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Assessment of ring-tailed lemur Lemur catta populations in south-western Madagascar

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 May 2023

Sylvain Randrianjaka
Affiliation:
École Doctorale de Biodiversité et Environnement Tropicaux, Université de Toliara, Toliara, Madagascar
Samantha Calkins
Affiliation:
Animal Behavior and Conservation Program, Department of Psychology, Hunter College of the City University of New York, New York, USA
Timothy M. Sefczek*
Affiliation:
University of Nebraska, 1400 R Street, Lincoln, NE 68588, USA
Cynthia L. Frasier
Affiliation:
Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium, Omaha, Nebraska, USA
Richard Randriamampionona
Affiliation:
Madagascar Biodiversity Partnership, Antananarivo, Madagascar
Jean Claude Rakotoniaina
Affiliation:
Madagascar Biodiversity Partnership, Antananarivo, Madagascar
Lily-Arison R. de Roland
Affiliation:
The Peregrine Fund's Madagascar Project, Antananarivo, Madagascar
Andrea L. Baden*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Hunter College of the City University of New York, New York, USA
Edward E. Louis Jr
Affiliation:
Madagascar Biodiversity Partnership, Antananarivo, Madagascar
*
(Corresponding author, [email protected])
(Corresponding author, [email protected])

Abstract

Anthropogenic activities are negatively affecting the flora and fauna of Madagascar, including its Endangered flagship lemur species, the ring-tailed lemur Lemur catta. Population numbers at some sites are rapidly declining, yet much of the species' habitat is insufficiently surveyed. Because widespread population assessments are critical to guiding conservation management strategies, additional data are needed to monitor L. catta population trends and to identify the limits of their geographical range. Here we report survey results confirming the presence of this species at 65 of 83 sites in southern and south-western Madagascar, including three subpopulations that were previously considered likely to be locally extinct. We identified a minimum of 792 L. catta individuals (summing only maximum group sizes at each site) and as many as 1,221 individuals (using estimated population counts). These findings help refine the distribution of L. catta and reaffirm their presence in areas of their historical geographical range. Identifying species occupancy at sites such as these provides valuable data to support species conservation, but also highlights the need for additional surveys throughout the range of the species.

Type
Short Communication
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Fauna & Flora International

According to the IUCN Red List, c. 94% of the > 100 lemur species of Madagascar are threatened, making them the most endangered mammalian group globally (Schwitzer et al., Reference Schwitzer, Mittermeier, Johnson, Donati, Irwin and Peacock2014). The Endangered ring-tailed lemur Lemur catta, a flagship species for the country, is believed to be suffering precipitous population declines (Gould & Sauther, Reference Gould and Sauther2016; LaFleur et al., Reference LaFleur, Gould, Sauther, Clarke and Reuter2018; LaFleur & Gould, Reference LaFleur and Gould2020). Once considered widespread throughout southern Madagascar (Sussman, Reference Sussman1977), L. catta is now considered locally extinct or nearly extinct at several locations where it was found historically (Gould & Sauther, Reference Gould and Sauther2016; LaFleur et al., Reference LaFleur, Clarke, Reuter and Schaeffer2016, Reference LaFleur, Gould, Sauther, Clarke and Reuter2018; LaFleur & Gould, Reference LaFleur and Gould2020; Fig. 1). Nevertheless, much of the historical range of the species remains under-surveyed, raising concerns that current population estimates potentially underrepresent L. catta numbers in the wild (Murphy et al., Reference Murphy, Ferguson and Gardner2017).

Fig. 1 Locations of the 83 surveys for the ring-tailed lemur Lemur catta conducted during June 2018–August 2019 in southern Madagascar. Supplementary Table 1 contains the corresponding site names and numbers. Extant and historical L. catta distributions are from the IUCN Red List (LaFleur & Gould, Reference LaFleur and Gould2020). ‘New survey’ refers to data from this study for sites for which there are no other published surveys. ‘Resurvey’ indicates sites for which other published surveys are also available (Supplementary Table 1). ‘Confirmed population’ indicates sites where species presence has been confirmed despite being previously identified as likely locally extinct (Gould & Sauther, Reference Gould and Sauther2016; LaFleur et al., Reference LaFleur, Clarke, Reuter and Schaeffer2016).

