Lemurs in Cacao: Presence and Abundance within the Shade Plantations of Northern Madagascar

Webber, Amanda D.; Solofondranohatra, James Sedera; Razafindramoana, Simon; Fernández, David; Parker, Charlotte A; Steer, Mark; Abrahams, Mark I.; Allainguillaume, Joël

doi:10.1159/000501987

Cited by 18 publications

(11 citation statements)

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“…As this genus contains only two species, this lack of significance is very unlikely to be the result of interspecies differences in habitat preference within the genus. Further, both species have been observed in highly degraded habitats in previous studies (LaFleur, 2020;Webber et al, 2020). Many Cheirogaleidae are adaptable and resilient to changes in habitat and are able to survive in a range of habitat types and in highly degraded areas (Forbanka, 2018a;Lahann, 2008;Mittermeier et al, 2010); the results of this study clearly demonstrate this for Mirza, which suggests that the two Mirza species are ecological generalists.…”

Section: Mirzasupporting

confidence: 80%

“…As cheirogaleid lemur abundance and density are often unaffected by habitat quality and vegetation availability (Ganzhorn, 1995;Lehman et al, 2006a;Sawyer et al, 2017), this result is therefore not surprising, although it opposes my original prediction. The lack of correlation between density and HFP is also expected, as cheirogaleid lemurs have frequently been observed to persist and even thrive in anthropogenic habitats (Ganzhorn, 1987;Hending et al, 2018;Webber et al, 2020). Mirza density had no correlation with elevation but was positively correlated with both temperature and precipitation (Figure 1), which appear to be the primary drivers of Mirza density (Figure 2).…”

Section: Mirzamentioning

confidence: 70%

“…I hypothesized that vegetation-related variables would be the primary drivers of population density for all genera, as per my previous hypothesis for objective one. As many Cheirogaleid species have been observed living within highly degraded and anthropogenic habitat types (Hending et al, 2018;Kappeler & Rasoloarison, 2003;Webber et al, 2020), I also predicted that anthropogenic disturbance would not be a primary density driver.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Environmental drivers of Cheirogaleidae population density: Remarkable resilience of Madagascar’s smallest lemurs to habitat degradation

Hending

2021

Ecology and Evolution

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Aim Global animal populations are in decline due to destruction and degradation of their natural habitat. Understanding the factors that determine the distribution and density of threatened animal populations is therefore now a crucial component of their study and conservation. The Cheirogaleidae are a diverse family of small‐bodied, nocturnal lemurs that are widespread throughout the forests of Madagascar. However, many cheirogaleid lemurs are now highly threatened with extinction and the environmental factors that determine their distribution and population density are still little known. Here, I investigated the environmental drivers of Cheirogaleidae population density at genus level. Location Various forest sites across Madagascar. Methods I investigated how six environmental variables affect Cheirogaleidae population density at the genus level via random‐effect meta‐analyses. I then used a generalized linear mixed‐effects model to identify the primary predictors of Cheirogaleidae population density. Finally, I investigated how the population density of this family of lemurs varies between protected and unprotected areas of Madagascar via a GLM analysis. Results My results indicate that the relationships between the tested environmental factors and population density are genus‐specific among the Cheirogaleidae. Rather remarkably, the density of Microcebus appears to have a profoundly positive relationship with anthropogenic disturbance and a negative relationship with forest cover, a finding that is also reflected by larger population densities within unprotected areas in comparison with localities within Madagascar's protected area network. Main Conclusions The results of this study are highly encouraging for the conservation of the Cheirogaleidae and highlight the remarkable resilience of these lemurs to habitat degradation and anthropogenic activity. However, this study also outlines the dearth of knowledge that we have for many species, and why these data are urgently needed to understand the biogeography and ecology of threatened animal populations and implement successful conservation.

