A conservation assessment of Rousettus madagascariensis (G. Grandidier, 1928, 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.RÉSUMÉL’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

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.

Inverse problems in financial engineering: regularization with entropy criteria

Esta dissertação aplica a regularização por entropia máxima no problema inverso de apreçamento de opções, sugerido pelo trabalho de Neri e Schneider em 2012. Eles observaram que a densidade de probabilidade que resolve este problema, no caso de dados provenientes de opções de compra e opções digitais, pode ser descrito como exponenciais nos diferentes intervalos da semireta positiva. Estes intervalos são limitados pelos preços de exercício. O critério de entropia máxima é uma ferramenta poderosa para regularizar este problema mal posto. A família de exponencial do conjunto solução, é calculado usando o algoritmo de Newton-Raphson, com limites específicos para as opções digitais. Estes limites são resultados do princípio de ausência de arbitragem. A metodologia foi usada em dados do índice de ação da Bolsa de Valores de São Paulo com seus preços de opções de compra em diferentes preços de exercício. A análise paramétrica da entropia em função do preços de opções digitais sínteticas (construídas a partir de limites respeitando a ausência de arbitragem) mostraram valores onde as digitais maximizaram a entropia. O exemplo de extração de dados do IBOVESPA de 24 de janeiro de 2013, mostrou um desvio do princípio de ausência de arbitragem para as opções de compra in the money. Este princípio é uma condição necessária para aplicar a regularização por entropia máxima a fim de obter a densidade e os preços. Nossos resultados mostraram que, uma vez preenchida a condição de convexidade na ausência de arbitragem, é possível ter uma forma de smile na curva de volatilidade, com preços calculados a partir da densidade exponencial do modelo. Isto coloca o modelo consistente com os dados do mercado. Do ponto de vista computacional, esta dissertação permitiu de implementar, um modelo de apreçamento que utiliza o princípio de entropia máxima. Três algoritmos clássicos foram usados: primeiramente a bisseção padrão, e depois uma combinação de metodo de bisseção com Newton-Raphson para achar a volatilidade implícita proveniente dos dados de mercado. Depois, o metodo de Newton-Raphson unidimensional para o cálculo dos coeficientes das densidades exponenciais: este é objetivo do estudo. Enfim, o algoritmo de Simpson foi usado para o calculo integral das distribuições cumulativas bem como os preços do modelo obtido através da esperança matemática.This study aims at applying Maximum Entropy Regularization to the Inverse Problem of Option Pricing suggested by Neri and Schneider in 2012. They pointed out that the probability density that solves such problem in the case of calls and digital options could be written as piecewise exponentials on the positive real axis. The limits of these segments are the different strike prices. The entropy criteria is a powerful tool to regularize this ill-posed problem. The Exponential Family solution set is calculated using a Newton-Raphson algorithm, with specific bounds for the binary options. These bounds obey the no-arbitrage principle. We applied the method to data from the Brazilian stock index BOVESPA and its call prices for different strikes. The parametric entropy analysis for "synthetic" digital prices (constructed from the no-arbitrage bounds) showed values where the digital prices maximizes the entropy. The example of data extracted on the IBOVESPA of January 24th 2013, showed slippage from the no-arbitrage principle when the option was in the money: such principle is a necessary condition to apply the maximum entropy regularization to get the density and modeled prices. When the condition is fulfilled, our results showed that it is possible to have a smile-like volatility curve with prices calculated from the exponential density that fit well the market data. In a computational modelling perspective, this thesis enabled the implementation of a pricing method using the maximum entropy principle. Three well known algorithms were used in that extent. The bisection alone, then a combined bisection with Newton-Raphson to recover the implied volatility from market data. Thereafter, the one dimensional Newton-Raphson to calculate the coefficients of the exponential densities: purpose of the study. Finally the Simpson method was used to calculate integrals of the cumulative distributions and the modeled prices implied by the expectation

Evidence for recent gene flow between north-eastern and south-eastern Madagascan poison frogs from a phylogeography of the <it>Mantella cowani </it>group

