Titre |
Survey results from Ranomafana National Park: new évidence for the effects of habitat préférence and disturbance on the distribution of Hapalemur. |
Descripteur géographique |
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Résumé |
The greater and golden bamboo lemurs (Hapalemur simus and Hapalemur aureus) are two of the most endangered and least known lemur species in Madagascar. Both are classified as critically endangered according to IUCN criteria, are extremely limited in their geographical distributions, and are found only in the south-central portion of the eastern humid forests [Mittermeier et al., 1994]. Today, the only protected populations are found within Ranomafana and Andringitra National Parks. The only long-term study of these species reports that both species have extremely specialized diets, which are likely to constrain their abundance and geographical distribution [Tan, 1999]. To increase our understanding of these species, a series of lemur density censuses and forest surveys have been conducted within remote areas of Ranomafana National Park (RNP). Census work allowed us to determine the density of all lemur species within the selected areas and results have been presented elsewhere [Johnson et al., 2003]. Forest surveys were conducted to (1) locate new Hapalemur populations and (2) expand our understanding of their distribution and habitat preferences. Study sites selected were known |