Survey of Amphibians, Reptiles, and Small Mammals in the Transitional and Dry Forests of Madagascar

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This project will continue a survey of communities of terrestrial vertebrates in the dry forests of western Madagascar, and to shift attention to transitional forests and some newly identified and remote montane forest islands of unknown composition. Twenty-four sites in these various habitats will be surveyed over a 36-month period, using methods employed successfully in an earlier study of rainforest habitats on Madagascar. The arid forests of western Madagascar contain some of the most interesting and unusual species of plants and animals in the world, and the biodiversity of these forests is at present poorly understood. The dry forests are degraded and threatened to at least the same degree as the rainforests, and their destructionis accelerating as the demand for resources increases. The primary purposes of this study are to 1) identify areas of high diversity in order to assist in the development of protected areas, 2) document species distributions on the Internet, 3) describe new species that may be encountered, 4) produce guides for field identification, 5) obtain specimens for systematic studies, 6) train Malagasy students, scientists, and resource managers, and 7) develop a national Museum of Natural History in Madagascar. The results, when combined with data from the earlier studies, will give a comprehensive picture of the diversity of most of Madagascar's terrestrial vertebrates, which will be essential to conservation planning for Madagascar into the future. | H H + (á▀áG À F G ( n H H + ( d ' ╔ @ -- aݪ ▀ S u m m a r y I n f o r m a t i o n ( áááááááááááá ( » áááááááááááá áááááááááááá áááááááááááá ªá = ÓaOÀ h¢µ +'ª`0 ╗   ª O 2 8 D P \ d l x ‗ Ñ ║ áááááááááááááááááááááááá Meredith's MacHD:Applications:Microsoft Word:Templates:Normal