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Fall 2015 Diversity and Population Trends in Andasibe, Madagascar Ryan Herman Herman SIT Graduate Institute - Study Abroad

Alexandra Ulin SIT Graduate Institute - Study Abroad

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Recommended Citation Herman, Ryan Herman and Ulin, Alexandra, "Frog Diversity and Population Trends in Andasibe, Madagascar" (2015). Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection. 2177. https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection/2177

This Unpublished Paper is brought to you for free and open access by the SIT Study Abroad at SIT Digital Collections. It has been accepted for inclusion in Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection by an authorized administrator of SIT Digital Collections. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Frog Diversity & Population Trends in Andasibe, Madagascar

Ryan Herman ’17, Natalie Kiley-Bergen ’17 Bowdoin College, Departments of Biochemistry and Biology Alexandra Ulin ’17 Bates College, Department of Biology

Association Mitsinjo, Andasibe, Madagascar School for International Training: Tanzania-Zanzibar Fall 2015

Academic Director: Dr. Nat Quansah Academic Advisers: Dr. Roger Daniels Randrianiaina & Devin Edmonds

1 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgements… 3

Abstract… 4

Introduction… 5

Threat of Deforestation… 6

Threat of Emerging Infectious Diseases… 7

Other Threats to Madagascar’s … 8

Amphibian Monitoring… 10

Amphibian Conservation in Andasibe… 11

Study Area… 12

Materials & Methods… 15

Transect Sampling… 15

Data Analysis… 16

Species-Specific Population Tracking… 17

Results… 18

November 2015 Transect Data… 18

Diversity Assessment… 19

Species-Specific Population Tracking… 22

Effectiveness of Visual Encounter Surveys… 29

Discussion… 30

Diversity Assessment… 31

Heinermann Eight Population Tracking… 33

Proposed Species for Population Monitoring… 36

Transect Methods Effectiveness Assessment... 38

Recommendations… 40

Conclusion… 42

Works Cited… 43

Appendixes… 45

2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We would like to thank Dr. Roger Daniel Randrianiaina of Antananarivo University for his services as co-adviser, including a preliminary lecture on Madagascar’s amphibian conservation. We would also like to recognize all of the work of our on-site coordinator and co- adviser, Devin Edmonds, for his guidance on the statistical analysis of our work, description of

Association Mitsinjo’s history and purpose, and his edits to our final paper. Greg Anderson of

Bates College Department of Biology also contributed helpful feedback on drafts of our paper.

We would like to thank our three field technicians, Justin Claude Rakotoarisoa, Jeanne

Soamiarimampionona, and Ramarolahy George, for spending hours with us in the dark of the

Analamazaotra Station. Our work would not have been possible without the countless hours spent by past Association Mitsinjo field technicians, visual encounter survey observers, and funders who provided us with three years of amphibian conservation data. We would also like to thank Wichard Rajerimisetra, Duvale Solofomalala, and Miaritiana Ramanantsoa of the

Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Antananarivo for their assistance as translators in the field. Finally, we thank the SIT: Tanzania-Zanzibar program staff, and specifically our academi