Useful plants in the Park Bandro and its surroundings, Lake Alaotra, Madagascar

Traditional use of plants constitutes an important activity in Malagasy life, especially in the countryside. The Sihanaka group is found in the east of  Lake Alaotra and is the dominant cultural group in the lake region, including in the Fokontany of Andreba Gara, near Park Bandro, in the east of  Lake Alaotra, in Ambatondrazaka district where the study was conducted. The Sihanaka holds traditional knowledge on plant uses and makes use of  this knowledge in their daily lives. The objective of this study was to describe the use of aquatic plants in the region to better understand the  importance of the Alaotra wetlands in the lives of local people. Surveys conducted among the people of Andreba, including one traditional chief (the Tangalamena) and one healer, revealed 55 useful species of aquatic plants, grouped into 41 genera and 23 families. Most species were used for their medicinal and veterinary virtues (32 species), for animal food (17 species), as utensils and tools (16 species), for cultural uses (10 species), and  for human food (9 species). Leaves (76%) are the most exploited plant parts. The species with the most uses were Cyperus papyrus subsp.  madagascariensis (Willd.) Kük. with 26 types of use recorded, then Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud. (19 types of use), Aeschynomene  elaphroxylon (Guill. & Perr.) Taub. and Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms (12 types of use each). Nymphaea nouchali, Cyperus papyrus subsp.  madagascariensis and Phragmites australis were the species most frequently cited by informants, indicating that they are important for the local  population. The most frequently cited types of use included joro, namely ancestor’s invocation, food, materials for house walls construction, herbal teas to treat ailments, and fencing or demarcation of land boundaries. This study highlighted the importance of the Alaotra wetlands as a source of  useful plants for the local population. Sustainable management of Lake Alaotra is therefore not just necessary for biodiversity conservation, but also  for maintaining local livelihoods.   L’utilisation traditionnelle des plantes constitue une activité importante dans la vie des Malgaches, plus particulièrement dans les campagnes. Le  groupe Sihanaka est rencontré à l’est du lac Alaotra et constitue le groupe culturel dominant dans la région du lac, y compris dans le Fokontany  d’Andreba Gara, près du Parc Bandro, à l’Est du Lac Alaotra, dans le district d’Ambatondrazaka où l’étude a été menée. Les Sihanaka détiennent des  connaissances traditionnelles sur l’utilisation des plantes et utilisent ces connaissances dans leur vie quotidienne. L’objectif de cette étude était  de décrire l’utilisation des plantes aquatiques dans la région afin de mieux comprendre l’importance des zones humides de l’Alaotra dans la  vie des populations locales. Des enquêtes menées auprès de la population d’Andreba, y compris auprès d’un chef traditionnel (le Tangalamena) et  d’un guérisseur, ont révélé 55 espèces utiles de plantes aquatiques, regroupées dans 41 genres et 23 familles. La plupart des espèces étaient  utilisées pour leurs vertus médicinales et vétérinaires (32 espèces), pour l’alimentation des animaux (17 espèces), en tant qu’ustensiles et outils (16  espèces), pour des usages culturels (10 espèces) et pour l’alimentation humaine (9 espèces). Les feuilles (76%) sont les parties de plante les plus  exploitées. Les espèces ayant le plus d’utilisations étaient Cyperus papyrus subsp. madagascariensis (Willd.) Kük. avec 26 types d’utilisation  recensés, puis Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud. (19 types d’utilisation), Aeschynomene elaphroxylon (Guill. & Perr.) Taub. et Eichhornia  crassipes (Mart.) Solms (12 types d’utilisation chacune). Nymphaea nouchali, Cyperus papyrus subsp. madagascariensis et Phragmites australis  etaient les espèces les plus fréquemment citées par les informateurs, ce qui indique qu’elles sont importantes pour la population locale. Les types  d’utilisation les plus fréquemment cités comprenaient le joro à savoir l’invocation des ancêtres, l’alimentation, les matériaux pour la construction  des murs, les tisanes pour traiter les maladies et la construction de clôtures ou démarcation des limites de terrains. Cette étude a souligné  l’importance des zones humides de l’Alaotra en tant que source de plantes utiles pour la population locale. La gestion durable du lac Alaotra n’est  donc pas seulement nécessaire à la conservation de la biodiversité mais également au maintien des moyens de subsistance locaux&nbsp

