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

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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.

5. Human Impacts
Humans arrived on Madagascar 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.

6. 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

7. 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