Naina R. Rabemananjara

PhD student

Project:  Short to long-term impacts of forest fires on lemur communities and their recolonization dynamics in burnt forest sites, case of Ankarafantsika National Park, Madagascar

Tropical forests, covering only 6% of the Earth's surface, harbor over 80% of terrestrial biodiversity but face growing threats from human activities, particularly fire-driven agricultural expansion. This is especially critical in Madagascar, where escalating landscape degradation endangers its unique, endemic species. Fires in the drier western regions pose a major risk to ecosystems, including lemurs, which play key roles in ecosystem functions and indicate habitat health. However, little is known about lemurs’ resilience to these increasingly widespread fires. To address this, I am conducting my study in Ankarafantsika National Park (ANP), the largest protected dry forest in northwestern Madagascar, home to eight lemur species: Propithecus coquereli, Eulemur fulvus, Eulemur mongoz, Lepilemur edwardsi, Avahi occidentalis, Cheirogaleus medius, Microcebus murinus, and Microcebus ravelobensis. My project aims to understand how past fires influence lemur abundance and distribution in the dry deciduous forest of northwestern Madagascar (ANP), shedding light on their fire resilience, specifically, their natural capacity and timeframe for recolonizing burned areas.