Useful plants in the Park Bandro and its surroundings, Lake Alaotra, Madagascar

Traditional use of plants constitutes an important activity in Malagasy life, especially in the countryside. The Sihanaka group is found in the east of Lake Alaotra and is the dominant cultural group in the lake region, including in the Fokontany of Andreba Gara, near Park Bandro, in the east of Lake Alaotra, in Ambatondrazaka district where the study was conducted. The Sihanaka holds traditional knowledge on plant uses and makes use of this knowledge in their daily lives. The objective of this study was to describe the use of aquatic plants in the region to better understand the importance of the Alaotra wetlands in the lives of local people. Surveys conducted among the people of Andreba, including one traditional chief (the Tangalamena) and one healer, revealed 55 useful species of aquatic plants, grouped into 41 genera and 23 families. Most species were used for their medicinal and veterinary virtues (32 species), for animal food (17 species), as utensils and tools (16 species), for cultural uses (10 species), and for human food (9 species). Leaves (76%) are the most exploited plant parts. The species with the most uses were Cyperus papyrus subsp. madagascariensis (Willd.) Kük. with 26 types of use recorded, then Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud. (1 9 types of use), Aeschynomene elaphroxylon (Guill. & Perr.) Taub. and Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms (1 2 types of use each). Nymphaea nouchali, Cyperus papyrus subsp. madagascariensis and Phragmites australis were the species most frequently cited by informants, indicating that they are important for the local population. The most frequently cited types of use included joro, namely ancestor’s invocation, food, materials for house walls construction, herbal teas to treat ailments, and fencing or demarcation of land boundaries. This study highlighted the importance of the Alaotra wetlands as a source of useful plants for the local population. Sustainable management of Lake Alaotra is therefore not just necessary for biodiversity conservation, but also for maintaining local livelihoods. RÉSUMÉL’utilisation traditionnelle des plantes constitue une activité importante dans la vie des Malgaches, plus particulièrement dans les campagnes. Le groupe Sihanaka est rencontré à l’est du lac Alaotra et constitue le groupe culturel dominant dans la région du lac, y compris dans le Fokontany d’Andreba Gara, près du Parc Bandro, à l’Est du Lac Alaotra, dans le district d’Ambatondrazaka où l’étude a été menée. Les Sihanaka détiennent des connaissances traditionnelles sur l’utilisation des plantes et utilisent ces connaissances dans leur vie quotidienne. L’objectif de cette étude était de décrire l’utilisation des plantes aquatiques dans la région afin de mieux comprendre l’importance des zones humides de l’Alaotra dans la vie des populations locales. Des enquêtes menées auprès de la population d’Andreba, y compris auprès d’un chef traditionnel (le Tangalamena) et d’un guérisseur, ont révélé 55 espèces utiles de plantes aquatiques, regroupées dans 41 genres et 23 familles. La plupart des espèces étaient utilisées pour leurs vertus médicinales et vétérinaires (32 espèces), pour l’alimentation des animaux (17 espèces), en tant qu’ustensiles et outils (16 espèces), pour des usages culturels (10 espèces) et pour l’alimentation humaine (9 espèces). Les feuilles (76%) sont les parties de plante les plus exploitées. Les espèces ayant le plus d’utilisations étaient Cyperus papyrus subsp. madagascariensis (Willd.) Kük. avec 26 types d’utilisation recensés, puis Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud. (19 types d’utilisation), Aeschynomene elaphroxylon (Guill. & Perr.) Taub. et Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms (1 2 types d’utilisation chacune). Nymphaea nouchali, Cyperus papyrus subsp. madagascariensis et Phragmites australis étaient les espèces les plus fréquemment citées par les informateurs, ce qui indique qu’elles sont importantes pour la population locale. Les types d’utilisation les plus fréquemment cités comprenaient le joro à savoir l’invocation des ancêtres, l’alimentation, les matériaux pour la construction des murs, les tisanes pour traiter les maladies et la construction de clôtures ou démarcation des limites de terrains. Cette étude a souligné l’importance des zones humides de l’Alaotra en tant que source de plantes utiles pour la population locale. La gestion durable du lac Alaotra n’est donc pas seulement nécessaire à la conservation de la biodiversité mais également au maintien des moyens de subsistance locaux

University Students Dealing with Sexually Transmitted Infections and HIV/AIDS: Knowledge and Practice, a Cross-sectional study Conducted in Fianarantsoa, Madagascar

