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Category: Forest Conservation

Volunteer experience-Dominic White (1)_January-March2018
BlogForest Conservation

Agroforestry, Bobby Walks and So Much More!

Author: Dominic White

Agroforestry Volunteer Experience 1

The Forester Volunteer Experience

I have been on the forestry program in Nosy Komba for twelve weeks now and I have enjoyed every moment. The typical week on project involves a bird survey or reptile transect on Monday and Tuesday, a church walk or ‘Bobby walk’ on Wednesday and agroforestry, lemur surveys or invasive species removal on Thursday and Friday.

The activities which I have enjoyed the most were agroforestry and ‘Bobby walks’. Agroforestry involved helping a local from around the island to create a sustainable farm. This was enjoyable because I felt involved with the community and the difference we made was easy to recognize. The Bobby walks, so named after a legendary local staff member on camp, involved hikes around the island which took up to 11 hours. I enjoyed these because it provided a great way to see different parts of the island and allowed us to do reptile plot surveys in new environments.

Agroforestry Volunteer Experience 2

During our spare time here at camp, I learnt about the different bird, reptile and amphibian species found in Madagascar. This was a good way to pass the time and allowed me to get the most out of surveys. My studies are in economics and it is unlikely I will have many opportunities to learn about these species in the future.

Agroforestry Volunteer Experience 3

On the weekend, many of the volunteers go swimming on the beach a few meters away from camp, visit the local town or take trips to nearby islands and mainland Madagascar. The best trip which I took was to Ankarana, a national park on mainland. Here, we were able to appreciate the species we had learnt about on camp in a new environment. We also experienced what the forests around Nosy Komba could look like in the future if efforts to conserve it are continued.

Overall, the most I have learnt has come from interacting with the locals, especially during the agroforestry and village cleans. They have taught me the importance of the forest and some of the sustainable ways that humans and ecosystems can interact. I hope that the important work here at MRCI continues and the forest and ocean environments are improved further.

 

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Agroforestry Volunteer Experience 4

BlogForest Conservation

Forest Conservation Program Reflections

Author: Roxanne Parker

Forest Conservation Program Reflections 1

Forest Conservation in Cyclone Season

As I wait it an airport for my final fight I wanted to write about my best bit over the 5 weeks volunteering. As I had little electricity on the island I don’t have many photos so I have to just write what I saw.

It’s had been Monsoon season and the rains had been relentless for 10 days. The bridge connecting Turtle cove, the small beach by our camp where boats could dock with food & supplies had been washed away in the night as the island was hit by a cyclone and the main port in Hellsville on Nosy Be had been closed for four days making it impossible to get supplies to the island. New volunteers had been stuck in Hellsville for days and arrived with soaked back packs as their boat from Ankefi to Hellsville had started to sink in the storm, and they had to transfer to a rescue boat.

The red earth of Nosy Komba ran down the hills like streaks of tears mixing with run-off rain water creating endless streams and rivers that zig-zagged across the island. We’d left camp at 6.30am. I was the last female volunteer left in the forest conservation project that week (in fact I was the only forest volunteer left on camp that week!) and Menja, one of the Malagasy forest guides & I had set out to survey wild lemurs for the morning. The mud is all enveloping. No matter how I try within minutes I’m filthy, with thick mud stains coating my trousers. The Malagasy woman have mastered the art of navigating the island while remaining spotless, emerging from reed huts like queens, in immaculate dresses & drop earrings but I look like I’ve taken a mud bath as soon as I leave camp! The humidity is over-powering. I sweat in my raincoat & it’s a toss-up between getting soaked to the skin or stewing in my own sweat. I choose the later and feel like a boil in the bag dinner as we assent the island.

Forest Conservation Program Reflections 4

The hikes to the top of the island are a sheer incline scrambling over the slippery red mud, rocks and fallen banana trees as we weave in & out of the plantations. “Malagasy Ice” Menja laughs wickedly pointing at the lethal red slippery mud slide that has enveloped the path ahead. I laugh, it’s all I can do as I try to keep up with Menja’s fast pace. Nimbly he leaps across rocks, runs through the mud & volts over logs with such speed and ability despite the rain and my sweat it’s hard not to be impressed by his agility. I’ve seen him do this walk bare foot as I slip behind him in my professional hiking boots! “this is my beach” he grins flashing immaculate white teeth & stretches out his arms surveying the forest around him. There’s not much left, it’s mainly secondary forest and plantations with glimmers of primary rainforest and a suggestion of the majesty of what Nosy Komba’s rainforest used to be.

