Hot Spot: Madagascar & The Indian Ocean Islands Addie Laurente Sai Mandalapu Pete Deegan Sydney Gilbert

OVERVIEW LOCATION: Off the coasts of east Africa; Western part of Indian Ocean; Southern Hemisphere CLIMATE: ranges depending on location windy, rainy, hot, and humid RATIO: 32 people/km²: 45 extinct species FUNFACTS: -Madagascar and continental Seychelles broke off from Gondwanaland supercontinent 160 million years ago -living example of species evolution in isolation -do not share any of the typical animal groups of nearby Africa - world leader in primate endemism and the single highest priority for the conservation of primates

Why it’s a “Hot Spot” natural environment high biodiversity contains large number of endangered species. Endangered Species (that live only here): 8 plant families: 5 primate families 4 bird families 50 + lemur species

Unique Biodiversity Of the 13,000 species of plants, 11,600 are endemic. The islands contain 155 species of mammals, 144 of them are endemic. Of the 300 different bird species, 60% are endemic. 384 reptile species are found on the islands and 367 of them are endemic to the area. There are 230 species of amphibians and 229 are endemic. There are 164 species of fish and 97 are endemic.

Human Impacts Humans arrived on Madagascar 1500-2000 years ago and easily killed most of the naïve native animals Agricultural methods have left Madagascar almost completely deforested and barren, and only 17% of the native vegetation remains The quickly rising population, hunting, timber extraction, and mining are growing threats New species of animals and plants brought from the mainland have devastated native animals, landscapes, and ecosystems.

Conversation Action Madagascar has a 5 year national Environmental Action Plan 2.7% of Madagascar is officially protected in 46 legally protected areas, including national parks and strict nature reserves Programs like Birdlife International, Conservation International, and the Betampona Nature Reserve are aiding in preserving the nature and ecosystems of this hot spot

INTERRELATIONSHIPS AND INTERDEPENDENCY ABIOTIC FACTORS -some organisms are adapted to cold climates -some organisms are adapted to warm climates Grandidier's baobabs (bottle tree) are pollinated by nocturnal lemurs BIOTIC FACTORS -some organisms eat the same food (competition) Malagasy species are pollinated by fruit-eating bats