Maningoza Reserve

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Maningoza Special Reserve is a 9,826 hectares (24,280 acres) wildlife reserve in Madagascar. It was created in 1956 to protect the many endemic plants and animals, and it also contains some of the last remaining areas of dry deciduous forest on the island.

Nature reserve protected area for flora, fauna or features of geological interest

A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research. Nature reserves may be designated by government institutions in some countries, or by private landowners, such as charities and research institutions, regardless of nationality. Nature reserves fall into different IUCN categories depending on the level of protection afforded by local laws. Normally it is more strictly protected than a nature park.

Madagascar island nation off the coast of Southeast Africa, in the Indian Ocean

Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, and previously known as the Malagasy Republic, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately 400 kilometres off the coast of East Africa. The nation comprises the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Following the prehistoric breakup of the supercontinent Gondwana, Madagascar split from the Indian subcontinent around 88 million years ago, allowing native plants and animals to evolve in relative isolation. Consequently, Madagascar is a biodiversity hotspot; over 90% of its wildlife is found nowhere else on Earth. The island's diverse ecosystems and unique wildlife are threatened by the encroachment of the rapidly growing human population and other environmental threats.

Endemism ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location or habitat

Endemism is the ecological state of a species being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation, country or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. The extreme opposite of endemism is cosmopolitan distribution. An alternative term for a species that is endemic is precinctive, which applies to species that are restricted to a defined geographical area.

Contents

Geography

The Maningoza Special Reserve was established in 1956 and is in the Melaky Region of Madagascar. The reserve is to the east of Antsalova and the nearest hotel accommodation is in Besalampy. It can be reached by boat on the Manambolo River although the reserve is only accessible to tourists during the dry season. It contains one of the last remaining areas of dry tropical forest on the island and has a dry climate with an average temperature of 24 °C (75 °F). The annual rainfall is 1,100 mm (43 in) and mostly falls during the monsoon season which is between November and April. [1] The forest grows on iron-rich (or ferralitic) soil which forms due to the chemical weathering of most of the minerals; except for quartz. There is an accumulation of secondary minerals and clays such as gibbiste, goethite and kaolinite, and an accumulation of humus. [2] The people living in the villages around the reserve, are dependent for its resources and use the land for grazing zebu, and grow cassava, maize and rice. [3]

Melaky Region in Madagascar

Melaky is a region in northwestern Madagascar. It borders Boeny Region in northeast, Betsiboka in east, Bongolava in southeast and Menabe in south. The capital of the region is Maintirano. The population was estimated to be 297,446 in 2014 within the area of 38,852 km2 (15,001 sq mi). Melaky has the smallest population and the smallest population density of all Malagasy regions.

Antsalova Place in Melaky, Madagascar

Antsalova is a town and commune in western Madagascar. It belongs to the district of Antsalova, which is a part of Melaky Region. The population of the commune was estimated to be approximately 16,000 in 2001 commune census.

Besalampy Place in Melaky, Madagascar

Besalampy is a town and commune on the west coast of Madagascar. It belongs to the district of Besalampy, which is a part of Melaky Region. The population of the commune was estimated to be approximately 15,000 in 2001 commune census.

Flora and fauna

The largest habitat, within the reserve is 5,611 hectares (13,870 acres) is subtropical moist forest which is some of the last remaining in Madagascar. There is also over 2,600 hectares (6,400 acres) of savanna including a small area with palm trees and 7 hectares (17 acres) of bamboo. [4] The birds are poorly studied with fifty-two species recorded including twenty-five endemics. A number are of conservation concern, such as Schlegel's asity (Philepitta schlegeli) which is classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as near threatened due to habitat loss. Other resident birds include the giant coua (Coua gigas), Coquerel's coua (Coua coquereli), sickle-billed vanga (Falculea palliata) and the Sakalava weaver (Ploceus sakalava). [5]

Savanna grassland ecosystem

A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland grassland ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to support an unbroken herbaceous layer consisting primarily of grasses.

Bamboo subfamily of plants

The bamboos are evergreen perennial flowering plants in the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. The word "bamboo" comes from the Kannada term bambu (ಬಂಬು), which was introduced to English through Indonesian and Malay.

Schlegels asity species of bird

Schlegel's asity is a species of bird in the family Eurylaimidae. It is endemic to Madagascar. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest. It is threatened by habitat loss.

Of the fifteen species of mammal on the reserve, five are lemurs. Verreaux's sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi) is of most concern to the IUCN which is considered to be endangered, and the common brown lemur (Eulemur fulvus]] which is near threatened. The other lemurs are, the eastern lesser bamboo lemur (Hapalemur griseus), gray mouse lemur (Microcebus murinus) and the fat-tailed dwarf lemur (Cheirogaleus medius). [5]

Lemur A clade of primates endemic to the island of Madagascar

Lemurs are mammalian animals of the order primates, divided into 8 families and consisting of 15 genera and around 100 existing species. They are native only to the island of Madagascar. Most existing lemurs are small, have a pointed snout, large eyes, and a long tail. They chiefly live in trees (arboreal), and are active at night (nocturnal).

Verreauxs sifaka species of mammal

Verreaux's sifaka, or the white sifaka, is a medium-sized primate in one of the lemur families, the Indriidae. It lives in Madagascar and can be found in a variety of habitats from rainforest to western Madagascar dry deciduous forests and dry and spiny forests. Its fur is thick and silky and generally white with brown on the sides, top of the head, and on the arms. Like all sifakas, it has a long tail that it uses as a balance when leaping from tree to tree. However, its body is so highly adapted to an arboreal existence, on the ground its only means of locomotion is hopping. The species lives in small troops which forage for food.

Endangered species Species of organisms facing a very high risk of extinction

An endangered species is a species which has been categorized as very likely to become extinct. Endangered (EN), as categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, is the second most severe conservation status for wild populations in the IUCN's schema after Critically Endangered (CR).

See also

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. ↑ "Maningoza Special Reserve". Madagaskar.com. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  2. ↑ "Ferralitic Soil". The Free Dictionary By Farlex. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  3. ↑ "Maningoza Special Reserve". Travel Madagascar. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  4. ↑ "Maningoza". WildMadagascar.org. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  5. 1 2 "Maningoza Special Reserve". BirdLife International. Retrieved 26 October 2016.

Coordinates: 16°45′00″S44°29′00″E / 16.75°S 44.483333°E / -16.75; 44.483333

Geographic coordinate system Coordinate system

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