Research Overview

1. THE PROJECT
the project | research objectives | methods | application of results

Despite the unique ecology and enigmatic evolutionary history of Malagasy carnivores, members of this family have been the subject of few in-depth field studies. The carnivores of Madagascar, like many other members of the island’s biota, display a particularly high degree of endemism among modern taxa. Seven of the eight species of carnivore found on Madagascar have no extant representatives anywhere else in the world. No felid, hyaenid, and canid representatives are commonly recognized within Madagascar’s endemic mammalian predator guild. As in most biodiversity hotspots, non-endemic species encroach upon the natural habitats of Madagascar’s top endemic predator. Investigating and identifying how both endemic and invasive predators divide their resources and otherwise affect one another provides significant information to increase our understanding of both ecological and conservation issues in Madagascar and abroad.

In the absence of additional endemic carnivore competitors, the eight viverrid and herpestid carnivore species found on Madagascar must fill a particularly broad range of niches. Galidia elegans, and its allies Galidictis, Salanoia, and Mungotictis, represent the herpestid stock and Eupleres, Fossa, and Cryptoprocta represent the viverrids. Volunteers should note that the common name of Cryptoprocta is fossa, which also happens to be the scientific name of a different genus, Fossa. This has been a long-standing point of confusion. Henceforth in this proposal, when I use the term fossa, I am referring to the common name of Cryptoprocta.

The current conservation status of the Malagasy carnivores, noted by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, ranges from “vulnerable” to “unknown,” and many of these species are targeted for persecution by indigenous human populations and continue to decline in numbers. Carnivore populations have been identified in more than twenty protected areas throughout Madagascar (Kohncke and Leonhart 1986), but most of these populations have not been monitored for almost thirty years.

The focal site for this proposed project is the Ampijoroa Research Station and its surrounding area in Ankarafantsika National Park, Madagascar. This project consists of trapping surveys of carnivore populations to estimate their current distributions and relative abundances. Our study focuses on an in-depth examination of the natural history and behavioral ecology of Madagascar’s largest carnivore, the puma-like Cryptoprocta ferox, commonly known as the fossa. Only three species of Malagasy carnivore are thought to occur at Ampijoroa. These are Cryptoprocta, a recently discovered (yet taxonomically unidentified) species of Wild Cat, and the smaller, non-endemic Viverricula indica. We are particularly interested in how invasive, competing species affect the behavioral ecology of the large, endemic Cryptoprocta.

The trapping portion of the research project, in which volunteers most actively assist is merely a portion of the research and conservation activities that are included in this project’s priorities. Research pursuits associated with this project range from natural history to veterinary to genetic studies. In addition, the presence of our well-established field team also lends assistance to and promotes the development of other biodiversity studies in the region. The conservation aspect of this work ranges from direct wildlife based educational activities and community outreach to the development of multiple sustainable alternatives to traditional activities that previously contributed to Madagascar’s current biodiversity crisis.

Our conservation and research efforts are in close collaboration with ANGAP, the Department of Water and Forests of Madagascar, the Institute for the Conservation of Tropical Environments, Conservation International, the World Wildlife Fund, and the University of Antananarivo, among other entities currently active throughout the region.

Our research provides baseline assessments of current carnivore populations including data on their behavior, abundance and distributions in Ankarafantsika National Park in addition to an established monitoring program on the overall biodiversity of Ankarafantsika. This has established and facilitates long-term monitoring of these populations. In this way, we are developing important scientific results and also help ensure the conservation and maintenance of the endangered species and habitat of Ankarafantiksa and the surrounding Mahajunga basin.

the project | research objectives | methods | application of results