Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38467477›Full record

ArticleAmerican journal of primatology2025

Losing lemurs: Declining populations and land cover changes over space and time.

Pamela R Narváez-Torres, Nicola K Guthrie, Typhenn A Brichieri-Colombi, Cressant P Razafindravelo, Zachary S Jacobson, Fredo Tera, Daniel V Rafidimanana, Zé-Elinah Rahasivelo, Melody A Petersen, Hasinala Ramangason and 7 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in American journal of primatology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

17 authors.

Pamela R Narváez-TorresDepartment of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.ORCID 0000-0003-2777-0470
Nicola K GuthrieDepartment of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.ORCID 0009-0003-7702-3518
Typhenn A Brichieri-ColombiWilder Institute/Calgary Zoo, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.ORCID 0000-0001-7539-3521
Cressant P RazafindraveloMadagascar Biodiversity Partnership, Antananarivo, Madagascar.
Zachary S JacobsonDepartment of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Fredo TeraMadagascar Biodiversity Partnership, Antananarivo, Madagascar.
Daniel V RafidimananaFaculty of Sciences, University of Antananarivo, Antananarivo, Madagascar.ORCID 0000-0003-1186-6742
Zé-Elinah RahasiveloFaculty of Sciences, Technologies, and Environment, University of Mahajanga, Mahajanga, Madagascar.
Melody A PetersenNature Conservancy of Canada, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Hasinala RamangasonDepartment of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.ORCID 0000-0003-4222-7476
Lea RandallWilder Institute/Calgary Zoo, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-6144-855X
Jana M McPhersonWilder Institute/Calgary Zoo, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.ORCID 0000-0001-6354-6404
Cynthia L FrasierConservation Genetics Department, Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium, Omaha, Nebraska, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-5416-2000
Axel MoehrenschlagerPanthera, New York, New York, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-2789-0376
Sheila M HolmesDepartment of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0002-6420-5510
Edward E LouisMadagascar Biodiversity Partnership, Antananarivo, Madagascar.ORCID 0000-0002-3634-4943
Steig E JohnsonDepartment of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.ORCID 0000-0003-2257-8949

Funding

Ahmanson Family FoundationCalgary Zoological SocietyConsejo Nacional de Ciencia y TecnologíaConservation InternationalGovernment of AlbertaInternational Primatological SocietyMitacsNatural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of CanadaOmaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and AquariumPrimate Conservation Inc
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Forest loss and degradation due to land cover changes imperil biodiversity worldwide. Subtropical and tropical ecosystems experience high deforestation rates, negatively affecting species like primates. Madagascar's endemic lemurs face exceptionally high risks of population declines and extirpation. We examined how short-term land cover changes within a fragmented landscape in southeastern Madagascar impacted the density of lemur species. Using line transects, we assessed density changes in nine lemur species across five forest fragments. Diurnal surveys were conducted monthly from 2015 to 2019 on 35 transects (total effort = 1268 km). Additionally, 21 transects were surveyed nocturnally in 2015 and 2016 (total effort = 107.5 km). To quantify forest cover changes, we generated land use/land cover (LULC) maps from Sentinel-2 imagery using supervised classification for each year. For the LULC maps, we overlayed species-specific buffers around all transects and calculated the proportion of land cover classes within them. We observed declines in the annual densities of four diurnal and cathemeral lemur species between 2015 and 2019, with species-specific declines of up to 80% (Varecia variegata). While the density of two nocturnal species decreased, one increased fivefold (Cheirogaleus major) between 2015 and 2016. By 2019, Grassland was the dominant land type (50%), while Paddy Fields had the smallest coverage (1.03%). Mature Agricultural Land increased the most (63.37%), while New Agricultural Land decreased the most (-66.36%). Unexpectedly, we did not find evidence that higher forest cover supported a higher lemur population density within sampled areas, but we found support for the negative impact of degraded land cover types on three lemur species. Our study underscores the urgent need to address land-use changes and their repercussions for primate populations in tropical ecosystems. The diverse responses of lemur species to modified habitats highlight the complexity of these impacts and emphasize the importance of targeted conservation efforts.

Indexed as

Conservation of Natural ResourcesForestsAnimalsBiodiversityEcosystemLemurMadagascarPopulation DensityPopulation Dynamicsconservationdeforestationdensityhabitat lossMadagascar

Identifiers

PMID38467477
PMCPMC11650950

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.