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The genus <it>Mantella</it>, endemic poison frogs of Madagascar with 16 described species, are known in the field of international pet trade and entered under the CITES control for the last four years. The phylogeny and phylogeography of this genus have been recently subject of study for conservation purposes. Here we report on the studies of the phylogeography of the <it>Mantella cowani </it>group using a fragment of 453 bp of the mitochondrial cytochrome <it>b </it>gene from 195 individuals from 21 localities. This group is represented by five forms: <it>M. cowani</it>, a critically endangered species, a vulnerable species, <it>M. haraldmeieri</it>, and the non-threatened <it>M. baroni, M</it>. aff. <it>baroni</it>, and <it>M. nigricans</it>.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The Bayesian phylogenetic and haplotype network analyses revealed the presence of three separated haplotype clades: (1)<it> M. baroni, M</it>. aff. <it>baroni, M. nigricans</it>, and putative hybrids of <it>M. cowani </it>and <it>M. baroni</it>, (2) <it>M. cowani </it>and putative hybrids of <it>M. cowani </it>and <it>M. baroni</it>, and (3) <it>M. haraldmeieri</it>. The putative hybrids were collected from sites where <it>M. cowani </it>and <it>M. baroni </it>live in sympatry.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These results suggest (a) a probable hybridization between <it>M. cowani </it>and <it>M. baroni</it>, (b) a lack of genetic differentiation between <it>M. baroni/M</it>. aff. <it>baroni </it>and <it>M. nigricans</it>, (c) evidence of recent gene-flow between the northern (<it>M. nigricans</it>), eastern (<it>M. baroni</it>), and south-eastern (<it>M</it>. aff. <it>baroni</it>) forms of distinct coloration, and (d) the existence of at least three units for conservation in the <it>Mantella cowani </it>group.</p

Study on the movement of Rattus rattus and evaluation of the plague dispersion in Madagascar.

International audiencePlague affects mainly the rural areas in the central highlands of Madagascar. Rattus rattus is the main rodent host of Yersinia pestis in these localities. Since the introduction of plague, endemic foci have continued to expand, and spatiotemporal variability in the distribution of human plague has been observed. To assess the movements of R. rattus and evaluate the risk of dispersion of the disease, a field study at the scale of the habitats (houses, hedges of sisals, and rice fields) in the plague villages was carried out during high and low seasons of plague transmission to humans. The systemic oral marker Rhodamine B was used to follow rats' movements. Baits were placed in different habitats, and trapping success was carried out once a month for 3 months after the bait distribution. Plague indicators (reservoirs' abundance, flea index, Y. pestis prevalence in fleas, and Y. pestis antibody prevalence in rats) were determined. The highest abundance of rats and marking efficiency were observed in the sisal hedges and the rice fields. Marked rats were captured most commonly near the points where baits were initially placed. The main movements of rats were observed between the houses and sisal hedges. Major differences were observed between the seasons of high and low plague transmission. During the season of low plague transmission, rats were more abundant in the sisal hedges and rice fields, with rats moving from the houses to the rice fields. During the high plague transmission season, rats moved from the hedges of sisal to the rice fields. Important indicators of vector abundance and plague transmission were higher during the high plague transmission season. The three study habitats were the risk areas for plague transmission, but the risk appeared highest in the houses and sisals. Rats' movements according to the season were likely directed by the availability of food

Assessment of Rhodamine B for labelling the plague reservoir <em>Rattus rattus</em> in Madagascar

International audienceThe black rat is the main plague reservoir in rural foci in Madagascar, inside the villages as well as in the cultivated areas around. We have evaluated the potentialities of mass-marking of rats, using baits containing Rhodamine B (RB) in order to get a tool to study the movements of rats and to understand the spread of plague. Laboratory experiments demonstrated that: (i) rats were more attracted by the rodent granules and peanut butter; (ii) incorporation of RB in baits did not reduce their appetence; (iii) RB lasted for 60 days in rat vibrissae and 180 days in rat hairs; and (iv) consumption of baits during a week was under the lethal dose. Field tests have been realized comparatively among 24 highland villages where plague is endemic, in different contexts: baits inside houses or around the village, baits with and without RB, rats captured 1, 2 and 3 months after the marking. No negative effect of the RB on population dynamics of rats or fleas on them was observed. The effectiveness of the marking was comparable between males and females. This technique of collective marking appears very valuable for monitoring rat movements in plague foci.Le rat noir est le principal reservoir de la peste dans les foyers ruraux de Madagascar, dans les villages comme dans les zones cultivees environnantes. Nous avons evalue les potentialites de marquage en masse de rats avec des appats contenant de la Rhodamine B (RB) afin de disposer d'un outil pour etudier les deplacements des rats et de comprendre la dispersion de la peste. Les experiences en laboratoire ont montre que : (i) les rats etaient plus attires par les granules pour rongeurs et le beurre de cacahuete; (ii) l'adjonction de RB dans les appats ne reduisait pas leur appetence; (iii) la RB persistait pendant 60 jours dans les vibrisses des rats, et 180 jours dans leurs poils; et (iv) la consommation des appats pendant une semaine restait en dessous de la dose letale. Des tests sur le terrain dans 24 villages des hauts plateaux ou la peste est endemique etaient realises dans differents contextes: appats dans les maisons et autour des villages, appats avec ou sans RB, rats captures un, deux ou trois mois apres le marquage. Aucun effet negatif de la RB sur la dynamique de population des rats ou des puces qui les parasitent n'a ete observe. L'efficacite du marquage etait comparable chez les males et les femelles. Cette technique de marquage collectif apparait tres interessante pour suivre les deplacements des rats dans les foyers de peste