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Madagascar is the habitat of 5% of the world's flora and fauna; more than 80% of which are endemic, including 113 lemurs species. Despite the endemism of lemurs, few Malagasy people living in cities (especially younger generations) have heard about lemurs or are even aware of their threat to the survival of lemurs. To address this issue, we conducted an educational project in high schools in order to increase awareness of the importance of lemurs. During two months in 2015, we provided 6 lectures about lemurs to students in two high schools in the capital of Madagascar. Each lecture per class lasted approximately 2 hours, including questionnaires. A total of 236 students (aged 14 to 15 years) took part in the survey. Before the lectures, the majority of students (92%) knew lemurs as mammals and only 29% of them were able to draw an accurate picture of a lemur. After the lectures, 80% of the students could concisely define what lemurs were. Major threats to lemurs were understood by approximately 92% of students and 51% of students knew that lemurs are forest dwellers. All students reported that they enjoyed the lesson and were motivated to contribute to the protection of Madagascar's biodiversity such as participation in reforestation and attending lemur festivals. These findings highlight the success of such an approach in increasing the awareness of young people with respect to the importance of lemurs. We advocate the use of lectures and involvement of students in discussions about lemurs to help protect lemur populations in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Faunal inventories are essential to understanding distribution patterns, as well as informing and prioritizing conservation actions. Lemurs are charismatic taxa, used not only as umbrella and flagship species but also as predictors of community richness and models of the diversification processes in Madagascar. The Vohimana Reserve is located in the heart of the Ankeniheny-Zahamena corridor, one of Madagascar's conservation priorities, and hosts a mid-altitude rainforest. The forest has long faced strong anthropogenic disturbances, such as slash-and-burn agriculture, logging, and poaching. Prior to this study no long-term study on the lemur community in Vohimana had been conducted and no updated information was available. We aimed to provide a lemur inventory and a description of threats that could be used by forest managers in order to inform and optimize future conservation plans. Between April and December 2018, we surveyed the forest using line-transect distance sampling. Our results show that Vohimana is home to 11 lemur species, including two critically endangered species (Indri indri and Propithecus diadema).We found no evidence of the presence of the black-and-white ruffed lemur (Varecia variegata), which was once reported to inhabit the forest. The possible disappearance of this species, the low frequency of Lemuridae species observations, and the observation of snares, selective logging, and charcoal production suggest actions and long-term monitoring are urgently needed in order to protect this fragile but strategic ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malagasy lemurs are under great threat from destruction to their habitat, and it is essential to understand how this degradation impacts on them in order to conserve them The behaviour of two groups of a total of 9 Verreaux's sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi) was observed from 2nd-29th July 2012 in Mahavelo, southern Madagascar. The study was conducted in two habitats, one subject to selective logging and grazing, the other being largely untouched by disturbance. The sifaka group in the disturbed habitat was found to have a home range size 3-fold that of the group in the less disturbed habitat. Activity budgets were not found to be statistically significant between groups, though 'Site' and 'Time of Day' combined was found to be a significant explanatory variable for variation in activity budgets. The lemurs at site B (less disturbed) were found to feed on a much larger range of plant species than those at site A (disturbed), and were also found to feed for slightly longer, though this difference was not significant and could potentially be explained by the pregnancy of one of the individuals at site B (less disturbed). These findings suggest that P. verreauxi tolerate habitat fragmentation by broadening their home range and focusing their feeding requirements on a smaller number of important plant species. Future studies should look at the behaviour of a larger number of Verreaux's sifaka groups at Ifotaka on an annual timescale and quantify more accurately the impact of habitat destruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The endangered Milne-Edwards' sifaka (Propithecus edwardsi) is a female dominant herbivorous primate that lives in small groups. This species exhibits sex-biased survival patterns with males surviving better as infants and young adults, but females living up to 10 years longer. Differences in survival have been attributed to males engaging in more risky behaviours than females as adults. To determine the relationship between canopy height use and potential predator exposure, data were collected on seven groups of sifakas located within Ranomafana National Park: four groups in disturbed forest and three in undisturbed forest. Each group was followed for five days each month (Jan 02 - May 04), with group scans conducted every 10 minutes to record the height of each individual from the ground. While height use varied significantly between the two sites, males within each site had significantly different patterns of height use than females with infants (DF: p=0.004; PF: p<0.001). Additionally, within the disturbed forest adult females with infants had significantly different height use patterns than females without infants (p=0.012). These differences may be due to differing food distribution patterns or predator avoidance strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses research conducted by researcher Guy Randriatahina and colleagues on the lemur species in Sahamalaza-Iles Radama National Park (SIRNP) in Northwestern Madagascar. It states that several lemur species were identified including one diurnal and four nocturnal lemurs. It mentions that the discovery of Microcebus lemur has increased the number of lemur species in SIRNP.