Dispatches From The Field

10 August, 2003 -- Isami Ikeuchi

A note from a colleague

My name is Isami Ikeuchi. I am in Madagascar researching geckos (Phelsuma madagascariensis) for a doctoral course at Kyoto University in Japan. My research camp is at the Ampijoroa Forestry Station which is two kilometers down the road from the fossa camp. Each day, the fossa team walks through my camp on the way to check their traps for animals.

Tropical dry deciduous forests are the most threatened biome in Madagascar because of severe fragmentation. Ecological surveys of animals in these forests are required to obtain fundemental information needed for conservation programs. I work with a research team comprised of individuals from Kyoto and Toho Universities. Three years ago we began our research on reptiles and amphibians by conducting a herpetofaunal survey in the rainy season. A total of forty-seven species of reptiles and nine species of frogs were found. (see Herpetofaunal Natural History 9(2)). For the second stage of our research, we will study herpetofauna in the dry season.

Our goal is to discover the natural history of each species in Ankarafantsika National Park. In parallel with the survey research, I am also conducting an ecological study of geckos, mainly the day gecko. I expect my research to continue through July 2004.