A view across the ocean reveals near-by Lokobe, a protected national park and the last of the primary coastal rainforest in the region which seems to taunt the island of Komba like a better-looking sister displaying her crowning glory of green leafy canopy which homes some the worlds strangest & rarest plants & reptiles, compared to Komba’s scrubby plantation clearings. Here old growth trees were mainly saved from being logged & cleared because they were thought to be sacred trees & the Malagasy people are deeply superstitious. It would be a “Faddy”

Forest Conservation Program Reflections 5

A taboo, to cut such a tree. The villagers have many Faddys which vary from community to community & it would be impossible as a westerner to know them all as they differ between family’s and some are a faddy to tell their faddy! As we scale the incline I find a dead bat his body curled up and his tongue almost comically protruding from his mouth in one final theatrical act of surrender. Menja picks him up holding him out while stretching his wings to full capacity so he looks like a menacing specter. We climb on the incline getting steeper & the rains heavier. Just as I’m thinking I don’t know how much more I can take an elderly Malagasy couple saunter barefoot through the forest, both possibly in their 80’s. She carries an enormous sack of rice on her head with perfect posture while he balances a pole across his shoulders laden with heavy bunches of bananas. They flash me toothless smiles and a local greeting and proceed like a pair of adolescents down the hill.

I am suitably shamed and utter no words of complaint on any hike ever again! The forest is getting older and denser and Menja dances ahead of me through the trees his dark poncho flapping around him reminding me of the bat we’d found earlier. Suddenly he stops “smells bad” he decrees. I can’t smell anything but he steers a sharp left through the woods and points at the tree canopy “Maki” he exclaims and right enough swinging from tree to tree to a sizeable troop of black lemurs. The males with their impressive black shaggy collars of fur, the females with their demurer auburn coats. Menja had smelled them before he could see them! We get to work & I take a turn wearing the bat-poncho so I can hide under it to write the survey results. We record all their movements in five minute intervals with five minute breaks over the course of an hour.

Forest Conservation Program Reflections 3

The Maki (Lemurs) grunt contentedly like pigs over-head and I make notes as they watch us, noting numbers, sexes and if they are mature or juvenile as they travel from tree to tree, feed on their favourite jack fruit and sit companionably on tree branches grooming each other. We spot a juvenile being cuddled by his mother. The only disturbance is when a village dog barks in earshot of the Maki and they howl their protest noisily from the canopy warning the troop of potential danger. As they settle down I have an overwhelming sense of peace. The rain is running the ink of my survey and I know I’ll have re-write it when I return to camp but it doesn’t matter. None of it matters only this moment, here in the forest with the Maki’s knowing that their ancestors have hung from these branches for more than 40 million years. I want them to always roam this forest, I want there to always be these forests. This frozen-in-time national history museum that drifted away from Africa & India leaving it isolated & housing the strangest and uniquely indigenous animals.

I know that 90% of these forests are gone but I want to focus on what’s left & on conserving that. The hour fly’s by and I’m sad to leave the Maki behind with their tell-tale long tails protruding through the leaves unveiling their whereabouts and their inquisitive wide eyes studying me. I know this moment is priceless. It’s been mine and I feel incredible privileged to experience it. Earlier Menja told me how the female Chameleon dies after she lays her eggs while the male will wait looking for the female on a high branch but if he doesn’t find her in a few days he jumps plummeting to a premature-death. “Like Romeo & Juliet!” I exclaim. This induced Menja into a fit of laughter and as I give Menja back the bat gown to wear he says “are you sure, I don’t want Juliet getting wet” he teases.

I look at him ruefully, clearly drenched to the skin and put back on my own rain coat. We descend through the glacier smooth red earth but I don’t fall, this time I find my balance.

