Hi!
I'm Luke Dollar, a PhD student in Ecology. I'm a member
of the Pimm
Lab and will be finishing my graduate work soon.
I've been working in Madagascar since 1994, when I came
as a Duke Undergraduate assisting on a Duke Primate Center
lemur research project in Ranomafana National Park. Although
my field season the following year was in Sumatra working
on Orangutans, I returned to Madagascar in 1996 and have
spent 3-6 months here almost every year since.
My work here falls into three categories:
1) Study of the Ecology and Conservation of Cryptoprocta
ferox and other predators in Madagascar. The fossa is Madagascar's
largest carnivore. You'd think that the species sitting
atop the food chain in one of the world's most famously
biodiverse ecosystems would be well studied. Not so. My
team, colleagues, and I are working to learn as much as
we can about predators (like the Fossa) playing keystone
roles in maintaining the balance of nature. We particularly
focus on studies and results that have significant conservation
and management implications.
2) Analysis of deforestation in Madagascar using satellite
images and remote sensing techniques. Madagascar is famous
not only for its amazing biodiversity, but also for the
rate at which habitat has been lost in the recent past.
We know that Madagascar has less than 10 percent of its
original forest cover remaining, but we are still addressing
where those threats are the greatest and where we should
best dedicate our resources. My first project, entitled
"Integrated Conservation and Development Projects in
Madagascar: What Succeeded, What Failed, and Who Did It?"
put an objective, quantified set of facts forth to be used
in gauging past and planning future conservation initiatives.
We have almost completed our next project, examining the
absolute rates and amount of deforestation in every protected
area in the entire country. With these results, we can go
even further in examining what works for conservation in
Madagascar and how we can best optimize our conservation
resources (and dollars) in the immediate future.
3) Running conservation, education, and development projects
in Ankarafantsika National Park. Ankarafantsika is also
where most of our field research takes place, and it is
the largest tract of dry, deciduous forest remaining in
Madagascar. We work closely with the national park service
(ANGAP) and local villages to address problems of conservation
and seek alternatives to ecologically deleterious activities.
In recent years, we've helped the local villages found campsites
to support researchers and ecotourists, conducted extensive
conservation education initiatives, and funded continued
education of village children unable to afford it but capable
of going further than there current situations could support.
In the immediate future, we'll be helping organize and build
the first ecotourist lodge and bungalows in and around Ankarafantsika.
