First density estimates of the Endangered Claire's mouse lemur Microcebus mamiratra and recommendations for its conservation
L UKE D. MARTIN * 1 ,HER ISON RAZAFIMANANTSOA 2,EVA S. NOMEN J ANAHARY 2 S YL VIA N E VOLAMPENO 3 and ALI SON M. BEH IE 1
Abstract Mouse lemurs Microcebus spp. are small, noctur- nal primates endemic to Madagascar. The genus is extraor- dinarily diverse, with 25 extant species, several of which have been described recently. The Endangered Claire’s mouse lemur Microcebus mamiratra was first described in 2006, but, similarly to other newly described mouse lemurs, re- mains understudied, and estimates of its population size are unavailable, hampering effective conservation manage- ment.Weconducted line transect distance sampling surveys of M. mamiratra across several habitat types in and around Lokobe National Park on the island of Nosy Be in north- western Madagascar. Using a systematic random design we surveyed 15 transects over a 6-week period in 2023, re- cording 92 detections from a total survey effort of 46.5 km. We estimate the density of M. mamiratra on Nosy Be to be 125.1 individuals/km2, which extrapolates to an esti- mate of c. 4,700 individuals across the forested areas of its range on the island. Our results indicate that Nosy Be har- bours moderately high densities of M. mamiratra, with the highest encounter rates in the unprotected secondary and degraded forests around Lokobe National Park. Our popu- lation estimate will inform future conservation status assess- ments and conservation planning for this range-restricted species and provide a baseline for monitoring population changes over time. We present recommendations for the conservation of M. mamiratra and highlight the potential for lemur watching, sustained by the strong tourism indus- try on Nosy Be, to help protect lemur habitat and generate economic opportunities for local communities.
Fintina Ny tsitsidy Microcebus spp. dia biby kely, ary pri- mata mandeha amin’ny alina izay tsy hita maso raha tsy ao Madagasikara. Ity karazana ity dia miavaka ary mbola misy 25 karazana izay miaina ankehitriny, ny ankamaroan’ireo dia vao nofaritana tato anatin’ny taona vitsivitsy izay. Ity tsitsidy izay atahorana ho lany tamingana ity, izay mitondra ny anarana hoe Microcebus mamiratra eo amin’ny sehatry ny fikarohana (na fantatra ihany koa hoe Valovi) dia
*Corresponding author,
luke.martin@
anu.edu.au 1The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia 2University of Antananarivo, Antananarivo, Madagascar 3Mikajy Natiora Association, Antananarivo, Madagascar
Received 30 November 2023. Revision requested 24 January 2024. Accepted 17 April 2024. First published online 27 January 2025.
nofaritana voalohany tamin’ny taona 2006, saingy toy ny tsisidy hafa vao nofaritana, dia mbola tsy voadinika tsara izy io ary koa mbola tsymisy ny tombatombana raha ny ha- maroan’ny mponina no lazaina, izany dia lasa sakana eo amin’ny fitantanana mahomby amin’ny fiarovana. Ho fa- mahana izany dia, nanao santionana fanadihadiana ‘tran- sect line-distance’ amin’ny M. mamiratra teo anivon’ny karazana toeram-ponenana maromaro, tao amin’ny valan- javaboary Lokobe sy ny manodidina azy ao amin’ny nosy antsoina hoe Nosy Be, izay any amin’ny faritra avaratr’an- drefan’i Madagasikara izahay. Izany dia nampiasaina endri-drafitra kisendrasendra, nanaramaso transekta 15 iza- hay, izay nandritra ny 6-herinandro tamin’ny taona 2023, tamin’ny fitambaran’ny fanadihadiana 46,5 km natao dia 92 no hita avy amin’izany. Tombanana ho 125,1 isam-bata- na/km² ny hakitroky M. mamiratra ao Nosy Be, izay naha- zahoana antontan’isa 4.700 eo ny tombantomban’ny hakitroka manerana ny faritra misy azy ao amin’ny ala- fady ao amin’io nosy io. Ny vokatra azonay dia manondro fa i Nosy Be dia manana salan’isa ambony raha ny habetsaky ny M. mamiratra no jerena, ary ihany koa manana ny taha ambony indrindra eo amin’ny fahitana io biby io any ive- lan’ny ala-fady, na ivelan’ny faritra arovana Lokobe. Ny fa- nombatombanana ny isan’ny mponina anananay dia hampahafantatra tsaratsara kokoa ny sata mamehy ny fan- dalinanana ny fiarovana izay mbola ho avy, sy ny drafitra ho fikajiana an’io karazam-biby voaaro io, ary koa manome tombatombana amin’ny fanaraha-maso ny fiovan’ny mpo- nina rehefa mandeha ny fotoana. Izahay dia manolotra tolo- kevitra ho amin’ny fiarovana an’i M. mamiratra ary koa manasongadina ny mety hisian’ny fijerena maso ny gidro (varika), izay tohanan’ny lafiny ara-pizahantany matanjaka ao Nosy Be, mba hanampy ny fiarovana ny toeram-pone- nan’ny varika ary koa mba hiteraka tombontsoa ara-toekar- ena ho an’ny vondron’olona ifotony.
Keywords Claire’s mouse lemur, density estimate, distance sampling, lemur conservation, line transect survey, Lokobe National Park, Madagascar, Microcebus mamiratra
Introduction M
olecular genetic and morphological techniques have revealed the extraordinary species diversity of the
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited. Oryx, 2025, 59(1), 109–118 © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605324000772
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