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Hiked into Paradise - Hiked in Sunset MRCI
BlogForest Conservation

Hiked into Paradise

Author: Roxanne Parker

Hiked into Paradise - HellVille MRCI copy

Welcome to Hell-Ville!

Welcome to Hell-Ville a crazy, chaotic cacophony of noise, colliding colours & cultures that is the capital of Nosy Be. The rainy season means the streets are a muddy maze as yellow Tuks-Tuks whizz by beeping at Vazaha’s (whites) offering them a lift & momentary reprise from the mud splattered roads.

Police whistles stretch as the traffic mounts outside Hell-Ville banana toned market where you can buy local spices, fruit, vegetables, pulses, live chickens & zebu meat from woman with faces masked with Maisonjoany, a vivid yellow face mask made from sandalwood that they paint in their face to protect their skin from the sun. As the 10th poorest country in the world Madagascar is where you see life stripped down to the basic bones.

Everything is reused & recycled, plastic bottles are reused for water, to sell bottled pickles & fermented cabbage at market & second-hand clothes are a valuable commodity with roads full of stalls selling old shirts for as little as €1.50. children pound cassava meal in groups using enormous pestle & mortars taking turns to grind the meal when their limbs tired.

Everyone seems to have a life chicken or duck under their arm as they move through the city preparing themselves for New years – the biggest holiday on the island. Personal space is non-existent as bodies push and press past one another in the crowded market space. On the boat, back to Nosy Komba you wade through the waters of Hell-Ville before sitting thigh to shoulder squeeze between villagers, like chickens and the occasional life goat!

There is every aspect of life unfolding before you, in its insane madness & bustle I find myself loving Madagascar & loving the energy that is Africa. The children are beautiful and although I’m stared at where ever I go a smile & my school French opens many doors & conversations.

 

Hiked into Paradise - Forest Conservationist MRCI

Being A Forest Conservationist

Being on the forest conservation project on Nosy Komba means we act like a courier service as there are no roads or cars and we are hiking through the villages every day. This is a local farmer who I brought glasses to that were donated by a volunteer who had left the island. They worked perfectly for him and he could see clearly for the 1st time in months.

 

Hiked into Paradise - Day Off MRCI

On Our Day Off

On our Day off for St Stephen’s day & the 27th we escaped to Nosy Iranja sailing past whales, visiting lemur Island, living with zero electricity, sleeping in straw huts, drawing water from a well and bringing it across a village to use, walking across miles of sand split to the next island and basically being happy & living off the grid with Shandi Di Virgilio, Sarah Sirois, Hannah McCarthy and Felicia Feeley.

Hiked into Paradise - Hiked in Sunset MRCI

Hiked Sunsets on Nosy Komba Island

Sunset on Nosy Komba. Having hiked all day we watch the sunset at the summit and with head torches hiked back through the jungle in the dark to a local hut in the middle of the rainforest where a local family cooked us dinner on long tables outside consisting of cassava leaves chopped & boiled that tasted like spinach, papaya salad which is savoury & dressed in vinegar. Chicken legs cooked in bone broth & jack fruit & pineapple which grow in abundance on the island for desert.

We hiked through the night spotting & documenting Chameleons, Geckos, frogs snakes & spiders before sleeping overnight on a Church floor in the middle of the forest with the skies heavy with stars at 5 am we hiked back to the summit for sunrise then headed back to base camp for breakfast & then back to the forest to hike to monitor bird species. I’ve passed my first exam & know all 43-bird species here – week one done & dusted.

 

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female+panther+chameleon
BlogForest Conservation

Chameleons of Nosy Komba

Author: Angus Hamilton
Male & Female Panther Chameleons MRCI Nosy Komba

The Panthers of Madagascar

When I landed in Nosy Be, an island off the coast of north-western Madagascar, after over a day spent in transit, I could not wait to dive in and get started. Although I was apprehensive about being in a totally different environment to what I was used to, I wanted to be in the forest, finding animals as quickly as possible! Luckily for me, it wasn’t long at all until I got my first look at some of the wildlife of Madagascar.

