Science Diary: Looking for Lemurs – Political Unrest

music; ambience birds, Madagascar dawn

SAN: “As humans disturb the habitat, this takes away forest from these different types of primates and creates a conflict.”

Welcome to Pulse of the Planet’s Science Diaries, a glimpse of the world of science from the inside. Today, a look back, and an update on the lemurs of Madagascar. Summer ArrigoNelson is a research scientist with the Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences at California University of Pennsylvania.

SAN: “I am a researcher working in Ranomafana National Park, to investigate the effects of habitat disturbance on the behavior and ecology of Madagascar’s lemur species.”

Lemurs are tree-dwelling primates, found only in Madagascar. But the forests of Madagascar are being threatened.

SAN: “Regions of Ranomafana were selectively logged from about 1986 to 1989. And during that time, precious hardwood trees were cut down by hand and removed from the forest, up to three hundred of these trees a day. Now in Ranomafana we’re really lucky. We didn’t have chain saws that came in and cut down big areas of the forest, so even though there was disturbance, the forest is still alive, and animals are still living in the area. My interest is in learning about what the different needs of the lemur species are, how they respond in the wake of disturbance, and then trying to work with management groups within Madagascar to determine how best to proceed in the future.”

Since we last spoke with Summer Arrigo-Nelson, Madagascar experienced a government overthrow in early 2009. The political unrest that followed has impeded law enforcement in national parks, where illegal logging has damaged habitat and food resources for the animals in those areas, including the lemurs.

Pulse of the Planet Science Diaries are made possible by the National Science Foundation.

Science Diary: Looking for Lemurs - Political Unrest

Politics as usual? For the lemurs of Madagascar, political upheaval spells danger.
Air Date:07/27/2009
Scientist:
Transcript:


music; ambience birds, Madagascar dawn

SAN: “As humans disturb the habitat, this takes away forest from these different types of primates and creates a conflict.”

Welcome to Pulse of the Planet’s Science Diaries, a glimpse of the world of science from the inside. Today, a look back, and an update on the lemurs of Madagascar. Summer ArrigoNelson is a research scientist with the Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences at California University of Pennsylvania.

SAN: “I am a researcher working in Ranomafana National Park, to investigate the effects of habitat disturbance on the behavior and ecology of Madagascar's lemur species.”

Lemurs are tree-dwelling primates, found only in Madagascar. But the forests of Madagascar are being threatened.

SAN: “Regions of Ranomafana were selectively logged from about 1986 to 1989. And during that time, precious hardwood trees were cut down by hand and removed from the forest, up to three hundred of these trees a day. Now in Ranomafana we're really lucky. We didn't have chain saws that came in and cut down big areas of the forest, so even though there was disturbance, the forest is still alive, and animals are still living in the area. My interest is in learning about what the different needs of the lemur species are, how they respond in the wake of disturbance, and then trying to work with management groups within Madagascar to determine how best to proceed in the future.”

Since we last spoke with Summer Arrigo-Nelson, Madagascar experienced a government overthrow in early 2009. The political unrest that followed has impeded law enforcement in national parks, where illegal logging has damaged habitat and food resources for the animals in those areas, including the lemurs.

Pulse of the Planet Science Diaries are made possible by the National Science Foundation.