Conservation communautaire de la forêt humide de basse altitude d'Andriantantely, Madagascar

Andriantantely is a lowland rainforest fragment situated in the Brickaville District of eastern Madagascar, to the south-east of the Ankeniheny-Zahamena forest Corridor. Andriantantely is recognised as a priority site for the conservation of biodiversity in general, and of four species of Critically Endangered lemurs: Prolemur simus, Varecia variegata, Indri indri, and Propithecus diadema. Approximately 4,000 ha in size, the forest extends into five different rural communes, and is impacted by many villages and hamlets, some of which are found within the forest itself. Eight VOI (local community associations) from three communes (Lohariandava, Fanasanagare and Fetraomby) are interested in management transfer contracts for parts of Andriantantely. Since 2010, The Aspinall Foundation works with the VOIs for the conservation of Prolemur simus, other lemurs, and their habitats, which helped lead to the removal of P.simus from the 25 most endangered primates list in 2012. The conservation strategy was developed following a socio-economic survey undertaken in 2010 which aimed to identify the factors limiting the conservation of the species and its habitat. The main issues identified were poverty of local people and lack of awareness of the value of biodiversity. The first conservation action undertaken was the initiation of a patrol system with local community rangers which increased understanding and protection of the monitored P.simus groups. Simultaneously, awareness-raising missions were organised within the communities living close to the P.simus sites, aimed at changing local attitudes to natural resources, and particularly lemurs. These initial activities led to the VOIs asking the Foundation for assistance in obtaining their management transfer contracts. The first contract was signed in January 2014, but several others need completion, and the development of a long-term conservation strategy for the entire Andriantantely forest, implicating local communities in a true and effective manner, is still required. Environmental education activities have followed the initial awareness-raising missions, to in still practices of rational natural resource use to assure rural development that is respectful of the environment. Much work is still required over a long time period before this rational use might be adopted by the local population in general, by VOI members and non-members alike. La forêt humide de basse altitude d’Andriantantely est située dans le district de Brickaville, au sud-est du corridor Ankeniheny- Zahamena dans l’est de Madagascar. Andriantantely est reconnu comme site prioritaire pour la conservation de la biodiversité en général, mais également pour celle de quatre espèces de lémurien en Danger Critique d’Extinction, à savoir Prolemur simus, Varecia variegata, Indri indri et Propithecus diadema. Avec une superficie d’environ 4,000 ha, la forêt d’Andriantantely s’étend sur cinq communes rurales et concerne plusieurs villages et habitations éparses dont certaines se trouvent en son cœur même. Huit groupements communautaires Vondron’Olona Ifotony (VOI), réparties dans six fokontany appartenant à trois communes rurales du bloc forestier regroupant ces villages, à savoir Lohariandava, Fanasana gare et Fetraomby, sont intéressées par la gestion de la forêt d’Andriantantely. Depuis 2010, la fondation Aspinall (The Aspinall Foundation) a travaillé avec des VOI pour la conservation des lémuriens dont Prolemur simus et de leurs habitats. Son action a permis de retirer P.simus de la liste des 25 primates les plus menacés au monde en 2012. Pour ce faire, les axes et stratégies d’intervention ont été élaborés suite à une étude socio-économique menée en 2010. Cette étude a cherché à identifier les facteurs limitant la conservation de l’espèce et la préservation de son habitat. Les principaux facteurs identifiés étaient la pauvreté des Hommes vivant à la périphérie et dans la forêt, ainsi que la méconnaissance de la valeur de la biodiversité. La première étape de l’action de conservation a été la mise en place d’un système de patrouilles assuré par des gardes locaux. Parallèlement aux patrouilles, des campagnes de sensibilisation ont été menées auprès des communautés villageoises pour que leurs attitudes vis-à-vis des ressources naturelles et plus spécifiquement des lémuriens évoluent. Ces travaux de sensibilisation ont porté leurs fruits puisque ce sont les VOI ellesmêmes qui ont sollicité l’appui de la fondation pour l’obtention d’un contrat de transfert de gestion. Le premier contrat a été signé en janvier 2014, mais d’autres sont en cours de réalisation depuis début 2015. L’élaboration d’une stratégie de conservation à long terme pour l’ensemble de la forêt d’Andriantantely, impliquant la population locale de façon réelle et effective, reste à élaborer. Les campagnes d’éducation environnementale ont succédé à celles de la sensibilisation afin d’inculquer les pratiques d’une utilisation rationnelle des ressources naturelles pour assurer un développement rural respectueux de l’environnement. Un long chemin reste néanmoins à parcourir pour que cette utilisation rationnelle soit pleinement adoptée par l’ensemble de la communauté, que les villages soient membres ou non des organisations communautaires ou VOI

Dietary flexibility of the greater bamboo lemur (Prolemur simus), a specialized feeder, in eastern Madagascar

