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Madagascar's biodiversity must be urgently protected

Two articles published in Science involving more than 50 global institutions present the state of the island's biodiversity and reinforce the importance of species conservation 

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The Republic of Madagascar has some of the richest and most unique biodiversity in the world, but it is losing this wealth at an accelerated pace and needs urgent science-based conservation actions. This is the main conclusion of a study conducted by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in partnership with more than 50 institutions around the world. The research was published today, in Science magazine, in two articles, which included the participation of Thaís Guedes, from the Department of Animal Biology at the Institute of Biology at Unicamp.

The works, which are complementary and signed by the same authors, resulted from a systematic review of the biodiversity of the African island. While the first makes a general review of the origin and evolution of the region's biota, quantifying and mapping the species that currently exist there and describing their use by humans, the second article evaluates the threats to local species, using analyzes to predict the risks of extinction. and proposing measures that can be taken to promote efficient and urgent conservation.

Article addresses threats to local species and proposes measures that can be taken for efficient and urgent conservation
Article addresses threats to local species and proposes measures that can be taken for efficient and urgent conservation. Photos: Angelica Crottini

The choice to study Madagascar's biodiversity was due to its richness of species, with a large number of animals, plants and fungi endemic to the region, that is, that do not exist anywhere else on the planet. The authors found that, of the 11.516 vascular plants and 1.316 terrestrial vertebrate species, 82% and 90%, respectively, are endemic to that area. “And some lineages are also exclusive to the island, so if we lose one species, we can lose a much larger lineage, an entire evolutionary history”, explains Thaís Guedes.

In the study, the authors highlight that, with the arrival of human groups in Madagascar, all of that nation's megafauna disappeared. At the same time, large portions of the current fauna and flora are at risk of extinction, which indicates the need to accelerate the pace of studies on the region's biota. The problem is that, unlike the case of vertebrates and vascular plants, there is a paucity of data on invertebrates and fungi, which means that it is not possible to know whether their diversity pattern is the same as that of better-known species or whether it is necessary greater attention to its conservation.

According to Guedes, the main innovation of the study, along with the large amount of information gathered, was the use of cutting-edge technologies for data analysis, such as machine learning, niche modeling and georeferencing analyses. “For example, machine learning has helped predict threats for groups that were not previously categorized,” he explains.

Another article provides a general review of the origin and evolution of the region's biota, quantifying and mapping the species
Another article provides a general review of the origin and evolution of the region's biota, quantifying and mapping the species. Photos: Bill Baker and Jan Hackel 

Similarities with Brazil

Madagascar is a small island of around 28 million inhabitants located on the southeast coast of the African continent, with a very poor population that depends on the use of its biodiversity for subsistence, such as hunting and logging. Because of this, the authors argue that it is necessary to rethink conservation actions in this location, claiming that it is unfeasible to protect this rich and unique biodiversity without including the population and their needs in this process.

“We provide some guidance in this regard in the second work, which is the article more focused on conservation. We argue that it is necessary to have environmental education, social inclusion, thinking about the population's role in fauna and flora and in forms of income, in reforestation. We suggest that the creation of new protected areas should not be the focus and that restoring forests outside conservation units can minimize the pressure on them”, comments Guedes, explaining that the expectation is that the results can serve as inspiration for other areas of the planet , especially those with conditions similar to Madagascar.

This is the example of Brazil, which, despite being much larger than the African country, experiences a similar situation in terms of biological diversity, species endemism and social problems that prevent or hinder the conservation of these areas. “We just followed COP-27, where we discussed climate change at a global level, and one of the focuses is protecting the world's tropical forests. Climate change comes for everyone, and protecting these forest areas will cause the temperature to decrease, carbon stocks, etc.”

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The Republic of Madagascar is losing its rich biodiversity at an accelerated rate and needs urgent science-based conservation action. Photos: Angelica Crottini 

Brazilian contribution

Thaís Guedes was invited to participate in the study on Madagascar's biodiversity by Brazilian biologist Alexandre Antonelli, who is scientific director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and supervised her during her postdoctoral studies at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. As the researcher works with biogeography and diversity analyzes using reptiles and amphibians, she mainly contributed to mapping diversity metrics and discussions on conservation, which took place virtually with researchers from the Institute in Madagascar.

For the researcher, this interaction brought a great deal of learning and exchange of experiences, as it made it possible to learn about the ways in which they deal with problems that are so similar to Brazilians. For her, it was an immense satisfaction to know that she is carrying out work of great relevance, with results published in a world-renowned journal, especially in the current scenario of Brazilian science. “After these last years of cuts in science and persecution of scientists, I, as a Brazilian woman, scientist, who has lived through all of this, see resistance as continuing to study biodiversity and continue working with research in my country”, she argues.

Read the articles published in Science magazine:

Madagascar's extraordinary biodiversity: Threats and opportunities

Madagascar's extraordinary biodiversity: Evolution, distribution, and use

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Audio description: montage with 6 photos of animals and plants arranged next to each other, starting from the left: small plant with lilac flowers; then, a close-up photo of a tree with branches similar to thick roots; in the next, a butterfly with yellow wings and brown spots that look like eyes, resting on wooden slats; in the other, close-up image of pink hibiscus; then brown lemur in field with dry leaves; in the last, white sifaka between tree leaves. Image 1 of 1

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