As we sped towards Hell-ville, the main town and port on Nosy Be, and the boat to my new home for the coming months on Nosy Komba,  my eyes were glued to the rich green of the forest that surrounded the roads.  A mere five minutes after leaving the airport though, a flash of vibrant green by the side of the road caught my eye. Something hanging from a tree branch. A slender body, but with a large casque (helmet-like structure) on its head, and a white stripe running down the side of its body… it was a male panther Chameleon (Furcifer pardalis), a species I was going to get to know pretty well over my first days at my new home.

The next day, while sitting down for lunch I spotted from the corner of my eye a green shape extending from one of the roofs of the huts. At first glance it seemed to be an overly large leaf, but after paying closer attention I realised that it was actually a male panther chameleon!

He had slowly, methodically made his way down to the edge of the roof trying to make his way to safety: a nearby tree branch. It was a great opportunity to witness some of the unique, and somewhat bizarre, adaptations that chameleons have developed over the years.

Male Panther Chameleons Nosy Komba MRCI 3

Our male (let’s call him Kobi) was precariously dangling from the edge of the roof. His back feet were clamped firmly onto the plant material used to create the roof; his prehensile tail wrapped tightly, acting as an anchor allowing him to reach (for the branch just out of his grasp).

Watching his efforts, the ingenuity of evolution and its work on chameleon feet left me in awe! Incredibly there is no perfect scientific description for their feet! “Wait… what?!” It’s true!! Chameleon feet are bizarrely unique in the animal world. How cool is that?

They fall somewhere between two categories: didactyl and zygodactyl. On the one hand (or foot!), they have a tong-like appearance which at first glance looks like two toes on each foot. This would give chameleons what is known as didactyl feet. Other didactyl species include sloths and many cloven-hoofed ungulates (hoofed mammals). However, upon closer inspection it becomes evident that there is more to each of these ‘toes’ than meets the eye… In fact, they are a bundle of toes fused together. On their front legs, the outer bundle has 3 toes and the inner has two. This is reversed on their back legs. The closest scientific description that we have at the moment is ‘zygodactyl’, which describes the feet of parrots and the majority of arboreal bird species. BUT, and here’s where it gets fascinating! They only have two toes on each side. The third chameleon toe in the different bundles removes them from fitting properly into that category. So there we have it. The lonely chameleon.

So why do chameleons have this cool, confusing adaptation? Scientists believe the enigmatic feet of these cold-blooded panthers are perfectly adapted for an arboreal lifestyle. The ‘tong-like’ formation of the toes allows the chameleon to wrap them around smaller branches and clasp tightly, providing excellent grip and stability. Each toe of the chameleon also has a small claw at the end. This claw allows them to walk along branches and climb trees that are too large for them to grip.

These arduous tasks are also greatly helped by their tail! The prehensile nature of the tail is another indication that panther chameleons have adapted to life in the trees. Prehensile tails are unique to animals that spend their lives in the tree canopy.  Many ‘new world’ primate species, for example spider monkeys, possess a prehensile tail.  Prehensile tails provide a couple of key benefits to our tree dwellers. Arguably the most useful benefit they provide is a point of anchorage, which the panther chameleon will use in many different situations. The tail is able to support the entire weight of the chameleon, allowing it to hang from branches (or roofs) and gain access to new parts of its habitat. When hunting, panther chameleons will wrap its tail around a tree for stability when using its weapon of choice… its projectile tongue. This anchorage is a necessity when you realise that the tongue can be as long as the chameleons body, and is ‘fired’ at prey from a distance!

 

Chameleons

Female Panther Chameleon

As I watched Kobi trying to reach his goal, I got a look at just how well he was able to anchor himself (to the roof using his prehensile tail and tong-like feet). You’ll all be very relieved to hear that Kobi did in fact achieve his goal. Once he finally managed to clasp his front feet onto this small branch and lever himself into a stable position, he let go with his back legs and grabbed the branch with them. At this point he uncoiled his tail from the roof, and off he went in search of his next meal.

