COS 227-5 - A surprising haven of biodiversity: an old-growth forest amidst a scorched landscape in Madagascar

Abstract: Madagascar has lost more than 44% of its forest cover in the last 60 years, increasing the risk of extinction for much of the endemic wildlife. Many of the remaining forests exist as isolated fragments serving as important refugia for biodiversity. This project describes the biodiversity of the Ivohiboro Humid Forest (IHF; part of the Ivohiboro Protected Area), and its conservation importance in south-central Madagascar. This region is dominated by wooded savannah, and the IHF represents a very rare vegetation type. We conducted six biological surveys across three years to explore the diversity of vertebrates and vascular plants in forest. We used a variety of methods to conduct our biodiversity surveys. For vertebrate species we used walking transects, camera traps, acoustic identification, live trapping and mist-netting. Specimens encountered were identified to the level of genus or species. We surveyed the vascular flora inside the IHF across six 0.1 ha (50 m x 20 m) plots, as established and managed by Tropical Ecological Assessment and Monitoring Network. In this plots we identified all vascular plants to the lowest possible taxonomic level. Our results show that this forest maintains a thriving ecosystem and harbors species of conservation significance, such as the ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta) and Isalo Madagascar frog (Gephyromantis corvus). Furthermore, we inventoried species distant from their known geographic ranges such as a species of blue-nosed chameleon (Calumma sp. aff. boettgeri) and the Lavasoa dwarf lemur (Cheirogaleus lavasoa). These results highlight the important role forest fragments play in conservation as a refuge for species of conservation concern. .