In the forests of Madagascar, about nine-tenths of the plant and animal species are unique to the island. Their natural habitats range from true rainforest to the lunar landscape of the spiny desert, and the natural rock-gardens of the mountain tops. Madagascar is no oceanic island, but a fragment of continent a thousand miles long, wrenched loose from the side of Africa. In this Lost World, plants and animals have become a living museum of evolution. Aepornis, the largest bird which ever lived, became extinct on Madagascar in the last few hundred years. Many more Malagasy species are now following Aerpornis into extinction. This volume introduces Madagascar's unique fauna and flora to general readers - the first such handbook available in English, and the first book to combine articles by Malagasy, French, English and American scientists, writing in their own fields of expertise.

Madagascar is one of the most biologically diverse places on the planet, the result of 160 million years of isolation from the African mainland. More than 80% of its species are not found anywhere else on Earth. However, this highly diverse flora and fauna is threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation, and the island has been classified as one of the world’s highest conservation priorities. Drawing on insights from geography, anthropology, sustainable development, political science and ecology, this book provides a comprehensive assessment of the status of conservation and environmental management in Madagascar. It describes how conservation organisations have been experimenting with new forms of protected areas, community-based resource management, ecotourism, and payments for ecosystem services. But the country must also deal with pressing human needs. The problems of poverty, development, environmental justice, natural resource use and biodiversity conservation are shown to be interlinked in complex ways. Authors address key questions, such as who are the winners and losers in attempts to conserve biodiversity? And what are the implications of new forms of conservation for rural livelihoods and environmental justice?

H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Y -- Z

The most comprehensive single-volume field guide to Madagascar's wildlife The Indian Ocean island of Madagascar is one of the world's great natural treasures and ecotourism destinations. Despite being an island, it is home to nearly an entire continent’s variety of species, from the famous lemurs to a profusion of bizarre and beautiful birds, reptiles and amphibians. Wildlife of Madagascar is a compact and beautifully illustrated photographic guide, and an essential companion for any visitor or resident. With an eye-catching design, authoritative and accessible text and easy-to-use format, it provides information on identification, distribution, habitat, behaviour, biology and conservation for all the mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and butterflies likely to be seen. The most comprehensive single-volume field guide to Madagascar’s wildlife Attractive layout features more than 900 stunning colour photographs Covers the mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and butterflies, and some of the other invertebrates and plants, most likely to be seen Provides key information about identification, distribution, habitat, behaviour and conservation Introductory sections provide background information on Madagascar and its unique environments

Laminated identification guide illustrating 65 species of extant nocturnal prosimians in Madagascar.

Primate Biogeography is a subject rarely addressed as a discipline in its own right. This comprehensive source introduces the reader to Primate Biogeography as a discipline. It highlights the many factors that may influence the distribution of primates, and reveals the wide range of approaches that are available to understanding the distribution of this order. The biogeography of primates in the past is a major component of our understanding of their evolutionary history and is an essential component of conservation biology. This book will appeal to primatologists, physical anthropologists, zoologists, and undergraduates in these areas.

Explores key issues in biocultural diversity, examining species and sites considered to be sacred and their implications for conservation.

In this book we undertake one of the first global-scale comparisons of the relationships between tropical plants and frugivorous animal communities, comparing sites within and across continents. In total, 12 primary contributors, including noted plant and animal ecologists, present newly-analyzed long-term datasets on the floristics and phenological rhythms of their study sites, identifying important seed dispersers and key plant taxa that sustain animal communities in Africa, Madagascar, Australasia, and the Neotropics.