It has been said that about 90 percent of
the plants and animals that exist on Madagascar are endemic to that area. There are over a hundred known species and
subspecies of the Lemur alone. It is known as one of the most abundant
bio-diversities (the degree of variation of life) areas known on earth. The concept of endemism is that island areas
such as Madagascar are isolated in their specific geographic location.
Madagascar is an area of just over 587
square kilometers (or over 226 square miles), or slightly less than twice the
size of Arizona. It is an area that is
abundant with rich fauna and flora.
It was originally settled by Austronesian
peoples between 200 BC and 500 AD. The population has been more prevalent since
1960 when it has increased dramatically from five million to around the current
twenty two million in 2012. Life
expectancy in this area is around 59 years.
The diversity of its ecoregions is due to
the fact that there is a temperate inland climate, an arid climate in the south
and a tropical climate along the coast. There
are six main rain-forest areas in Madagascar, known as the rain-forests of
Atsinanana. This verdant area is said to
be over 60 million years old. Rainfall
is usually over 2,000 mm per year through the ecoregion, the parts of the
rain-forests. There are two main
ecoregions of Madagascar, the dry deciduous forests and the lowland
forests.
Over time there have been about eight
extinct bird species. Some sub-fossil
lemurs (during the late Pleistocene age, approximately 10,000 BC and older),
turtle, rodent, fish and hippopotamus
species have also become extinct. Others to become extinct include the Giant
Aye-aye, the Giant Fossa, Hipposideros besaoka, Koala Lemur, Malagasy Aardvark,
Malagasy Hippopotamus, and the Large Sloth Lemur.
Madagascar is an ecologist’s dream, with
around 90 percent of animal species and plant life endemic to this area. The
various species of Lemurs include (but are not limited to): Aye-Aye, Bamboo,
Black, Black and White Ruffed, Dwarf, Indri, Lepilemur, Mouse, Red-Fronted
Brown, Red-Ruffed, Ring-Tailed, Sifaka, and Sportive. Among the other species, there are
approximately 245 endemic species of frogs, over half the world’s population of
chameleons (59 species), fifteen endemic species of bats, 105 endemic species
of birds, a species called Fossa, which is a relative of the Mongoose.
The natural cycle of the endemic species of
Madagascar, according to Berkeley University, is through a process of dispersal
and evolution. This is their phylogeny,
their evolutionary relationship. It
seems to be a scientific handbook of the adaptive nature of sub species,
evolving from their main species counterparts.
The geographic area involved is between mostly East Africa and Madagascar. This has a lot to do with the fact that
Madagascar split off from Africa 160 million years ago. Understanding all these elements in depth
will further educate us as to where these species came from and what they are
evolving to.
Climate changes and the clearing of forests
add significant threats to this diverse ecoregion. These are but a few of the preceding
indicators of a wonderland being neglected and subject to demise. Extinction of species is usually due to
species in-adaptability of its changing environment. Include the fact that man has added his own
technological changes to the environment, those factors become even more
serious than they already are. If ever
there was a time to try to save the rain-forests and ecosystem of Madagascar,
that time would be now.