The panther Chameleon is one of the most common chameleon species in the North/north-west of Madagascar, and definitely one of the most versatile. Populations from different areas of the country display different arrays of colour. Contrary to, well every belief really, chameleons aren’t able to just change to any colour that they like. Thanks Pascal! All colour changing chameleons have a set palette. Most of the time their colour change isn’t a conscious choice, but a product of physiological necessity. So the colour range of Furcifer Pardalis is insane!

Or is it? A 2015 study by Grbic et al. has thrown significant doubt on the conservation status of the panther Chameleon. Prior to 2015, all of these locales were thought to be the same species: F.pardalis. Now it has been revealed that there is sufficient genetic and behavioural, behavioural being a significant lack of interbreeding between locales, evidence to suggest that what was initially thought to be only one species is actually eleven!

Furcifer pardalis is currently listed as ‘Least Concern’ by the IUCN, the International Union of Conservation for Nature. However, this classification is based on the idea that all locales are the same species. Each of these newly discovered Furcifer species will need to be individually assessedto decipher how threatened they really are. Only based on that information can management strategies be updated to ensure the ongoing health and survival of all 11 species of the panther chameleon.

The panther chameleon, similar to most arboreal chameleons, prefers areas surrounding waterways; it generally struggles to survive in areas of dense forest. Instead they tend to spend most of their lives in more open areas, such as in trees that overhang streams, or, as has been identified on Nosy Be, overhanging roads. A study by Andreone et al 2005 espoused the importance of an area of buffer vegetation between roads and either forest or agricultural land, as it was in these areas that the panther chameleon was most commonly found. While being around roads presents other issues for slow-moving chameleons like Kobi, these findings suggest that a buffer zone between roads and panther habitat is an important management step for the ongoing survival of the panther.

Male Panther Chameleons Nosy Komba MRCI 2

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References

1.  Grbic, D., Saenko, S. V., Randriamoria, T. M., Debry, A., Raselimanana, A. P. and Milinkovitch, M. C. (2015), Phylogeography and support vector machine classification of colour variation in panther chameleons. Molecular Ecology.

2. : F. Andreone , F. M. Guarino & J. E. Randrianirina (2005) Life history traits, age profile, and conservation of the panther chameleon, Furcifer pardalis (Cuvier 1829), at Nosy Be, NW Madagascar, Tropical Zoology, 18:2, 209-225.

BlogForest Conservation

Andoany Stump-Toed Frog

Author: Angus Hamilton

 

In the Throes of Pygmy Toes

My favourite thing about working on Nosy Komba was being able to head out into the forest and conduct herpetofauna (reptile and amphibian) surveys EVERY DAY. At 6:30 every morning, we would leave the comfort of camp and hike to one of MRCI’s 10 survey sites. Even at that time in the morning, the forests of Nosy Komba were teeming with life. We’d find an assortment of astonishing animals every walk: chameleons, geckos, snakes, frogs, birds, and lemurs, and that was before the survey!

In this post, I’m going to be talking about a couple of the teeny-tiny critters that we’d come across during these mornings hikes. But which ones? I’ll give you a hint: they were the stump-toed stars of our surveys!

One way MRCI determines herpetofauna species richness and abundance on the island is to conduct a plot survey. Plot surveys consist of four researchers slowly and methodically picking through the leaf litter in a line. The aim is to record all reptiles and amphibians within a seven by seven metre square, trying to make sure we’ve searched the entire area. This would normally take between thirty and forty minutes. We would note down the species, how big it was, and what substrate it was found on (tree, rock, leaf litter, etc), and all of this information goes into the research papers that ultimately inform conservation action!

We had to be super thorough during plot surveys, as it was at these times that we were most likely to see some of the smallest inhabitants of Nosy Komba. One tiny inhabitant that we always found in their leaf litter home was the Andoany stump-toed frog (Stumpffia pygmaea). It was incredible to see so many of these little guys hopping over your shoes! But what is it that makes these guys so special? Why were we so interested in these frogs?