Accurate population assessments are essential for informing species-orientated conservation management (Rylands et al., Reference Rylands, Mittermeier and Williamson2020), including that of L. catta (LaFleur & Gould, Reference LaFleur and Gould2020). To aid these efforts, we present survey results from 83 sites to verify the species' occurrence, refine knowledge of its distribution and contribute to population estimates (Fig. 1).

During June–July 2019 we conducted surveys at five sites where L. catta occurred historically that were either excluded from recent population estimates or had not been systematically surveyed since 1995 (Hawkins, Reference Hawkins1999): (1) Zombitse Forest, (2) Vohibasia Forest, (3) Fiherenana Forest, (4) Ranomay Forest, and (5) two trail circuits in Isalo National Park (Namaza Circuit and Piscine Naturelle) (Fig. 1). We conducted week-long surveys using a standard line transect methodology along existing trails, to minimize forest disturbance (Whitesides et al., Reference Whitesides, Oates, Green and Kluberdanz1988; Hilário et al., Reference Hilário, Rodrigues, Chiarello and Mourthé2012; see Supplementary Material 1 for full details).

During 2-week periods in June, August, September and October 2018 and March, April and August 2019, we surveyed a further 78 sites across seven fokontany (an administrative unit comprising one or more villages) throughout the Mahafaly Plateau, a vast region of south-western Madagascar where surveys for this species have been insufficient (LaFleur et al., Reference LaFleur, Clarke, Reuter and Schaeffer2016; Fig. 1). The sites surveyed around the Mahafaly Plateau lack the infrastructure for conducting line transect sampling; we therefore used broad survey methods following Sussman et al. (Reference Sussman, Green, Porton, Andrianasolondraibe and Ratsirarson2003) to count individuals at sleeping sites (see Supplementary Material 1 for full details). We utilized broad survey methods because of their ability to generate comparative datasets at low cost over relatively short periods of time and their utility for confirming the presence and relative numbers of the population of a species within a proscribed area (Muckenhirn et al., Reference Muckenhirn, Mortensen, Vessey, Fraser and Singh1975).

The combined results from our surveys confirm the presence of L. catta at 65 (78.3%) of the 83 sites. We identified a minimum of 792 L. catta individuals in total (summing only the maximum group size across sites; Supplementary Table 1) and as many as 1,221 individuals (using estimated population counts) from 104 groups at 60 sites (Supplementary Table 1). Our estimates at four sites in the Mahafaly Plateau (Vintany, Andranoilovy, Grotte Maiky and Andranovao South) corroborate the findings presented in a recent report (Kasola et al., Reference Kasola, Atrefony, Louis, Odilon, Ralahinirina, Menjanahary and Ratovonamana2020). Furthermore, we confirmed the presence of L. catta at a further five sites on the Mahafaly Plateau (Antsono, Ankamena, Andramaniloke, Marohazo and Vohindambo), although individuals were obscured from view, making accurate counts impossible. Local guides indicated L. catta was present at the remaining 18 sites, although our surveys did not confirm this.

Among our surveys were three sites where L. catta populations were believed previously to be locally extinct or nearly extinct: Zombitse, Vohibasia and Fiheranana (Supplementary Table 1). As in a previous study (La Fleur et al., Reference LaFleur, Clarke, Reuter and Schaeffer2016), we did not detect L. catta in Zombitse Forest, but we did confirm presence at both Vohibasia and Fiheranana forests. At Vohibasia, which was last surveyed in 2007 (Siers, Reference Siers2007), we observed 10 individuals, thus indicating species persistence in this region, albeit at low densities. We observed a total of 40 individuals in five groups at Fiheranana; local guides suggest that additional L. catta populations occur along the Fiheranana River Valley where it extends beyond the range of our survey. Our survey efforts also confirmed that Ranomay, a historical L. catta stronghold (Murphy et al., Reference Murphy, Ferguson and Gardner2017), and multiple sites throughout the Mahafaly Plateau (e.g. Bemananga, Mananiho and Telomaly) still support a substantial presence of L. catta (Supplementary Table 1).

