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Carnivores of Madagascar

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Carnivores of Madagascar Carnivores of Madagascar EXPEDITION BRIEFING Dear Earthwatch Volunteer, Hello! I’m glad you’ve expressed interest in the Carnivores of Madagascar project and hope you’ll be joining me during the upcoming field season! Although this will be the fourth year Earthwatch volunteers are helping in the field, this year marks the eighth anniversary of my first encounter with the focus of our studies: the dynamic, yet enigmatic carnivores of the Red Island. The largest of the carnivores of Madagascar, Cryptoprocta ferox, commonly known as the fossa, is the top, keystone member of the Malagasy food chain. Despite its place of extreme importance within the ecosystem it inhabits, we know very little about the habits, distribution, or conservation status of this elusive predator. So little is known about the fossa and its natural history, for example, that the carnivore family to which this “killing machine” should be assigned has been a recent point of scientific uncertainty. With its cat-like weaponry and the tenacity of a mongoose, it is certain that the fossa is one of the most agile and capable mammalian predators on Earth. I need you to help me learn as much as possible about the fossa, its behavioral ecology, and conservation biology so that we may effectively help protect this endangered species and the ecosystem in which it plays such an important role. In the past five years, we have collected and analyzed more than 1500 scats from Ankarafantsika, captured more than 35 study animals, collected more than 10,000 animal-hours of radiotelemetry data, and hiked more than 25,000 person-kilometers while checking traps and conducting ecological monitoring surveys. Within a project having such broad spectrums of goals and activities as ours, you’ll never find yourself lacking activities in which to participate any time of day or night. If you’re not hiking the large grid to check for newly trapped carnivores, you might be at a radiotelemetry station tracking the signal of an animal we radiocollared a few days before, or you might be back at camp helping to monitor a recently trapped individual as it recovers from the anesthesia we administer before we collect anatomical measurements and attach radiocollars. In this flurry of activity, it sometimes may be easy to forget to eat, sleep, or apply large amounts of sunscreen and mosquito repellent, but there will be time for that and lots of additional group and individual activities too. When you’re not busy with the trap checks, ecological surveys, or radiotelemetry work, you can work on one of the other projects we are conducting in Ankarafantsika. You might be able to help Dr. Julie Pomerantz (fossa team field vet) process domestic animals, help Kimberly Marchant (project field assistant) conduct interviews with local people or Anna Kopitov (project field assistant) survey the local bird life. You can also stroll through the Jersey Wildlife/CI tortoise conservation and breeding facility on site, meet one of the host-country graduate students or research assistants at the local “cafe” for conversation over coffee or beer, go out looking for Madagascar’s Harrier Hawk or other exciting bird watching highlights, or simply enjoy a nap in your tent. All the while, you can be confident that you’re helping to simultaneously learn about and conserve one of the most unique and enigmatic groups of mammals in one of the most endangered habitats on Earth. I hope you’re as excited about this work as I am and will join our carnivore research team in the dry forests of Ankarafantsika! See you there! Best wishes, Luke 1 Carnivores of Madagascar Table of Contents 1. The Project ........................................................................................................................................4 2. Research Objectives ........................................................................................................................5 3. Methods.............................................................................................................................................6 4. Application of Results..................................................................................................................11 5. Field Training.................................................................................................................................16 6. Volunteer Assignments................................................................................................................17 7. Project Staff ....................................................................................................................................18 8. Research Area.................................................................................................................................21 9. Travel Planning..............................................................................................................................22 10. Itinerary.........................................................................................................................................25 11. Daily Schedule.............................................................................................................................26 12. Team Development.....................................................................................................................27 13. Accommodations .........................................................................................................................27 14. Food................................................................................................................................................28 15. Physical Conditioning ................................................................................................................29 16. Medical Advice ............................................................................................................................31 17. Emergencies in the Field ............................................................................................................33 18. What To Bring ..............................................................................................................................34 19. Helpful Resources .......................................................................................................................37 20. The Reading List..........................................................................................................................38 Literature Cited...................................................................................................................................39 2 RESEARCH PROPOSAL PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: (1) Luke Dollar (2) Stuart Pimm, Ph.D. POSITION / TITLE: (1) Doctoral Fellow, Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment Program in Ecology; Founder, Carnivore Conservation and Research Trust; Vice-Chair; IUCN Small Carnivore Specialist Group; Research Associate, Duke University Primate Center (2) Doris Duke Chair and Professor of Conservation Ecology at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment PROJECT TITLE: Carnivores of Madagascar: Conservation, Distribution, and Abundance of Carnivores in Ankarafantsika National Park, Madagascar with Special Emphasis on the Impacts of Non- Endemic Competitors on the Behavioral Ecology of the Fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox) RESEARCH SITE: Ampijoroa Research Station, Ankarafantsika National Park, Madagascar TEAM SIZE: Minimum: 8 Maximum: 16 Abstract of Proposal Earthwatch volunteers are needed to study the distribution, abundance and behavior of carnivores in the Ampijoroa Research Station Area of Ankarafantsika National Park, Madagascar. Research activities will include weighing and measuring captured individuals and radio-tracking Madagascar’s largest mammalian predators’ movements. Primary interest will focus on Madagascar’s largest carnivore, Cryptoprocta ferox, commonly known as the fossa, and how it is affected by non-endemic carnivore species. Results of this study will benefit ecologists, mammalogists and conservationists by providing insights to the composition and status of the Park’s carnivore populations. It will afford the opportunity to create new data sets for Madagascar’s biodiversity research programs and management plans for conserving Ankarafantsika’s valuable biodiversity. 3 RESEARCH PLAN 1. THE PROJECT Despite the unique ecology and enigmatic evolutionary history of Malagasy carnivores, members of this family have been the subjects 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,
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