The Andoany stump-toed frog is a really special little amphibian! For one thing, they are only found on Nosy Be and Nosy Komba but furthermore, they are also the seventh smallest frog in the world. These tiny frogs grow up to twelve millimetres long. Yes, you read that right. Twelve! If they only grow that big, I can barely imagine what the smallest frog in the world must look like in comparison! They are a part of the Microhylidae family, also known as the narrow-mouthed frogs. The narrow mouth of the S. pygmaea gives us an indication that it’s diet would consist of ants and termites, which it would find crawling through the leaf litter.

But more important than their size, these guys are also the first endangered species to be featured here on Life Gone Wild!

Surprisingly, considering their endangered status, S.pygmaea really weren’t difficult to come across on Nosy Komba. Whenever we conducted plot briefings, we always warned volunteers to look out for the Andoany stump-toed frog. These tiny brown amphibians were extraordinarily hard to spot in the leaf litter (great camoflauge huh?) and pretty damn fast. To give you an indication of just how common they could be sometimes, on one 45 minute survey we found twenty of these tiny frogs!

Now I know you’re thinking: If they ARE so common, then why are they endangered?! Stick with me, all will be revealed soon! First, we’re going to look at a cousin of the Andoany Stump-toed frog who also inhabits the leaf litter of Nosy Komba!

The Madagascar stump-toed frog (Stumpffia psologlossa) is a little larger than S.pygmaea, but only just! In fact, they grow barely a couple of millimetres more. Understandably, volunteers found it really tough to tell these tiny little guys apart! The major difference between them is that S.psologlossa is a lighter brown with black spots on its back! Just to make them that little bit more adorable, these spots can actually merge into the shape of a teddy bear! Now, the Madagascar stump-toed frog is also endangered and, similar to our tiny S.pygmaea, can be found on the islands of Nosy Be and Nosy Komba. However, it has also been recorded in two locations on the mainland. On our plot surveys, this little teddy-bear frog was another pretty common find.

Both of these species are called stump-toe frogs for a reason! If you check out the photo below, you can see what I mean! On their feet, they have three relatively normal sized toes with pads on the end. Then, on the inside of their foot they have a fourth toe which is half the size! Very little is known about about these tiny little guys, so unfortunately we don’t know much at all about why the stump-toe evolved, or what impact it has on them. I think it’s such a cool little evolution, and it seems to be unique to the Stumpffia genus of frogs.

Andoany Stump-Toed Frog MRCI 2

Both of the Stumpffia species found on Nosy Komba are leaf litter specialists. They spend almost their entire lives there. Amazingly, unlike many other frog species they reproduce on land and lay non-feeding tadpoles. Their tadpoles develop in foam or jelly nests until they are able to fend for themselves! While they are fairly adaptable little frogs, as with most malagasy wildlife, they are unable to withstand the ongoing threat of deforestation and habitat degradation.

It is now that we start to reach the central issues that these amazing little frogs face! Though they may be common on Nosy Komba and Nosy Be, they have a very restricted range. This leaves them vulnerable to extinction as a result of habitat degradation and fragmentation. If their habitat in the North-west is destroyed, they have nowhere else to go.

Both species are found in the leaf litter of primary and secondary forest. These forests are decreasing at an alarming rate of 0.55% a year! Agricultural expansion, logging for timber, charcoal production, and development of urban areas are the major activities responsible for this continuous degradation of natural forest, and are expected to have major impacts upon these tiny frogs. A rapid increase in the population of Madagascar (four-fold in the last 50 years) and poverty rates that exceed many other developing countries (90% of the population live on less than $2 a day) place increasing pressure on these environmental resources. Coupled with a distinct lack of political attention and legal protection of remaining primary and secondary forest (only 5% of forest is currently protected), land use change is expected to continue to the detriment of specialised species such as S.pygmaea and S.psologlossa.

Over time it will become increasingly clear just how much of an impact habitat degradation and fragmentation is having on species, not just in Madagascar but around the world. It’s an almost horrifying reality that as human populations continue to grow, animals that are specialists in their habitats (such as our little stump-toed frogs) will face increasing pressure. While not much is known about these tiny little guys, it is my hope that the work of conservation organisations, particularly on Nosy Be and Nosy Komba, will be able to ensure the survival of these amazing, tiny frogs.

Andoany-Stump-Toed-Frog-MRCI-4

Photo by: Marcus Lin

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