Edge effects on indri and black-and-white ruffed lemur distribution in the Andriantantely lowland rainforest, eastern Madagascar

摘要

Andriantantely is a large fragment (4000 ha) of lowland rainforest in eastern Madagascar and contains several Critically Endangered lemur species, including black-and-white ruffed lemur (Varecia variegata) and indri (Indri indri). The Aspinall Foundation (TAF) has been working with local communities to reduce pressure on the forest from agricultural encroachment and hunting. Locally-based teams have been conducting regular transect surveys for lemurs in Andriantantely since 2012. We used this lemur observation data to determine if edge effects influence lemur habitat use within the fragment. We found that two sympatric species used different areas within the fragment, with a significantly higher number of black-and-white ruffed lemur observations >850 m from the forest edge. For indri the opposite was true, with significantly more observations.