lead in helping out with community animal welfare projects such as South Africa’s CLAW.

Interview with Dr Michelle Sauther

2009-02-24T19:33:00.001-08:00

http://news.mongabay.com/2007/0205-interview_sauther.html

Mongabay: I understand that your are developing a project that will examine the impact of introduced species on endangered lemur populations -- can you tell me more about the project? Sauther: As I said, we currently have a crisis at our reserve. Domestic dogs are common in and around the villages in the Beza Mahafaly area, and are often used to guard domestic livestock. Domestic cats are also common in these villages, possibly to mitigate rodent populations. However, feral cats (locally "ampaha") have also been observed in the Beza Mahafaly reserve and surrounding region. This large felid represents a truly feral domestic cat, possibly the African or European wild cat (Felis silvestris, Felis lybica), or a potential hybrid. Although domestic dogs are useful in this pastoral society, feral dogs are becoming an increasing problem for local people, as they are known to attack domestic livestock (i.e., young goats and sheep). Feral cats are also known to attack poultry. The past several years have seen a population explosion among the feral dogs so the introduced predators are having an observable impact on the local economy. These introduced species are also impacting the Beza Mahafaly lemur population. In 2006, there were two eyewitness accounts of feral dog kills of ring-tailed lemurs, one an infant (less than one year old), the other a collared adult female. Two Verreaux's sifaka were also subject to dog attacks during 2006: one survived with the aide of veterinary treatment, the other died despite veterinary efforts. Since 2003, we have seen evidence of feral dog predation of lemurs in canine feces (i.e., lemur hair and bone), we have found lemur skeletal material with signs of predation and we have numerous accounts of both feral dogs and cats stalking both ring-tailed lemurs and sifaka. We need to systematically assess the threat of predation by these introduced species on the Beza Mahafaly lemur population to develop a feasible plan of action, and we are looking for donors to help. (Contact Dr. Sauther if you would like to help: ).
Mongabay: What does the future hold for lemurs? Are current conservation efforts going to be enough to save lemurs from extinction? How effective are these efforts? What needs to be done to conserve Madagascar's biodiversity?

Dr. Michelle Sauther measuring a ring-tailed lemur in Madagascar.
Sauther: One good lesson I have learned from working in Madagascar these past twenty years is that conservation has to be carried out at two levels, the national and the regional. At the national level the current president, Marc Ravalomanana has a solid plan. He is trying to make Madagascar more investor friendly, because the only long-term conservation solution requires improving the livelihood of Madagascar’s people. At the same time he has increased, three-fold, the areas to be protected. This is where the regional part comes in. There is no “one size fits all”, when it comes to conservation. In the south, where I work, the economy of the region is based on pastoralism and dry farming and we have very different conservation issues than those found in rainforest habitats. We also have to expand conservation-related research. Primarily the focus has been on habitat destruction, which is of course critical. However, there are other major threats. One of these is hunting. Eric Patel, for example, reports that in some areas lemurs are being actively hunted with guns and traps to provide upper middle class people with “picnic food” (see Laboratory Primate Newsletter, 2006, 44 (3): 8-11). At Beza there is a taboo among the local Mahafaly against killing lemurs, but further north of the reserve non-Mahafaly have been coming into the forests to hunt lemurs. Disease transfer from domestic animals is also a concern, and at Beza we have been trying to understand the effect of domestic animals on lemur health. Finally, at Beza we are facing a crisis as packs of feral dogs are now attacking and killing lemurs in the area. So conservation issues really can vary from place to place.
Mongabay: Is there anything people can do abroad to help save lemurs and Madagascar's wildlands? What role does eco-tourism have in conservation on the island? Sauther: I would really like to see people become “working tourists” in Madagascar, e.g. bringing their particular expertise, be it in business, economics, communication, etc. to help current programs and projects in Madagascar. Right now there doesn’t seem to be any way to link such people to projects, so developing this link would be an important component. I know people want to help, and this would be a great way for them to see the beauty of Madagascar’s wild places while doing something concrete to help maintain the island’s unique environment. Beza Mahafaly Lemur Biology Project

2009-02-24T19:32:00.001-08:00

Mexico City Mobile Dog and Cat Clinic

Problems with pet overpopulation -- usually related to ecological and public health concerns -- are a major issue in many Latin American cities.
In Mexico City, there are an estimated 3.5 million dogs, two-thirds of them strays. Lack of animal welfare education, proper legislation, effective enforcement of existing laws, and veterinary care in disadvantaged and marginal areas all contribute to this severe pet overpopulation problem.

Most of the groups that have done work in the area of pet overpopulation have been small NGOs or groups based at public universities. So far, the possibility of having a major impact on the problem, rather than a short-term benefit for a few individuals, has been very limited. The Veterinary School at the University of Mexico (UNAM) received a mobile clinic for spaying and neutering dogs in Mexico City. Its work is concentrated in a few areas in Mexico City. Clearly, the mobile clinic had not yet been used to its full potential. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed in April 2002 between IFAW and the Veterinary School at UNAM. Through this MOU, IFAW supported the services given by UNAM’s Mobile Clinic in Mexico City. The project has been very successful; both the authorities and the public have been enthusiastic and participative. The Mobile Clinic staff worked from Monday to Friday in the most underprivileged areas of Mexico City. During a nine month period, a total of 7,238 animal patients were treated. Of these, 801 animals were spayed or neutered, 2,666 dogs received parasitic treatment, 3,545 animals were vaccinated, and 226 dogs and cats were treated for various clinical problems.

