Contested Spatial Coincidence of Conservation and Mining Efforts in Madagascar

Andriamanalina, Anjara

doi:10.4314/mcd.v2i1.44127

Cited by 18 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…This is surprising considering that over half of Madagascar's birds are endemic (Goodman and Benstead 2005). However, much of the island is becoming increasingly threatened by habitat destruction through logging (Randriamalala and Liu 2010), mining (Cardiff and Andriamanalina 2007), and slash-and-burn farming (Styger et al 2007), which have removed over 90% of the original primary vegetation (Myers et al 2000). Consequently, Madagascar not only allows endemic and nonendemic species to be compared in sympatry, but is also important from a conservation perspective.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contrasting genetic diversity and population structure among three sympatric Madagascan shorebirds: parallels with rarity, endemism, and dispersal

Eberhart-Phillips

Hoffman

Brede

et al. 2015

Ecology and Evolution

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Understanding the relative contributions of intrinsic and extrinsic factors to population structure and genetic diversity is a central goal of conservation and evolutionary genetics. One way to achieve this is through comparative population genetic analysis of sympatric sister taxa, which allows evaluation of intrinsic factors such as population demography and life history while controlling for phylogenetic relatedness and geography. We used ten conserved microsatellites to explore the population structure and genetic diversity of three sympatric and closely related plover species in southwestern Madagascar: Kittlitz's plover (Charadrius pecuarius), white-fronted plover (C. marginatus), and Madagascar plover (C. thoracicus). Bayesian clustering revealed strong population structure in the rare and endemic Madagascar plover, intermediate population structure in the white-fronted plover, and no detectable population structure in the geographically widespread Kittlitz's plover. In contrast, allelic richness and heterozygosity were highest for the Kittlitz's plover, intermediate for the white-fronted plover and lowest for the Madagascar plover. No evidence was found in support of the “watershed mechanism” proposed to facilitate vicariant divergence of Madagascan lemurs and reptiles, which we attribute to the vagility of birds. However, we found a significant pattern of genetic isolation by distance among populations of the Madagascar plover, but not for the other two species. These findings suggest that interspecific variation in rarity, endemism, and dispersal propensity may influence genetic structure and diversity, even in highly vagile species.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contrasting genetic diversity and population structure among three sympatric Madagascan shorebirds: parallels with rarity, endemism, and dispersal

Eberhart-Phillips

Hoffman

Brede

et al. 2015

Ecology and Evolution

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“…The uniqueness of the island's biota and the magnitude of anthropogenic threat have led to its classification as one of the highest priorities for international conservation [23][24]. However, a combination of poverty, rapid population growth, insecure land-tenure, mining, hunting, agricultural expansion, and great demand for timber and charcoal production, poses a serious risk for much of the nation's remaining biodiversity [25][26][27][28][29].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bird Assemblages in a Malagasy Forest-Agricultural Frontier: Effects of Habitat Structure and Forest Cover

Rocha

Virtanen

Cabeza

2015

Tropical Conservation Science

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Increasing global human population and per-capita food consumption are expected to exacerbate the already massive agricultural footprint in tropical ecosystems. Madagascar is home to exceptional levels of biodiversity and is in the midst of severe land-use change, mostly driven by slash-and-burn, smallholder agriculture. Understanding the consequences of these agricultural practices for Malagasy native species is therefore of the foremost importance for the conservation of the nation's biodiversity. We surveyed bird assemblages inside and surrounding Ranomafana National Park, southeastern Madagascar, obtaining nearly 1,000 records of more than 60 species. At each study point, habitat structure was characterized by its vegetation complexity, and forest cover was quantified within circles of radii of 100, 500 and 750 m. We found that species richness was higher in forest than in agricultural areas, and responses to land-use change were found to be guildspecific, with frugivores being especially depleted outside forest areas, whereas granivores had higher species richness in the agricultural matrix. The number of recorded species with forest affinities was highly associated with landscape-scale forest cover, while open area and generalist species responded mainly to site-scale habitat structure. Our results demonstrate a turnover from forest-associated species to open area and habitat generalist species in Madagascar's smallholder agricultural areas. Our study underscores the conservation value of landscape-scale forest cover and of site-scale vegetation complexity. A double-stranded conservation approach, in which both landscape-scale forest cover and vegetation complexity are preserved would benefit conservation of the island's forest avifauna.

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“…Madagascar is a top global conservation priority (Myers et al 2000), but with 77.8% of its population living below the poverty line of $1.90 a day (UNDP, 2018); pressures on natural resources are high. Habitats are severely threatened by slash and burn agriculture, cutting fuelwood, charcoal production, cattle raising, mining, bushmeat and over-harvesting of resources (Cardiff & Andriamanalina 2007, Harper et al 2007, Razafimanahaka et al, 2012. Political instability (2009-2014) saw donor funding suspended and a proliferation of illegal activities, including logging of valuable hardwoods in protected areas (Innes 2010;Waeber & Wilmé 2013).…”

Section: Conclusion and Options For Sustainable Tradementioning

confidence: 99%