(photo via Lova )

A major study about a new methodology for protecting biodiversity in Madagascar was published in the latest Science issue. The findings from the study were so critical that it was reported in numerous news articles: AFP, BBC, Discovery, New York Times and Reuters. This is a significant victory for environmentalists who are struggling to preserve the unique biodiversity of Madagascar under the constant threat of deforestation and climate change.

Here are excerpts from news articles explaining the significance of the study:

“A vast study of the plants and animals unique to Madagascar was published Thursday in a bid to protect thousands of rare species found only on the large African island” (from Discovery news)

“More than 80% of the known species on the island nation are not found anywhere else in the world. [..]Madagascar is an amazing place because of its evolutionary history” (from BBC news)

“..A significant victory for conservation by bringing one million hectares (more than 3,800 square miles) of wild landscapes and seascapes under national protection.” (Wildlife Conservation Society).

“La Grande île de Madagascar, située dans le sud-ouest de l’océan Indien, figure parmi les 10 hot spots de la diversité biologique mondiale et possède l’un des écosystèmes les plus riches du monde” ( from Planete Vivante)

So What is the take home message from this study by Kremen et al ?

From the original Science article:

“We show, in an analysis of wide taxonomic and geographic breadth and high spatial resolution, that multitaxonomic rather than single-taxon approaches are critical for identifying areas likely to promote the persistence of most species”

In other words, the study maps the region with the endangered species it contains and the type of habitat they require to survive. One cannot possibly tag all the regions of Madagascar containing endangered species as protected regions so this study ranks the regions most in need of the protected labels according to the number of endangered species they contain.

How did they do it?

By Collecting and combining data from 2,300 species, then processing all the data in a way that priorities can be assigned to regions that contains the most unique and endangered species.

The Result:

A new proposed map for regions that should be designated as protected areas.

( photo via Science)

The challenge they had to overcome:

Beside the amount of raw data to enter, the data processing software was also set so that all species are at least represented once. However, it was also designed to factor in the fact that some species are more threatened by human activities than others and increase the proportion of those species in the assigned protected areas.

Conclusion:

This new methodology challenges the usual paradigm of conservation that analyzes each species separately. It shifts the focus from the species that are the usual center of interests and analyzes the issue of conservation with a more integrated approach towards lesser know species.