2009-02-24T19:26:00.000-08:00

Planning Guide ICTE Queensland

Discuss your research plans with Dr. Patricia Wright and the staff of ICTE. Review the Project Budgets and Costs and the Permit Requirements. Be sure that your budget to sponsors includes all items.
2. At least three months before you plan to begin your research in Madagascar, prepare a draft of your ANGAP proposal and send it to the Program Officer at the ICTE/Stony Brook office for review. Please submit your ANGAP proposals by email or on a disk. We suggest that you prepare your ANGAP proposal at the same time that you submit proposals to sponsors. At this time, also send a signed waiver and liability release for each participant on you project.
3. If you plan to collect and/or export biological samples, include in your ANGAP prposal a preliminary list of samples that you expect to collect or export. Be generous in your estimates, but as specific as possible. (See our discussion on export and collection permits from DEF).
4. Revise you ANGAP proposal and submit the final copy (by email) to the Program Officer at the ICTE/Stony Brook office. This proposal will be sent to the ICTE/Antananarivo office and Centre ValBio. ICTE/Antananarivo office will provide translation into French and submission to ANGAP and DEF
5. Prepare for your trip to Madagascar. Learn some French and Malagasy. Be sure that you have international health insurance (required for all researchers facilitated by ICTE) and medical evacuation insurance (for example, International SOS). Buy small gifts to bring to your students, assistants, Malagasy officials, and others that may help you (suggested gifts: caps, t-shirts, pens, playing cards, music tapes (few Malagasies have CD players)). Get 2 passport-sized photos (of you!).
6. At least one month before you plan to go to Madagascar, get started obtaining your visa (see Researcher Field Guide)
7. Email a copy of your flight itinerary to the ICTE/Antananarivo office, with a copy to the ICTE/Stony Brook office as soon as you purchase your tickets
8. Before you leave for Madagascar, confirm with the ICTE/Antananarivo office that your Research Permit has been approved by ANGAP and send a copy of the approval to the ICTE Program Officer at Stony Brook.
9. Once you arrive in Antananarivo, check in at the ICTE/Antananarivo office, meet the helpful staff, ask questions, and pay the ICTE/MICET Facilitation Fee.
10. Be sure to meet with traditional, government, DEF, and ANGAP officials in the local area where you will conduct research. Offer to talk to local school children, youth groups, village elders, or others about your research or related conservation issues. We suggest that you offer to give a presentation about your research to the local University (if you are working at Ranomafana National Park, you will give a presentation at the University of Fianarantsoa).
11. Do your research!
12. Before you leave Madagascar, write a brief exit report (2 pages) describing where and when your research was conducted and what was done, and outlining any results obtained so far. The ICTE/Antananarivo staff will translate the report into French and submit it to ANGAP for you. Also, meet with ANGAP officials for a debriefing. We suggest that you offer to give a presentation about your research to students and professors at the University of Antananarivo.
13. Upon returning home, send a copy of your exit report to the Program Officer at ICTE/Stony Brook.
14. Within 6-8 months of leaving Madagascar, submit a Final Report to the Program Officer at ICTE/Stony Brook. It will be sent to the ICTE/Antananarivo office for translation and then submitted to ANGAP. This final report might be a copy of a report sent to a sponsor.
15. Send 8 copies (5 for ANGAP, 3 for ICTE) of all publications to the ICTE/Stony Brook office.

2009-02-24T19:24:00.000-08:00

African Mobile Clinics

Mobile clinics are essential to animal welfare in Africa.
These clinics provide sterilisation and treatment for animals and advice for their owners.
PAWS Mauritius
The PAWS mobile clinic began operation in June 2002.
The clinic, with all its equipment, was donated by WSPA and The Marchig Animal Welfare Trust.
The mobile clinic covers the island with the help of volunteer veterinarians, offering free sterilisation of dogs and cats, and also treatment and advice.
The PAWS Team:
Animal Welfare Officer
The Animal Welfare Officer goes canvassing in the villages, explaining the benefits of sterilisation and taking the names of people who want to have their dogs or cats sterilised.
She distributes pamphlets outlining the precautions to be taken before and after the operation.
She also educates on animals‘ basic needs for food, water, shelter, love and attention.
Driver
The Driver responds to calls received during the day to pick up wounded, sick or abandoned animals around the island.
The driver also collects animals and their owners and takes them home after an operation.
Veterinarian
The Vet holds a surgery for owners who have called PAWS during the day.
The Vet will sterilise an average of 15 dogs and cats per day, male and female, and will also see up to 10 other owners who come to the clinic with sick or injured animals.
Vet Assistant
The Vet Assistant assists the Vet.
He or she is also responsible for cleaning the mobile clinic and the sterilization of the surgical equipment for the next day.