This study aimed to evaluate the Knowledge and attitude of the academic students about sexually transmitted infections and HIV at the university of Fianarantsoa in 2018. Materials and methods: This was an analytical cross-sectional study conducted among undergraduate students at the University Andrainjato-Fianarantsoa. Knowledge was assessed using a score where each correct answer was given one point. Results: 1035 students were included, 67.7% (n=701) had good knowledge about STIs, and HIV/AIDS. Sexual transmission (83.9%; n=868) was the most known. On multivariate analysis, being a student at the faculty of medicine (p<0.001, aOR 137.3 [19.1-988]), faculty of Letters (p<0.001, aOR 4.5 [2.8-7.2)]), or the Normal Graduate School (NGS) (p<0.001, aOR 6.7 [3.3-13.7]), being tested for HIV before (p= 0.002, aOR 1.6 [1.2-2.2]) constitute the major factor of good knowledge about the sexual infections. The majority (71.8%, n=743) have had sexual intercourse before, and the median age of first sexual activities was 18 years (17-20). The use of Condoms (44.4%, n=460) was the most practiced in the STIs prevention method, followed by fidelity (19.8%; n=205) and abstinence (11.4%, n=118). Among the students, 29.3% (302) had high-risk sexual behavior in the last 3 months. Conclusion: The proportion of academic students with good knowledge of STIs and HIV is not satisfactory. There was a discordance between the knowledge of STI prevention and the daily university practice of the students

Lois et règlements sur la faune sauvage à Madagascar : Progrès accomplis et besoins du futur

In many countries wildlife species are threatened by hunting for meat or collection for the pet trade. Wildlife laws which control where these activities can occur, limit the timing of exploitation, or provide strict protection for some species are therefore an important component of the conservation strategy. However it is important that these wildlife laws reflect the ecology and threat status of the species concerned, and that they are aligned with any relevant international conventions. In this article we discuss the legal framework for exploiting and protecting tetrapod species in Madagascar. We review the 2006 update to wildlife legislation with respect to international treaties, other national legislation and the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. We also present a summary of the different categories of hunting (sport, commercial, scientific, and subsistence) and the control of hunting in protected areas. Madagascar has a sound legal framework for the use and protection of wildlife and the classification of species into protected, pest and legally hunted is clear and mostly fits well with the species’ classification according to the IUCN Red List and CITES. A revision of the protected species list managed is needed however to (i) include marine mammals that are protected by fisheries law and the Convention on Migratory Species and to (ii) better reflect the rights of people whose livelihoods rely heavily on the income or protein derived from hunting animals. Renewed effort to communicate and enforce wildlife legislation is needed, especially regarding the illegal hunting and export of protected species. This would also support the ongoing initiative to expand the protected area system and could be integrated into a revised National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan that Madagascar should produce for 2011-2020 as part of its commitment to implementing the Convention on Biological Diversity. RÉSUMÉLes lois et règlements déterminant les niveaux de protection des espèces de la faune et de la flore sauvages sont des indicateurs importants de l’importance qu’accorde un pays à la conservation de sa biodiversité. Dans cette revue, nous évaluons la cohérence entre les lois et règlements portant sur la gestion de la faune sauvage à Madagascar, en considérant la législation nationale, les conventions internationales ratifiées et la Liste Rouge de l’UICN pour les confronter aux réalités locales. Suite à nos analyses, nous pouvons conclure que Madagascar dispose d’un cadre juridique adéquat pour réglementer la protection et l’exploitation des animaux sauvages. Cependant, des révisions et mises à jour sont nécessaires, particulièrement en ce qui concerne la liste des espèces dans les différentes catégories et la facilitation de la mise en application de la loi

University Students Dealing with Sexually Transmitted Infections and HIV/AIDS: Knowledge and Practice, a Cross-sectional study Conducted in Fianarantsoa, Madagascar

