Lots of mammals are endangered at the taxonomic levels of the species, genus, or family. But, for virtually an entire infraorder of species -- 91 of 103 recognized species in the infraorder Lemuriformes, endemic to Madagascar -- to be declared by the IUCN as either "Vulnerable", "Endangered" or "Critically Endangered" is extraordinary. The Lemuriformes represent approximately a quarter of all species in the Order Primates, so their future has implications for our capacity to achieve a comparatively-based understanding of patterns of behaviour across primate species.
By way of further background, in a couple of weeks I'll be attending the 2013 International Prosimian Congress in Madagascar (Aug. 4-9). I'll be sure sure to share any insights ResearchGate members might be able to offer on this topic.
"July 2012, the IUCN determines that lemurs (i.e., infraorder Lemuriformes) are the most endangered group of mammals. What strategies can address this?"
the most expensive ones, if possible
(meaning lots of congresses, conferences, workshops and other occasions where "decision-makers" from the opposite region of the planet should be present in at least 5 stars hotels)
Zsolt --
I would suggest that your cynicism is somewhat misplaced. You apparently do not fully appreciate the international nature of the prosimian biologist community. Yes, Americans and Canadians (like myself) will be attending the Congress, and for us the Congress venue is almost half a world away. But, there will also be a good number of Brits, and French and German and Italian prosimian biologists attending -- for them, getting to Madagascar is not such a long haul. Your comment also discounts the fact that there will also be primatologists from several African nations in attendance, as well as primatologists from south and southeast Asia; again, from those regions, travel to Madagascar is actually not that far. But, most of all, your comment totally discounts the participation in the Congress that Malagasy primatologists and students will have -- it is their country, and they must be the ones on the ground that advocate at the local level for lemur conservation, The international attention they will be able to point to that lemur conservation attracts, will be of great use to them domestically. One last point... 5-Star hotels do not factor into the Congress. The Local Organizing Committee decided to hold the Congress in a National Park (Ranomafana N.P., a rainforest in the southeastern part of the island); it is a 10-hour bus ride from the capital -- not a cushy, air-conditioned venue at all, far from it. Anti-malarial medication is recommended.
Hi Ian,
It depends on why the lemurs are endangered. My guess is that this is mostly due to habitat loss (particularly for the smaller species), so perhaps strategies which focus on habitat protection and/or restoration will be most effective? And the effectiveness of these strategies likely depends on why habitat is disappearing. For example, if significant habitat is lost due to firewood collection, investigating alternate sources of fuel for cooking and facilitating the use of these in the local area may be more effective than creating a strictly protected area. I would argue that investing in broad scale strategies which can protect numerous species and tackle the root reasons why lemurs are endangered is likely more effective (for the entire group) than strategies which focus on a particular species (such as captive breeding / reintroductions).
Some lemur species may be endangered due to small population sizes or limited ranges, such as the mouse lemurs. It's worth considering whether these species are naturally rare - if so, investing resources in trying to make these species more common could be ineffective.
Good luck at the meeting - I hope you can all work together to develop an effective strategy to help the lemurs!
Sarah
Dear all,
For people interested in that discussion, the Lemur Conservation Plan was publish last year (first link), followed by a policy forum paper in Science and the reaction comments it created (second and third links).
Yet, this controversial declaration has also been the subject of a large discussion on Madagascar environmental justice forum (fourth link).
Several points in these documents (specially the conservation plan) echoes the conservation suggestions of Sarah Papworth. However no strategies will solve conservation issues in Madagascar without political determination. Some recent political declarations seem to show regain of interest towards environmental concerns, but let see what really happens in the next couples of years.
The conservation status of the other primates will be updated soon and could change the balance (or not).
Have a good time reading.
Regards
Jordi
http://www.primate-sg.org/storage/pdf/Lemurs_of_Madagascar_Strategy_for_Their_Conservation_20132016_low_res.pdf
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/260285167_Averting_Lemur_Extinctions_Amid_Madagascar%27s_Political_Crisis
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/261882219_Protecting_lemurs--response
http://madagascarenvironmentaljustice.ning.com/main/authorization/signIn?target=http%3A%2F%2Fmadagascarenvironmentaljustice.ning.com%2F
Article Averting Lemur Extinctions Amid Madagascar's Political Crisis
Article Protecting lemurs: Response
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Biological Science
- Physiology
- Physiological Processes
- Stress