Natural History Of Madagascar Research Articles

Updated estimates of biotic diversity and endemism for Madagascar—revisited after 20 years

AbstractThe terrestrial and marine biotypes of Madagascar are critical priorities for conservation, with almost unparalleled levels of endemism, species diversity and human threat for a land area of its size. Field inventories and molecular-based research conducted from the mid 1980s to present have greatly expanded knowledge of the country's biota, for some groups with nearly exponential growth in measures of species diversity. I provide updated measures of estimated species diversity between a book with 289 contributors, published in 2003 (The Natural History of Madagascar), and a full-scale update with 539 contributors, published in 2022 (The New Natural History of Madagascar). I compare biodiversity information presented in the new book with data from the earlier book, providing insight into scientific advancements, and revised estimates of species richness and endemism of a range of taxonomic groups.

Learning Hospitality: George Buchan's Narrative of the Loss of the Winterton (1820)

SummaryShipwreck narratives were a publisher's staple during the eighteenth century. They appeared as pamphlets, chapbooks, broadsheets, and occasionally as more expensive book editions. George Buchan's Narrative of the Loss of the Winterton East Indiaman (1820) is a complex text that weaves together a historical account of a tragedy and its aftermath, an ethnography and natural history of Madagascar, and the unequivocal pronouncement of the author's evangelical commitments. This article concerns Buchan's response to the catastrophic interruption of his journey. It argues that the hospitality extended by the Madagascans to the Winterton cast-aways resonates with the author's prudential efforts to be hospitable to authorial, cultural and ideological difference. Interrupted journeys – even amidst tragedy – can be generative in that epistemological agendas and ontological itineraries are unsettled. Buchan contends with an experience that does not conform to his expectations, which presents an occasion for learning. His narrative illustrates how difficult it is to overcome received notions, even in the face of obvious evidence to the contrary. A persuasive counterpoint to contemporary right-wing rhetoric regarding the possibilities created by disaster, Buchan's narrative illustrates the complexities of accommodating difference, at the same time as it sets out – hesitantly – what a constructive response to violent upheaval might entail.

Madagascar Flatidae (Hemiptera, Fulgoromorpha): state-of-the-art and research challenges

The paper provides a historical review of the research on Flatidae in Madagascar and indicates future prospects. While the first two species of Madagascar Flatidae were described by Guérin-Méneville (1844), it was Signoret (1860) who made the first real attempt to enhance our knowledge of the Hemiptera fauna of Madagascar by describing several additional species. Over the following century and a half, several investigators have turned their attention to this group of insects, with the final number of species recorded for the island reaching 79. Despite this long history of research, it is evident that much still remains to be done. Detailed taxonomic research will allow the natural history of Madagascar and changes in the biological diversity of its endemic ecosystems to be better understood. This paper should be considered as an introduction to a complex study on the systematics and phylogeny of worldwide Flatidae planthoppers.

Book review: The natural history of Madagascar

Book review: The natural history of Madagascar

Evidence of Invasive Felis silvestris Predation on Propithecus verreauxi at Beza Mahafaly Special Reserve, Madagascar

Increasing evidence supports the idea that endemic avian and mammalian predators have profoundly impacted primate populations in Madagascar (Goodman, S. M. Predation on lemurs. In S. M. Goodman, & J. P. Benstead (Eds.), The natural history of Madagascar (pp. 1221–1228). Chicago: University of Chicago Press, (2003).). The role in regulating lemur populations of the 3 introduced mammalian carnivorans —small Indian civets (Viverricula indica, Desmarest 1804), domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris, Linnaeus 1758), and invasive wildcats (Felis silvestris, Schreber 1775)— is less clear, but recent evidence suggests that the latter 2 are becoming important predators of diurnal lemurs. We report evidence for invasive wildcat predation on sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi verreauxi) in Parcel 1 at Beza Mahafaly Special Reserve, Madagascar, including skeletal remains of apparent Propithecus sifaka victims, observations of wildcat predatory behavior, and behavioral responses of the lemurs in the presence of wildcats.

The Natural History of Madagascar

S. M. Goodman, J. P. Benstead (eds.). 2003. The Natural History of Madagascar. University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, 1709 pp. ISBN 0-226-30306-3, price (hardbound), $85.00. The mini-continent of Madagascar has been renowned as a naturalist's paradise ever since Joseph-Philibert Commerson described it as such back in 1771. Yet, at least until this volume thudded on to my desk, I would have said that in comparison with the breadth and depth of the biological riches it offers, our knowledge of its natural history still remains curiously sketchy. With The Natural History of Madagascar in front of one, however, it is possible to appreciate just how much we have learned in recent years about the island's unique flora and fauna, due in no small part to the efforts of its first editor, an ornithologist who over the past decade and a half has in-defatigably organized faunal inventories throughout the island. This ambitious book brings together, mostly at a fair level of detail, a large part of what currently is known about Madagascar's biota. In assembling contributions by a very high proportion of the biologists currently conducting active field research in the island, it is a pretty accurate reflection of the current state of the art. And while, as a result, scanning through its vast table of contents quickly reveals as much about what is not known as about what is, it is difficult not to be impressed by what has lately been achieved by a growing band of dedicated researchers from all over the world, not least from Madagascar itself. The scope of this volume is enormous. It starts out with a strangely perfunctory overview of scientific exploration in Madagascar, then continues to a rather oddly assorted chapter on Geology and Soils that brings together a series of interesting and well-informed contributions on the island's geological …

The Natural history of Madagascar

Separated from the mainland of Africa for 160 million years, has evolved an incredible wealth of biodiversity, with thousands of species that can be found nowhere else on earth. For instance, of its estimated 12,000 plant species, nearly 10,000 are unique to Madagascar. Malagasy animals are just as spectacular, from its almost forty currently recognized species of lemursa primate group found only hereto the numerous species of tiny dwarf chameleons. With astounding frequency scientists discover a previously unknown species in Madagascarand at almost the same rate another natural area of habitat is degraded or destroyed, a combination that recently led conservation organizations to name one of the most important and threatened conservation priorities on the planet. The Natural History of Madagascar provides the most comprehensive, up-to-date synthesis available of this island nation's priceless biological treasures. Contributions by nearly three hundred world-renowned experts cover the history of scientific exploration in Madagascar, its geology and soils, climate, forest ecology, human ecology, marine and coastal ecosystems, plants, invertebrates, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Detailed discussions of conservation efforts in highlight several successful park reserve programs that could serve as models for other areas. Beautifully illustrated throughout, the book includes over one hundred color illustrations, with fifty color photos by nature photographer Harald Schutz, as well as more than three hundred black-and-white photographs and line drawings. The Natural History of Madagascar will be the invaluable reference for anyone interested in the Malagasy environment, from biologists and conservationists to policymakers and ecotourists.

Mosses, in the Natural History of Madagascar by Renauld and Cardot

Mosses, in the Natural History of Madagascar by Renauld and Cardot

Mosses, in the Natural History of Madagascar by Renauld and Cardot

Mosses, in the Natural History of Madagascar by Renauld and Cardot