Madagascar:

Ecology and Conservation

By: Ryan McKinstry

 Geography
Mountainous Dry Deciduous Forest

Tropical Rainforest Spiny Desert

 What Makes Madagascar Special?

Endemism Habitat
Taxonomic Species Endemic Percent Destruction
Group Species Endemism
• 90% of native vegetation is lost
Plants 13,000 11,600 89.2
Amphibians 230 229 99.6 • Destroyed areas are not easily
Mammals 155 144 92.9 recolonized
Birds 310 181 58.4
Reptiles 384 367 95.6

Madagascan
Burrowing
Frog
 Threats to Biodiversity
• Cattle grazing – 41% total land
• Slash and burn agriculture
• Global climate change
• Bushmeat and exotic animal trade

Ploughshare Tortoise
 Why Prevent Deforestation?
• Deforestation can lead to extinctions
• Once cleared, habitats may or may not be
able to come back
– The cleared earth on the central plateau is
relatively infertile
– Mount St. Helens
 Endemism Rates
• Madagascar’s rates of endemism are the
highest in the world
• Separated from Africa 180 mya
• Colonized by humans ~2000 years ago
• Tropical Location
• Large enough to support several
ecosystems – “double endemism”
Conservation: Unique Concerns
• Local extinction = global extinction
• No re-colonization
• Reduction of function/resilience
 Conservation: Economics
• Main industries
– Agriculture
– Mining
• Habitation
– Mostly occurs on the central plateau
– Population has nearly doubled since 1985
• Tourism
 Conservation: Current
• 2.7% of total area under protection
• Plan proposed by Madagascar’s
government:
– Began in 2005
– Double area protected
– Cost $50 million

• Mining
– Profitable cobalt deposits on eastern plateau
 Conservation: Future
• Habitat Restoration • Climate Change
– Elimination/reduction – Maintain species
of threats evenness
– Studies on microbial – Global effort to reduce
action emissions
– Focus on the central
plateau
 Citizen Action Component
• Wrote a letter to President Andry
Rajoelina
• Main points:
– Conservation more important long-term than
economic growth
– Mining option not viable because of
endemism
– Global community needs to help