Biodiversity Survey of the Terrestrial Vertebrates (Amphibians, Reptiles, Small Mammals) of Madagascar's Remnant Forests and Satellite Islands

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This project is focused on documenting the diversity of small mammals, amphibians and reptiles in the northern forests and fringing islands of Madagascar. Surveys will be made on 21 forested areas on mainland Madagascar and 108 nearby islands, in order to document the distribution and abundance of species of terrestrial vertebrates and their external parasites. This 5-year project will provide new information for about 71% of the vertebrate species of Madagascar, which is vitally needed for establishing conservation priorities for both the mainland environments and the islands. Many species of Madagascarene amphibians and reptiles are known from only a few specimens collected 50-150 years ago. Some of these "lost" species were rediscovered during recent surveys of the mainland, and it is likely that others still surviv in unexplored forest refugia on the mainland and fringing islands. In addition to documenting the biodiversity of terrestrial vertebrates and facilitating conservation initiatives, this project will provide vast amounts of new information about the external parasites of the sampled vertebrates. Preliminary information from our previous surveys revealed eight families of parasitic mites unknown for Madagascar and more than 400 species. This vast new realm of biodiversity information promises to have a major impact on our understanding of the historical biogeography of Madagascar's fauna.