Search

Although the importance of regulating and provisioning services provided by mangroves is widely recognised, our understanding of their role in the maintenance of terrestrial biodiversity is patchy globally and largely lacking for many regions, including conservation priorities such as Madagascar. We carried out the first multi-site bird inventory of mangroves in Madagascar and complemented our data with assessments of local knowledge, in order to broaden our knowledge of which species use this habitat. We directly observed 73 species across three sites in Ambanja and Ambaro Bays, while local respondents indicated the presence of 18 additional species: four observed species are globally threatened, while 37 are endemic to Madagascar or the Malagasy region. Over half the species observed are typically terrestrial, of which 22 have not previously been recorded in mangrove habitats in Madagascar. Local knowledge provided a useful complement to our observed data but we are likely to have underestimated total richness; nevertheless, our findings greatly increased our knowledge of mangrove use by Madagascar’s birds. However, further research is required to investigate the functional role of mangroves in the ecology of the observed species and provide insights into the factors influencing mangrove use.

Madagascar possesses a unique avifauna characterized by high endemism rates at species and higher taxonomic levels, but little is known about the behaviour, diets and interspecific interactions of many species. We present a number of opportunistic observations of Malagasy birds collected during 201 2–201 5, including a foraging association between Hook-billed vanga Vanga curvirostris and White-breasted mesite Mesitornis variegatus, aggressive interaction between a fledgling Madagascar cuckoo Cuculus rochii and its Common jery Neomixis tenella host, records of carnivory in Green-capped coua Coua ruficeps olivaceiceps and frugivory in Lafresnaye’s vanga Xenopirostris xenopirostris, an unusual aggregation of Alpine swift Tachymarptis melba around a telecommunications tower, entrapment of Madagascar mannikin Lepidopygia nana in a spider’s web, and anti-predator behaviour (mobbing) of potentially predatory reptiles in Souimanga sunbird Nectarinia souimanga, Madagascar magpie robin Copsychus albospecularis, Madagascar paradise flycatcher Terpsiphone mutata, Common newtonia Newtonia brunneicauda and Crested drongo Dicrurus forficatus. RESUME L’avifaune de Madagascar est unique, caracterisee par des taux d’endemisme eleves aux niveaux des especes, genres, familles et ordres. Cependant, nous connaissons encore mal les comportements, les regimes alimentaires ou encore les interactions interspecifiques de nombreuses especes. Sont presentees dans cette note une serie d’observations opportunistes collectees au cours de la periode 201 2–201 5, incluant_ : i) une interaction lors de la recherche de nourriture entre un Vanga ecorcheur Vanga curvirostris et une paire de Mesite variee Mesitornis variegatus, ii) une interaction agressive entre un oisillon du Coucou de Madagascar Cuculus rochii et son hote, une Petite eroesse Neomixis tenella, iii) la predation d’un lezard (Tracheloptychus madagascariensis) par un Coua a tete verte Coua ruficeps olivaceiceps, iv) la frugivorie par un Vanga de Lafresnaye Xenopirostris xenopirostris, v) une agregation inhabituelle des Martinets a ventre blanc Tachymarptis melba autour d’une installation de telecommunication, vi) le piegeage d’un Capucin de Madagascar Lepidopygia nana dans une toile d’araignee (Nephila sp.), et vii) le harcelement des reptiles incluant des serpents (Ithycyphus miniatus, Acrantophis madagascariensis) et un cameleon (Furcifer pardalis) par le Souimanga malgache Nectarinia souimanga, le Shama de Madagascar Copsychus albospecularis, le Tchitrec malgache Terpsiphone mutata, la Newtonie commune Newtonia brunneicauda et le Drongo malgache Dicrurus forficatus.

The species-level diversity of Madagascar's lemurs has increased hugely over the last two decades, growing from 32 species in 1994 to 102 species in 2014. This growth is primarily due to the application of molecular phylogenetic analyses and the phylogenetic species concept to known populations, and few previously unknown lemur populations have been discovered during this time. We report on a new population of dwarf lemurs (Cheirogaleus sp.) from Nosy Hara, a 312-ha island in far northern Madagascar, which constitutes the northernmost distribution record for the genus. The dwarf lemurs appeared to show two characteristics of island populations-insular dwarfism and predator naivete-that suggest a long isolation, and may thus represent an undescribed taxon. If this is the case, the dwarf lemurs of Nosy Hara are probably one of the rarest primate taxa on Earth.

Multiple-use protected areas, in which sustainable levels of extractive livelihood activities are permitted, play an increasingly important role in the global protected area estate, and are expected to rise in prevalence. However, we know little about their effectiveness at conserving biodiversity. We surveyed bird and reptile communities in three areas across a forest disturbance gradient resulting from charcoal production and shifting cultivation within a multiple-use protected area in Madagascar’s sub-arid spiny forest. We scored individual species using a Conservation Value Index (CVI; a simple metric based on rarity, threat and distinctiveness), and estimated the total conservation value of each treatment by calculating the sum of frequency-weighted CVI scores across all present species. Bird and reptile community responses to forest disturbance were idiosyncratic. Bird richness was greatest in the moderate-disturbance treatment, but the low-disturbance treatment had the superior conservation value due to higher frequencies of locally-endemic species. Reptile richness was the same in low- and moderate-disturbance treatments, but the conservation value of the latter was greater. The high-disturbance areas had lowest richness and conservation value for both groups. For birds, increasing disturbance levels were accompanied by community turnover from high-value to low-value species, a pattern highlighted by CVI that is masked by assessing species richness alone. Although some endemic species appear to be resilient to degradation, multiple-use protected areas in Madagascar may lose biodiversity since most endemic species are forest-dependent. Stricter protected area models may be more appropriate in areas where much of the high-value biodiversity is sensitive to habitat degradation.

Here we present the first bird species list for Ambondrolava (23°15'41" S, 43°37'42" E), a mangrove and freshwater wetland complex in dry southwest Madagascar. Sixty-nine species from 36 families were recorded, of which 14 species are endemic to Madagascar and 13 are endemic to the Madagascar region. Two globally threatened species were recorded: Charadrius thoracicus (Vulnerable) and Circus macrosceles (Vulnerable). With 36 species, Ambondrolava has the highest known wetland bird species diversity of any site in south and southwest Madagascar.

The Near Threatened Henst’s goshawk Accipiter henstii is endemic to Madagascar and is widely distributed in the east, west and north of the country, but has been recorded only rarely from the subarid south and southwest where its occurrence remains unconfirmed across large areas. We present an observation of a breeding pair from Ranofoty in the Fiherenana River valley in southwest Madagascar, filling a gap in our knowledge of its distribution and adding to the avifauna of Ranobe-PK32 protected area.