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Section: Mirzasupporting

confidence: 80%

Section: Mirzamentioning

confidence: 70%

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confidence: 99%

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Environmental drivers of Cheirogaleidae population density: Remarkable resilience of Madagascar’s smallest lemurs to habitat degradation

Hending

2021

Ecology and Evolution

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“…In this context, mixed or fully utilitarian forests such as plantations or agroforestry systems could benefit local communities and function as habitat extensions or corridors for vertebrates including lemurs. For example, lemurs use vanilla and cocoa plantations in northern Madagascar (Hending et al 2018;Webber et al 2020). However, when animals such as birds, flying foxes, or lemurs feed on fruits of trees also used by humans, they can transmit zoonotic diseases through contamination of fruits by feces.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Utilitarian Plants for Lemur Conservation

et al. 2021

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Nature and species conservation often conflict with intensive natural resource or land use. Many protected areas are too small for long-term conservation of viable vertebrate populations, especially in Madagascar, and forests are subject to exploitation for a variety of natural resources. Trying to exclude people from the use of these resources has not been successful during economic, natural, or political crises or when human population growth outruns any development effort. People need economic and other benefits, and conservation measures have to account for these needs. We compiled native and introduced tree, shrub, and herbaceous species used by both people and native vertebrates for three regions, covering the domains of the dry, transitional, and humid forest of Madagascar. We carried out semistructured interviews and group discussions in 12 different villages in each study region in November 2017. People listed 139 utilitarian plant taxa. Our literature search revealed that 72 of these plant species and 13 genera used by people, were also used by 208 different terrestrial vertebrates including 58 lemur species. Application of the Forest Landscape Restoration approach with a combination of exotic and native plant species used by both people and animals could increase the economic value of restored forest habitats for people, thus providing incentives for forest conservation. Plantations of mixed utilitarian trees and shrubs could be integrated into agricultural landscapes. Among land-living vertebrates, lemurs seem to benefit most from this approach. These measures might contribute to a successful array of biodiversity conservation in anthropogenic landscapes.

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“…Over 98% of lemur species are threatened with extinction (IUCN, 2020), which underscores the pressing need for effective monitoring methods to track population trends and evaluate conservation interventions. There have been very few studies using arboreal camera traps in Madagascar to date (Olson et al, 2012;Webber et al, 2020). In particular, there remains a gap in the literature pertaining to using cameras at main canopy heights within forest to examine complete assemblages of lemur species in natural habitat.…”

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confidence: 99%

Lemur paparazzi: Arboreal camera trapping and occupancy modeling as conservation tools for monitoring threatened lemur species

Chen

Narváez-Torres

Tiafinjaka

et al. 2021

American J Primatol

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Primate species face growing risks of extinction throughout the world. To better protect their populations, effective monitoring techniques are needed. The goal of this study was to evaluate the use of arboreal camera traps and occupancy modeling as conservation tools for threatened lemur species. This project aimed to (1) estimate the occupancy and detection probabilities of lemur species, (2) investigate factors potentially affecting lemur habitat use, and (3) determine whether ground or arboreal cameras are better for surveying lemur assemblages. We conducted camera trapping research in five forest fragments (total trap nights = 1770; 900 arboreal trap nights (134 photo events); 870 ground trap nights (2 photo events)) and reforestation areas (total trap nights = 608; 1 photo event) in Kianjavato, Madagascar from May to September 2019. We used arboreal trap data from fragments to estimate occupancy for five species: the red-fronted brown lemur (Eulemur rufifrons; ψ = 0.54 ± SD 0.03), Jolly's mouse lemur (Microcebus jollyae; ψ = 0.14 ± 0.17), the greater dwarf lemur (Cheirogaleus major; ψ = 0.42 ± 0.30), the red-bellied lemur (Eulemur rubriventer; ψ = 0.24 ± 0.03), and the black-and-white ruffed lemur (Varecia variegata; ψ = 0.24 ± 0.08). Tree diameter, elevation, distance to village, and canopy connectivity were important predictors of occupancy, while camera height, canopy connectivity, fragment ID, and fragment size predicted detection. Arboreal cameras recorded significantly higher species richness compared with ground cameras. We suggest expanded application of arboreal camera traps in future research, but we recommend longer trapping periods to better sample rarer species. Overall, arboreal camera trapping combined with occupancy modeling can be a highly efficient and useful approach for monitoring and predicting the occurrence of elusive lemur species and has the potential to be effective for other arboreal primates and canopy taxa across the globe.

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Lemurs in Cacao: Presence and Abundance within the Shade Plantations of Northern Madagascar

Cited by 18 publications

References 0 publications

Environmental drivers of Cheirogaleidae population density: Remarkable resilience of Madagascar’s smallest lemurs to habitat degradation

Environmental drivers of Cheirogaleidae population density: Remarkable resilience of Madagascar’s smallest lemurs to habitat degradation

Using Utilitarian Plants for Lemur Conservation

Lemur paparazzi: Arboreal camera trapping and occupancy modeling as conservation tools for monitoring threatened lemur species

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