The proposed Parc Regional de Belomotse - Frontier-publications ...

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the total live-trap captures (see Figure 4). Conversely, insectivores were most frequently caught in the wet season (January and February) when they made up 96- 100% of the total captures. The most frequently captured mammal species throughout the survey was Rattus rattus, with thirty-three caught individuals from an accumulated total of fifty captures. Composition and annual patterns in the surveyed populations could therefore be detected. Of the 19 adult individuals captured, 10 were males and 9 were females, indicating an even sexual distribution in the population. Annual mammal trapping No. of captures 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 July August October November January February Month March May June Figure 4. Annual trapping of rodents and insectivores 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 % of all captures rodent captures Insectivore captures % rodents of all captures % insectivores of all captures 5.3.2 Rattus rattus population composition In October, most captured individuals of R. rattus were breeding adults, whereas in May most captured individuals were juveniles (see Figure 5). This indicated that the majority of the mature population mated around the onset of the rainy season. As food is most abundant during the wet season, this would provide the necessary resources for developing juveniles. A small number of breeding adults and sub-adults were captured throughout the survey. This indicates that, although there is a clear ‘peak season’, this species does continue to breed throughout the year. Annual R. rattus population composition 12 10 No. of individuals 8 6 4 2 Adult breeding Adult Sub-adult 0 July/August October November May June Month Juvenile Figure 5. Annual composition of the Rattus rattus population. 22
5.3.3 Observations, tracks and calls Observations, tracks and vocalisations accounted for the identification of nine species that were not captured using standard trapping methods (see Appendix 6 for details). This included five species of lemur. Primates are protected species, and specific permission is necessary in order for specimens to be collected. Therefore, identifications based on observations are most suitable. The bush pig, Potamochoerus larvatus; the Indian civet, Vivvericula indica; and the fosa, Cryptoprocta ferox, are large, shy nocturnal animals who are rarely trapped. Tracks were seen, as were droppings. The Indian civet was sighted on a small number of occasions. 5.3.4 Owl pellet analysis The analysis of owl pellets is a time-consuming process and at the time of writing this report the analyses have not been completed. The results will be added in a later version of this report. 5.4 Discussion 5.4.1 Ecological distribution and species richness Many of the plants and animals of Madagascar display an exceptionally high level of endemism, and the mammals are no exception. Of the twenty-six species found in the surveyed areas, twenty-one species (81%) were endemic. The infraorder Lemuriformes, of the order Primate, are endemic to Madagascar. Six lemur species were identified during the surveys. Five species that were present in the surveyed areas are not endemic to the country, at least three of which are thought to have been introduced by human colonists. Although this is a fairly low number, these species can damage the native ecosystems and are seen as pests in Madagascar. Compared to other tropical and sub tropical regions throughout the world, the mammals of Madagascar show low diversity (Lundahl & Olsson, 2000). Also, the humid areas of the east coast show a higher diversity of mammals than the arid areas of the west. However, the surveyed areas within the proposed Parc Regional de Belomotse showed high diversity compared to the findings of other surveys in similar habitats (see Raxworthy, 1995). The high number of mammal species found in the survey area may be due to the diversity of habitats in the surveyed areas. It may also reflect the fact that the areas were surveyed over a long period of time, covering both the wet and the dry season, so the probability of catching and observing many different species was high. The order of chiroptera is the most diverse of Madagascar’s small mammal fauna. The taxonomy for many genera and species is still being revised and new species and range extensions are frequently being found. During the survey, seven species of microchiroptera were identified, two of which are undescribed species. Three species of megachiroptera occur in Madagascar. The two largest species, Pteropus rufus and Eidolon dupreanum, have previously been found in the southwest. During this survey, fruit bats were observed roosting in caves or overhangs on cliff faces, and feeding in 23
Page 1 and 2: Frontier Madagascar Environmental R
Page 3 and 4: Suggested Technical Paper citation:
Page 5 and 6: Contents List of Figures List of Ta
Page 7 and 8: 10.1 Introduction 46 10.2 Methods 4
Page 9 and 10: List of Figures Figure 1: Figure 2:
Page 11 and 12: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report descr
Page 13 and 14: ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This summary repor
Page 15 and 16: 1. Introduction 1.1 Madagascar Mada
Page 17 and 18: 1.3 Threats to Conservation The hig
Page 19 and 20: collected by the WWF-Madagascar Dry
Page 21 and 22: initiative. This regional departmen
Page 23 and 24: 3. The Study sites Work was carried
Page 25 and 26: The trapsites were positioned such
Page 27 and 28: 4. Plants 4.1 Introduction The Mala
Page 29 and 30: Table 3. The number and endemism of
Page 31 and 32: These results seem to show that the
Page 33 and 34: 5. Mammals 5.1 Introduction Mammals
Page 35: madagascariensis and the Barn Owl,
Page 39 and 40: Cheirogaleus medius, the Coquerel
Page 41 and 42: However, only two year-round trappi
Page 43 and 44: In many areas, species are hunted f
Page 45 and 46: 6.4 Discussion 6.4.1 Temporal varia
Page 47 and 48: 7.2 Methods Between May and August
Page 49 and 50: 7.4 Discussion 7.4.1 Comparison of
Page 51 and 52: threatened. Several species, includ
Page 53 and 54: Nine species were observed solely i
Page 55 and 56: 9.3 Results A total of fifty-five d
Page 57 and 58: areas, all of them were found in th
Page 59 and 60: 9.4.5 Range extensions and locality
Page 61 and 62: 10.2 Methods Amphibians were observ
Page 63 and 64: the associated riparian forest, the
Page 65 and 66: knowledge, are linked solely to rip
Page 67 and 68: 11.2 Malaise Trapping 11.2.1 Introd
Page 69 and 70: The genus Cerapachys is rarely foun
Page 71 and 72: 11.5 Molluscs and Millipedes 11.5.1
Page 73 and 74: 12. Resource use and Socio economic
Page 75 and 76: 12.3 Results 12.3.1 Biological dive
Page 77 and 78: Reeds are collected from the shallo
Page 79 and 80: egion’. The development of the re
Page 81 and 82: oat or on foot. From the lake, the
Page 83 and 84: Figure 10. The approximate position
Page 85 and 86: the development of tourism and asso
Page 87 and 88:
References Billé, R. & Mermet, L.
Page 89 and 90:
Lundahl, S. L. L. & Olsson, A. 2000
Page 91 and 92:
Appendix 1. Trapsite (TS) Habitat D
Page 93 and 94:
Ground layer < 10 %, scrub layer 10
Page 95 and 96:
Appendix 2. Continued. FABACEAE Rob
Page 97 and 98:
Appendix 3. Numbers of individuals
Page 99 and 100:
Appendix 3. Continued. LOGANIACEAE
Page 101 and 102:
Appendix 4. Plant numbers and speci
Page 103 and 104:
Appendix 6. List of mammal species
Page 105 and 106:
Appendix 7. Continued. 42 Centropus
Page 107 and 108:
Appendix 9. List of reptile species
Page 109 and 110:
Appendix 10. List of butterfly spec
Page 111 and 112:
Appendix 11. Descriptions of Sugges
Page 113 and 114:
Ring-tailed lemurs and Verreaux’s
Page 115 and 116:
Hide 3 Surroundings - Located in ga
Page 117:
Appendix 13. Specimen identificatio
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