This study aimed to evaluate the Knowledge and attitude of the academic students about sexually transmitted infections and HIV at the university of Fianarantsoa in 2018. Materials and methods: This was an analytical cross-sectional study conducted among undergraduate students at the University Andrainjato-Fianarantsoa. Knowledge was assessed using a score where each correct answer was given one point. Results: 1035 students were included, 67.7% (n=701) had good knowledge about STIs, and HIV/AIDS. Sexual transmission (83.9%; n=868) was the most known. On multivariate analysis, being a student at the faculty of medicine (p<0.001, aOR 137.3 [19.1-988]), faculty of Letters (p<0.001, aOR 4.5 [2.8-7.2)]), or the Normal Graduate School (NGS) (p<0.001, aOR 6.7 [3.3-13.7]), being tested for HIV before (p= 0.002, aOR 1.6 [1.2-2.2]) constitute the major factor of good knowledge about the sexual infections. The majority (71.8%, n=743) have had sexual intercourse before, and the median age of first sexual activities was 18 years (17-20). The use of Condoms (44.4%, n=460) was the most practiced in the STIs prevention method, followed by fidelity (19.8%; n=205) and abstinence (11.4%, n=118). Among the students, 29.3% (302) had high-risk sexual behavior in the last 3 months. Conclusion: The proportion of academic students with good knowledge of STIs and HIV is not satisfactory. There was a discordance between the knowledge of STI prevention and the daily university practice of the students

A conservation assessment of Rousettus madagascariensis (Grandidier, 1929, Pteropodidae) roosts in eastern Madagascar

We visited four cave roosts of the near threatened, and endemic, fruit bat Rousettus madagascariensis over a five year period and found major threats to the bats from hunting and deforestation. The conservation of this species is particularly challenging because it is legally hunted inside its cave roosts. Although provisional protected area status was obtained for two sites with community support, hunting continued. R. madagascariensis roosts were associated with humid forest and the loss of vegetation around caves rendered them unsuitable for the bats at two abandoned sites. A few individual hunters can have a rapid and destructive impact on R. madagascariensis roosts and future initiatives in this area should involve working with hunters to develop realistic solutions to reduce hunting. These efforts need to be supported by habitat protection measures.  RÉSUMÉ L’espèce de chauve-souris frugivore Quasi Menacée Rousettus madagascariensis est endémique à Madagascar. Nous avons étudié quatre gîtes dans des grottes où cette espèce a établi des dortoirs diurnes en procédant à des visites multiples au cours d’une période de cinq ans et avons trouvé que la chasse et la déforestation constituaient les principales menaces pesant sur R. madagascariensis. La conservation de cette espèce est particulièrement difficile dans la mesure où la chasse dans ses dortoirs ou gîtes est permise. Bien que les deux sites abritant l’espèce bénéficient du statut de Nouvelle Aire Protégée avec le soutien de la communauté locale, la chasse ne cesse de s’intensifier. Les gîtes de R. madagascariensis sont associés à la forêt humide, de sorte que la disparition de la végétation arborée autour de deux de ces gîtes les a rendus impropres à héberger R. madagascariensis qui a fini par les abandonner. La disparition de la végétation arborée autour du gîte pourrait être à l’origine d’un changement de microclimat à l’intérieur de la grotte qui constitue le gîte diurne. Les activités de certains chasseurs peuvent aussi avoir un impact destructif rapide sur les gîtes de R. madagascariensis et des initiatives à mener conjointement avec les chasseurs sont nécessaires pour élaborer des mesures réalistes afin de réduire la chasse. De tels efforts doivent être étendus et appuyés par des mesures de protection de l'habitat car plusieurs autres gîtes pourraient exister dans les forêts du versant est de Madagascar et subir les mêmes pressions anthropiques. Des recherches récentes ont également montré que l’histoire naturelle de R. madagascariensis est étroitement liée à la forêt naturelle, de sorte que la perte de la biodiversité de la forêt naturelle malgache menace les plantes dont se nourrit cette espèce ainsi que l’équilibre de l’ensemble de l’écosystème dont elle dépend.