The degree of dietary flexibility in primates is species specific; some incorporate a wider array of resources than others. Extreme interannual weather variability in Madagascar results in seasonal resource scarcity which has been linked to specialized behaviors in lemurs. Prolemur simus, for example, has been considered an obligate specialist on large culm bamboo with >60% of its diet composed of woody bamboos requiring morphological and physiological adaptations to process. Recent studies reported an ever‐expanding list of dietary items, suggesting that this species may not be an obligate specialist. However, long‐term quantitative feeding data are unavailable across this species’ range. To explore the dietary flexibility of P. simus, we collected data at two northern sites, Ambalafary and Sahavola, and one southern site, Vatovavy, from September 2010 to January 2016 and May 2017 to September 2018, respectively. In total, we recorded 4022 h of behavioral data using instantaneous sampling of adult males and females from one group in Ambalafary, and two groups each in Sahavola and Vatovavy. We recorded 45 plant species eaten by P. simus over 7 years. We also observed significant differences in seasonal dietary composition between study sites. In Ambalafary, bamboo was the most frequently observed resource consumed (92.2%); however, non‐bamboo resources comprised nearly one‐third of the diet of P. simus in Sahavola and over 60% in Vatovavy. Consumption of all bamboo resources increased during the dry season at Ambalafary and during the wet season at Vatovavy, but never exceeded non‐bamboo feeding at the latter. Culm pith feeding was only observed at Ambalafary, where it was more common during the dry season. We identify P. simus as a bamboo facultative specialist capable of adjusting its feeding behavior to its environment, indicating greater dietary flexibility than previously documented, which may enable the species to survive in increasingly degraded habitats

Factors influencing terrestriality in primates of the Americas and Madagascar

Among mammals, the order Primates is exceptional in having a high taxonomic richness in which the taxa are arboreal, semiterrestrial, or terrestrial. Although habitual terrestriality is pervasive among the apes and African and Asian monkeys (catarrhines), it is largely absent among monkeys of the Americas (platyrrhines), as well as galagos, lemurs, and lorises (strepsirrhines), which are mostly arboreal. Numerous ecological drivers and species-specific factors are suggested to set the conditions for an evolutionary shift from arboreality to terrestriality, and current environmental conditions may provide analogous scenarios to those transitional periods. Therefore, we investigated predominantly arboreal, diurnal primate genera from the Americas and Madagascar that lack fully terrestrial taxa, to determine whether ecological drivers (habitat canopy cover, predation risk, maximum temperature, precipitation, primate species richness, human population density, and distance to roads) or species-specific traits (body mass, group size, and degree of frugivory) associate with increased terrestriality. We collated 150,961 observation hours across 2,227 months from 47 species at 20 sites in Madagascar and 48 sites in the Americas. Multiple factors were associated with ground use in these otherwise arboreal species, including increased temperature, a decrease in canopy cover, a dietary shift away from frugivory, and larger group size. These factors mostly explain intraspecific differences in terrestriality. As humanity modifies habitats and causes climate change, our results suggest that species already inhabiting hot, sparsely canopied sites, and exhibiting more generalized diets, are more likely to shift toward greater ground use

Factors influencing terrestriality in primates of the Americas and Madagascar

Among mammals, the order Primates is exceptional in having a high taxonomic richness in which the taxa are arboreal, semiterrestrial, or terrestrial. Although habitual terrestriality is pervasive among the apes and African and Asian monkeys (catarrhines), it is largely absent among monkeys of the Americas (platyrrhines), as well as galagos, lemurs, and lorises (strepsirrhines), which are mostly arboreal. Numerous ecological drivers and species-specific factors are suggested to set the conditions for an evolutionary shift from arboreality to terrestriality, and current environmental conditions may provide analogous scenarios to those transitional periods. Therefore, we investigated predominantly arboreal, diurnal primate genera from the Americas and Madagascar that lack fully terrestrial taxa, to determine whether ecological drivers (habitat canopy cover, predation risk, maximum temperature, precipitation, primate species richness, human population density, and distance to roads) or species-specific traits (body mass, group size, and degree of frugivory) associate with increased terrestriality. We collated 150,961 observation hours across 2,227 months from 47 species at 20 sites in Madagascar and 48 sites in the Americas. Multiple factors were associated with ground use in these otherwise arboreal species, including increased temperature, a decrease in canopy cover, a dietary shift away from frugivory, and larger group size. These factors mostly explain intraspecific differences in terrestriality. As humanity modifies habitats and causes climate change, our results suggest that species already inhabiting hot, sparsely canopied sites, and exhibiting more generalized diets, are more likely to shift toward greater ground use

Factors influencing terrestriality in primates of the Americas and Madagascar

Among mammals, the order Primates is exceptional in having a high taxonomic richness in which the taxa are arboreal, semiterrestrial, or terrestrial. Although habitual terrestriality is pervasive among the apes and African and Asian monkeys (catarrhines), it is largely absent among monkeys of the Americas (platyrrhines), as well as galagos, lemurs, and lorises (strepsirrhines), which are mostly arboreal. Numerous ecological drivers and species-specific factors are suggested to set the conditions for an evolutionary shift from arboreality to terrestriality, and current environmental conditions may provide analogous scenarios to those transitional periods. Therefore, we investigated predominantly arboreal, diurnal primate genera from the Americas and Madagascar that lack fully terrestrial taxa, to determine whether ecological drivers (habitat canopy cover, predation risk, maximum temperature, precipitation, primate species richness, human population density, and distance to roads) or species-specific traits (body mass, group size, and degree of frugivory) associate with increased terrestriality. We collated 150,961 observation hours across 2,227 months from 47 species at 20 sites in Madagascar and 48 sites in the Americas. Multiple factors were associated with ground use in these otherwise arboreal species, including increased temperature, a decrease in canopy cover, a dietary shift away from frugivory, and larger group size. These factors mostly explain intraspecific differences in terrestriality. As humanity modifies habitats and causes climate change, our results suggest that species already inhabiting hot, sparsely canopied sites, and exhibiting more generalized diets, are more likely to shift toward greater ground use.Open access articleThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]