Although encouraging, our findings are preliminary; additional systematic surveys are needed to improve population estimates of L. catta. Nevertheless, our data are important for informing species-orientated conservation management (Kéry & Schmidt, Reference Kéry and Schmidt2008). Our findings are also a cautionary reminder that we must not confuse data deficiency with population deficiency; both survey extent and habitat heterogeneity (i.e. the ‘geographical template’ sensu Lomolino, Reference Lomolino, Lomolino and Heaney2004) must be considered when inferring species occupancy, as the absence of a species from one area might not be indicative of its absence from an entire region (Angermeier et al., Reference Angermeier, Krueger, Dolloff, Scott, Heglund, Morrison, Haufler, Raphael, Wall and Samson2002). Thus, it is important that additional surveys are conducted beyond the regions included in this study. Failure to do so could lead to so-called Wallacean shortfalls (i.e. gaps in understanding of the geographical distribution of a species; Lomolino, Reference Lomolino, Lomolino and Heaney2004). We therefore echo a recent call (LaFleur et al., Reference LaFleur, Gould, Sauther, Clarke and Reuter2018) for widespread collaboration between researchers, conservationists and park management officials to generate more comprehensive information on the density and distribution of L. catta throughout its geographical range, to inform management of the species appropriately.

Acknowledgements

We thank our funders: the Animal Behavior and Conservation Thesis Research Grant at Hunter College of the City University of New York, IUCN Save Our Species, Margot Marsh Biodiversity Foundation, Re:wild, Conservation International, Madagascar Biodiversity Partnership and Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium; our field teams: Solo Justin, Victor Rasendranirina and Velonjara Michel Angelo Eddy, Manjotoetse and Didier Herman Ramanantsoa and Jean Claude Randriamanana, Jeannot Rakotomalala, Jean Olivier Razafindramanana and Justin Jonah Rakotonirina; Jen Tinsmann for editing the text; and Madagascar National Parks, the Direction Générale de l'Environnement et des Forêts, Direction de la Gestion des Ressources Naturelles Renouvelables et des Écosystèmes, Direction Régional de l'Environnement et du Développement Durable and commune mayors and fokontany chiefs, who together comprise the Association Inter Communale Plateau Mahafaly, for their permission to work in the region.

Author contributions

Study design, fieldwork: SR, SC, TMS, CLF, RR, JCR, ALB, EEL; data analysis, writing: SR, SC, TMS, ALB; revision: CLF, LRR, EEL.

Conflicts of interest

None.

Ethical standards

This research abided by the Oryx guidelines on ethical standards. The research was conducted with permission from Madagascar's Ministère de l'Environnement et du Développement Durable (126/18/MEEF/SG/DGF/DSAP/SCB.Re, 063/19/MEDD/SG/DGF/DSAP/SCB.Re and 324/19/MEDD/SG/DGEF/DGRNE), and was approved by institutional animal care and use committees on 12 June 2019 (Hunter College: AB-Wild Pet 4/22) and 18 January 2019 (Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium: 190001).

Footnotes

The supplementary material for this article is available at doi.org/10.1017/S0030605323000273

*

Co-first authors

Co-last authors

Also at: Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium, Omaha, USA

§

Also at: Department of Anthropology, The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, New York, USA

Also at: The New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, USA

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Figure 0

Fig. 1 Locations of the 83 surveys for the ring-tailed lemur Lemur catta conducted during June 2018–August 2019 in southern Madagascar. Supplementary Table 1 contains the corresponding site names and numbers. Extant and historical L. catta distributions are from the IUCN Red List (LaFleur & Gould, 2020). ‘New survey’ refers to data from this study for sites for which there are no other published surveys. ‘Resurvey’ indicates sites for which other published surveys are also available (Supplementary Table 1). ‘Confirmed population’ indicates sites where species presence has been confirmed despite being previously identified as likely locally extinct (Gould & Sauther, 2016; LaFleur et al., 2016).

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