Projects & training for research assistants

MS101 Spiny Forest Biodiversity Assessment (expedition 9)

Volunteers will be based in the village camp of Ifotaka, which they will get to following about 5 hours travel on the sandy roads between Fort Dauphin. During their first week volunteers will complete a Madagascar Wildlife Ecology course which consists of a series of lectures with practicals in the field to demonstrate the different survey techniques and to learn the identification of some of the commoner species. This will give participants an overview of the conservation issues affecting Madagascar and facilitate the development of identification skills and an understanding of Madagascar's unique ecology.

The area to the North of Ifotaka will be surveyed mostly using the small pathways through the spiny forest that the locals use when trekking between communities. 4 x 3km sample routes will be mapped out and these will be used for the faunal and forest structure surveys. The survey work will include early morning forest surveys for birds, small mammals, lemurs, chameleons and other herpetofauna, as well as forest structure assessment surveys, pit-fall trapping for spiders and other invertebrates, and botanical sampling during the day. During the evenings there will be spotlight surveys for the nocturnal lemur species, further herpetofauna surveys, and mist netting for birds and bats. Volunteers can rotate between these survey groups throughout their stay in order to develop a wide range of skills.