Rapid ecological specialization despite constant population sizes

Background The bushbuck, Tragelaphus scriptus, is a widespread and ecologically diverse ungulate species complex within the spiral-horned antelopes. This species was recently found to consist of two genetically divergent but monophyletic lineages, which are paraphyletic at mitochondrial (mt)DNA owing to an ancient interspecific hybridization event. The Scriptus lineage (T. s. scriptus) inhabits the north-western half of the African continent while Sylvaticus (T. s. sylvaticus) is found in the south-eastern half. Here we test hypotheses of historical demography and adaptation in bushbuck using a higher-resolution framework, with four nuclear (MGF, PRKCI, SPTBN, and THY) and three new mitochondrial markers (cytochrome b, 12S rRNA, and 16S rRNA). Methods Genealogies were reconstructed for the mitochondrial and nuclear data sets, with the latter dated using fossil calibration points. We also inferred the demographic history of Scriptus and Sylvaticus using coalescent-based methods. To obtain an overview of the origins and ancestral colonisation routes of ancestral bushbuck sequences across geographic space, we conducted discrete Bayesian phylogeographic and statistical dispersal-vicariance analyses on our nuclear DNA data set. Results Both nuclear DNA and mtDNA support previous findings of two genetically divergent Sylvaticus and Scriptus lineages. The three mtDNA loci confirmed 15 of the previously defined haplogroups, including those with convergent phenotypes. However, the nuclear tree showed less phylogenetic resolution at the more derived parts of the genealogy, possibly due to incomplete lineage sorting of the slower evolving nuclear genome. The only exception to this was the montane Menelik’s bushbuck (Sylvaticus) of the Ethiopian highlands, which formed a monophyletic group at three of four nuclear DNA loci. We dated the coalescence of the two lineages to a common ancestor ∼2.54 million years ago. Both marker sets revealed similar demographic histories of constant population size over time. We show that the bushbuck likely originated in East Africa, with Scriptus dispersing to colonise suitable habitats west of the African Rift and Sylvaticus radiating from east of the Rift into southern Africa via a series of mainly vicariance events. Discussion Despite lower levels of genetic structure at nuclear loci, we confirmed the independent evolution of the Menelik’s bushbuck relative to the phenotypically similar montane bushbuck in East Africa, adding further weight to previous suggestions of convergent evolution within the bushbuck complex. Perhaps the most surprising result of our analysis was that both Scriptus and Sylvaticus populations remained relatively constant throughout the Pleistocene, which is remarkable given that this was a period of major climatic and tectonic change in Africa, and responsible for driving the evolution of much of the continent’s extant large mammalian diversity

CoSyR: a novel beam dynamics code for the modeling of synchrotron radiation effects

The self-consistent nonlinear dynamics of a relativistic charged particle beam interacting with its complete self-fields is a fundamental problem underpinning many of the accelerator design issues in high brightness beam applications, as well as the development of advanced accelerators. Particularly, synchrotron radiation induced effects in a magnetic dispersive beamline element can lead to collective beam instabilities and emittance growth. A novel beam dynamic code is developed based on a Lagrangian method for the calculation of the particles' radiation near-fields using wavefront/wavelet meshes via the Green's function of the Maxwell equations. These fields are then interpolated onto a moving mesh for dynamic update of the beam. This method allows radiation co-propagation and self-consistent interaction with the beam in the simulation at greatly reduced numerical errors. Multiple levels of parallelisms are inherent in this method and implemented in our code CoSyR to enable at-scale simulations of nonlinear beam dynamics on modern computing platforms using MPI, multi-threading, and GPUs. CoSyR has been used to evaluate the transverse and longitudinal coherent radiation effects on the beam and to investigate beam optics designs proposed for mitigation of beam brightness degradation in a magnetic bunch compressor. In this paper, the design of CoSyR, as well as the benchmark with other coherent synchrotron radiation models, are described and discussed.Comment: 17 pages, 14 figure

Phylogeography and population genetics of the endemic Malagasy bat, Macronycteris commersoni s.s. (Chiroptera: Hipposideridae)

Macronycteris commersoni (Hipposideridae), a bat species endemic to Madagascar, is widespread across the island and utilizes a range of habitat types including open woodland, degraded habitats, and forested areas from sea level to 1,325 m. Despite being widely distributed, there is evidence that M. commersoni exhibits morphological and bioacoustic variation across its geographical range. We investigated the fine-scale phylogeographic structure of populations in the western half of the island using extensive spatial sampling and sequence data from two mitochondrial DNA regions. Our results indicated several lineages within M. commersoni. Individuals collected from northern Madagascar formed a single monophyletic clade (clade C). A second clade (clade B) included individuals collected from the south-western portion of the island. This second clade displayed more phylogeographical partitioning with differences in mtDNA haplotypes frequency detected between populations collected in different bioclimatic regions. Lineage dispersal, genetic divergence, and timing of expansion events of M. commersoni were probably associated with Pleistocene climate fluctuations. Our data suggest that the northern and the central western regions of Madagascar may have acted as refugia for this species during periods of cooler and drier climate conditions associated with the Pleistocene