Abstract
Background: The West Malagasy dry forests support numerous endemic species and experience heavy anthropogenic pressures, yet remain very poorly studied. Further research is required to understand species distributions and overall diversity in these threatened forest ecosystems.Objectives: We aimed to provide a description of the avifaunal community of a particular dry forest, Mariarano forest, north-western Madagascar, as well as other habitats that are heavily integrated with these Forests. The study site possesses a highly endemic bird community and is under severe environmental pressure, but remains poorly explored.Method: We compiled all records from a 9-year (2010–2018) bird survey data set (the most extensive compiled from a Madagascan dry forest to date), which yielded data from a combination of point count and mist-netting protocols. This was further supplemented by approximately 4384 h of opportunistic observation effort.Results: In total, 95 species were detected, including 63 regional endemics (66.3% of all species), 2 local endemics and 7 Threatened or Near-Threatened species.Conclusion: We highlight the forest mosaic habitats of Mariarano as a potential new Important Bird Area, given the regional importance of its endemic avifauna.
Highlights
The West Malagasy dry forests Endemic Bird Area (EBA 093) encompasses a large section of western Madagascar and supports seven locally endemic bird species, including Van Dam’s Vanga (Xenopirostris damii) and Coquerel’s Coua (Coua coquereli) (Stattersfield et al 1998)
We aimed to provide a description of the avifaunal community of a particular dry forest, Mariarano forest, north-western Madagascar, as well as other habitats that are heavily integrated with these Forests
Remaining stands of dry forest are mostly highly fragmented (Safford & Hawkins 2013). Despite their ecological value and the degree of conservation urgency they represent, these dry forests remain very poorly known ornithologically, with little research having been produced from them in recent years. This lack of detailed fieldwork data has led to some uncertainty regarding species distributions within this EBA generally, along with the overall richness and conservation value of many specific dry forest ecosystems found within its delimitations
Summary
The West Malagasy dry forests Endemic Bird Area (EBA 093) encompasses a large section of western Madagascar and supports seven locally endemic bird species, including Van Dam’s Vanga (Xenopirostris damii) and Coquerel’s Coua (Coua coquereli) (Stattersfield et al 1998). They represent the core range of several endangered mammal species, such as Coquerel’s sifaka (Propithecus coquereli) (Salmona et al 2014). Further research is required to understand species distributions and overall diversity in these threatened forest ecosystems
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