Team links climate change and Madagascar drought
A new study reveals a clear link between human-driven climate change and the years-long drought currently gripping southern Madagascar. “Using remotely sensed observations and climate models, we could...
View ArticleExtinct species recovery on Madagascar would take 3 million years
It would take three million years to recover the number of species that went extinct due to human activity on Madagascar, a new study shows. The study, published in Nature Communications, also projects...
View ArticleGiant tortoise genome sequence could help its long-term survival
Researchers have succeeded in deciphering the genome of the Aldabra giant tortoise, one of only two remaining giant tortoise species worldwide. The tortoise can live for more than 100 years and weigh...
View ArticleWhat happened to megafauna when humans got to Madagascar?
New research clarifies the arrival of humans to Madagascar and the disappearance of the island’s megafauna. Madagascar is renowned for its unique and varied biodiversity, which spans dry grasslands,...
View ArticleAncient Madagascar shows humans make new places suit them
When Madagascar’s early inhabitants moved into a new area, they made it better for human living, researchers report. The researchers used a machine learning algorithm that can scour through remote...
View Article‘Elephant bird’ bones rewrite history of humans on Madagascar
Humans arrived on the tropical island of Madagascar more than 6,000 years earlier than previously thought based on an analysis of bones from what was once the world’s largest bird, according to a new...
View ArticleBamboo shortage gives these lemurs a tougher diet
Human disturbance of tropical rainforests in Madagascar is changing the diets of critically endangered greater bamboo lemurs, report researchers. These lemurs are now eating culm, the woody trunk of...
View ArticleLemur DNA offers peek at Madagascar before people
Logging and slash-and-burn agriculture have dramatically altered Madagascar’s forests since the first human settlers arrived some 2,000 years ago. But just how much of the island was forested before...
View ArticleConservation won’t work without locals on board
If the locals don’t perceive actions like lemur-hunting or forest-burning as crimes, or they believe there’s a low risk of getting caught, then poaching and deforestation will continue. A new study in...
View ArticleExtinct lemurs left behind plant ‘orphans’
The extinction of several species of large lemurs in Madagascar has created isolated “orphaned” plant species that once depended upon the animals to eat and disperse their large seeds. These...
View ArticleHow lemur poop helps rainforests thrive
A majority of Madagascar’s 101 species of lemurs are threatened with extinction, a fact that could spell trouble for the rainforests they call home. New research shows the positive impacts lemurs can...
View ArticleCan local fishing communities save the ocean?
The first assessment of community-led marine conservation in the Western Indian Ocean shows a revolution in the management of more than 4,200 square miles of marine protected areas. Marine protected...
View ArticleMadagascar’s new species pop up less often
U. ROCHESTER (US) — Madagascar, long known as a hot spot of biodiversity, may be past its peak for species development, according to new research. Although it represents only one percent of the Earth’s...
View ArticleRadio collars reveal hibernating lemurs
DUKE (US) — Scientists only knew of one primate that hibernates as a survival strategy—the western fat-tailed dwarf lemur—but it turns out they’re not the only lemurs nodding off. In a study appearing...
View ArticleDNA splits new look-alike lemurs
DUKE (US) — Scientists have identified two new species of mouse lemur, the saucer-eyed, teacup-sized primates native to the African island of Madagascar. The new study brings the number of recognized...
View ArticleWithout lemur poo, Madagascar’s trees may be doomed
Saving Madagascar’s 100-plus species of iconic lemurs, which widespread logging and hunting have endangered, may also be key to saving the island’s largest trees, according to new research. “Forest...
View ArticleBamboo shortage gives these lemurs a tougher diet
Human disturbance of tropical rainforests in Madagascar is changing the diets of critically endangered greater bamboo lemurs, report researchers. These lemurs are now eating culm, the woody trunk of...
View ArticleLemur DNA offers peek at Madagascar before people
Logging and slash-and-burn agriculture have dramatically altered Madagascar’s forests since the first human settlers arrived some 2,000 years ago. But just how much of the island was forested before...
View ArticleConservation won’t work without locals on board
If the locals don’t perceive actions like lemur-hunting or forest-burning as crimes, or they believe there’s a low risk of getting caught, then poaching and deforestation will continue. A new study in...
View ArticleExtinct lemurs left behind plant ‘orphans’
The extinction of several species of large lemurs in Madagascar has created isolated “orphaned” plant species that once depended upon the animals to eat and disperse their large seeds. These...
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