New map sets conservation priorities for Madagascar

New map sets conservation priorities for Madagascar
mongabay.com
April 10, 2008

Compiling data on thousands of endemic species of ants, butterflies, frogs, geckos, lemurs and plants, an international team of researchers has developed a comprehensive biodiversity map of Madagascar that will help determine determine future reserve placement and conservation planning on the Indian Ocean island and beyond.

Analyzing the distribution of 2,315 species across the 226,657 square-mile island, Dr. Claire Kremen and colleagues developed a map that highlights the most important areas to conserve. The study will guide Madagascar conservation efforts as it seeks to triple the area of land under protection to 10 percent.

Parson's chameleon in Ranomafana.

Leaf-tailed gecko in Ranomafana. Photos by Rhett A. Butler

"While some of the key areas of biodiversity are under protection, many are not," Kremen, an associate conservationist with the Wildlife Conservation Society and UC Berkeley assistant professor, said. "This study will help direct conservation plans to help protect the most species possible, with special consideration given to those animals and plants that are most endangered."

Unlike conventional conservation planning which protects large blocks of habitat based on the distribution of a small number of species, the new study seeks to protect habitats to conserve all 2,315 species assessed. This includes coastal forests and several massifs on the central plateau of the island. These regions, which historically been neglected as conservation areas in Madagascar, lack large tracts of forest but contain high degrees of species richness and endemicism.

The researchers say their methods for assessing conservation priorities can be applied to other biodiversity hotspots, especially where species distribution is complex and ranges of threatened species do not overlap.

"Globally, priority areas for biodiversity are relatively well known, yet few detailed plans exist to direct conservation action within them, despite urgent need. Madagascar, like other globally recognized biodiversity hot spots, has complex spatial patterns of endemism that differ among taxonomic groups, creating challenges for the selection of within-country priorities," Kremen told mongabay.com. "Our findings further suggest that high-resolution multitaxonomic approaches to prioritization may be necessary to ensure protection for biodiversity in other global hot spots."

"We can export this model to other areas of critical conservation importance," Alison Cameron, of UC-Berkeley, added.

Madagascar is world-famous for its large number of species foud nowhere else on the planet, including dozens of species of lemurs, hedgehog-like tenrecs, colorful chameleons chameleons, and cryptic leaf-tailed geckos. Still its forests have been greatly diminished over the past 50 years due to subsistence farming and charcoal production.

C. Kremen et al (2008). "Aligning Conservation Priorities Across Taxa in Madagascar with High-Resolution Planning Tools." Science 11 April 2008

Related

An interview with lemur expert Dr. Patricia Wright
Conservation is saving lemurs and helping people in Madagascar -- 05/07/2007
Madagascar, an island nation that lies off the coast of southeastern Africa, has long been famous for its unique and diverse species of wildlife, especially lemursprimates found nowhere else on the planet. In recent years, the island country has also become world-renowned for conservation efforts that are succeeding in spite of extraordinary pressures from a poor population that relies heavily on forest burning for basic subsistence. A large part of this success is due to the early efforts of Patricia Wright, a primatologist who has been working in the country for more than 20 years. Wright led the effort to launch the country's leading protected area and helped Madagascar become a leading global example of conservation despite its economic adversity.

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