The synanthropic molossid bat, Mops leucostigma (Allen 1918), is widely distributed across Madagascar and has recently been described from the Comoros. M. leucostigma individuals from eastern Malagasy populations are markedly larger than those from the west, and Mops leucostigma populations from Madagascar are morphologically distinct from populations of its putative sister species, Mops condylurus from mainland Africa (Ratrimomanarivo et al. in press, Genetic diversity was assessed by sequencing the mitochondrial cytochrome b (n = 56) and displacement loop (D-loop) (n = 64) regions of Mops leucostigma individuals from a broad range of locations across Madagascar, and Mohéli and Anjouan in the Comoros. Specimens of Mops condylurus (n =3), Mops midas (n =3) and Otomops martiensseni (n = 1) were included in the study for comparative purposes as outgroups. Phenetic and cladistic analysis of cytochrome b and D-loop sequences strongly supported the reciprocally-monophyletic status of Mops condylurus and M. leucostigma. Comorian (Mohéli and Anjouan) and Malagasy M. leucostigma samples formed a monophyletic Mops leucostigma group, within which Comorian samples formed a poorly-supported subclade in the cytochrome b analysis only. Cytochrome b genetic distances of 13.8 % separated M. midas from M. condylurus and M. leucostigma, which formed reciprocally-monophyletic sister groups separated by genetic distances of 2.5 % for cytochrome b and 13 % for the D-loop. 49 M. leucostigma cytochrome b sequences yielded seven haplotypes, two of which were exclusive to the Comoros. D-loop haplotype analysis did not support the distinctiveness of the Comorian samples. Genetic distances within M. leucostigma samples were low (0.22 % for cytochrome b and 1.91 % for the D-loop). Comorian samples were found to be genetically attributable to M. leucostigma. Clear phylogenetic separation between M. condylurus and M. leucostigma was found in all analyses, consistent with their status as phylogenetic species within the genus Mops. There was no clear correlation between haplotype distribution and aspect (east/west-facing slopes), elevation or gender. Low mtDNA variation (cytochrome b and D-loop) and lack of phylogeographic concordance indicates that the observed morphometric variation between eastern and western Mops leucostigma populations may possibly be explained in terms of adaptation to local environmental conditions. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-Univeristy of KwaZulu-Natal, 2008.

<p>The objective of this research was to investigate the relationships between the political change and the access policy changes in Madagascar since independence. In this study qualitative and quantitative data were used. The qualitative research consisted of eleven in-depth interviews and the collection of policy documents from 1960 to 2008. Open-ended questionnaires were utilized to collect data and to achieve the objectives of the research. Policy documents were analyzed to identify government policy changes. The main findings from the research showed that access policy changed with each major change in political leadership. Four major political periods and four respective main access policy changes were identified from 1960 to 2008. Higher education policy in general changed when there was a major change in presidential leadership. The main conclusions of this study were that access policy changes were the result of major changes in presidential leadership and that in spite of rhetoric to the contrary, universities did not have the autonomy to resist changes in access policy because of the top-down state system and the institutional financial dependence on the national government.</p>

This study uncovers the underpinnings of a Malagasy Lutheran oral theology of homiletics. Using original sermons collected in the field from a cross section of Lutheran preachers and places in Madagascar this study is anchored in contextual materials. To the close readings of these materials the author brings anthropological, textual and Biblical exegetical methodologies for their analysis. Making the distinction between oral and literate composition and cultures, using the theories of Werner Kelber, Walter Ong, Eric Havelock, et al., the author demonstrates the oral structure of the socio-intellectual milieu of Malagasy society. In order to display this mindset in Malagasy theological thinking, this study sets the Malagasy exegesis of the Longer Ending of Mark’s Gospel against the horizon of Kebler’s theory regarding the written gospel as a “parable of absence” in the main body of the Gospel of Mark. This study makes manifest the Malagasy theology of presence, an oral theology. Framing his research with the Fifohazana (Revival) movement, the author briefly surveys the history of Christian missions in Madagascar. This history serves to demonstrate Western missionary literate culture and theology entering into dialogue with the oral culture of Madagascar and the subsequent indigenization of Christianity in the Fifohazana movement. This Fifohazana serves as a paradigm of the Malagasy homiletic and oral theology. Key leading figures of this movement, Rainisoalambo and Volahavana Germaine (Nenilava) are discussed. Extensive appendices of original Malgasy material, while not forming part of the body of the thesis, are provided for reference. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2010.

At least half of the world’s primate species are currently threatened with extinction. Slow life histories combined with rapid habitat loss and hunting in recent years has heightened the extinction risk for many species, including the two largest extant lemurs, the diademed sifaka (Propithecus diadema) and the indri (Indri indri). Both species belong to the taxonomic family Indriidae, have similar adult weights, and occur in sympatry in certain areas of the montane rainforests of eastern Madagascar. Both species are adapted for folivory however I. indri spend considerably more time feeding on leaves than do P. diadema resulting in several energy-saving adaptations in I.indri. In this dissertation, I explore infant development and maternal strategies of these critically endangered primates with the goal of increasing our knowledge of reproduction and ontogeny in both species. Although previous studies have elucidated key differences in adult behaviour, there is a dearth of information on infants and lactating females in either of these two species. Between June and December of 2011 and 2012, I collected continuous time focal animal data, in Maromizaha forest, to examine behavioural patterns of 12 infants and their mothers from 0 – 33 weeks. In addition, I developed a framework to define and quantify the weaning process and facilitate comparisons across different species and studies. P. diadema infants developed feeding competency and independent locomotion faster than did I. indri infants however both species were consistently feeding independently more than they were suckling by week 20. The process of feeding ontogeny in I. indri was likely accelerated by coprophagy, as all infants of this species consumed their mother’s feces regularly from 10 – 15 weeks old. Lactating females of both species spent more time feeding in mid-lactation when maternal investment was the highest. The prolonged inter-birth interval in I. indri is suggested as another adaptation that reduces energetic expenditures. In addition, the protracted period of close contact with their mother may offer infant I. indri more time for social learning of the mother’s diet and the group song and for developing competency in vertical clinging and leaping without a tail for balance and support. / Graduate

The shift from management and governance of ecosystems to relational complex adaptive social-ecological systems (SES) emphasizes a dynamic and integrated humans-in-nature perspective. Such a shift also needs to investigate how diversity and differences in cultures and morals relate to the existence of SES. The papers of this thesis relate these dimensions to SES resilience theory. Paper I analyzes cultural and landscape ecological aspects of trees and tree planting in Androy, Madagascar. Culturally, planting trees serves as a symbol of renewal, purification, agreement and boundary-making. Ecologically, planting trees contributes to the generation of ecosystem services in an otherwise fragmented landscape. Paper II tests the role of forest patches for generating pollination services to local beans that constitute an important protein staple in Androy. The results indicate a significant effect of insect pollination on bean yields and a strong spatial pattern of locating bean plots closer to forests than expected by chance, improving rural food security. Paper III addresses the adaptive capacity of the indigenous forest management in Androy with regard to religious and climatic drivers of change. Paper IV is concerned with cultural analysis of the robustness of provisioning ecosystem services in Androy and the interdependence of morality, cultural practices and generated ecosystem services. Paper V explores how social-ecological memory (SEM) can be seen both as a source of inertia and path dependence and a source of adaptive capacity for renewal and reorganization in the emerging theory about social-ecological systems. Paper VI analyses the film Avatar and discusses ethical–epistemic obligations of researchers as cross-scale knowledge brokers in emerging forms of global environmental politics. The thesis has interdependencies between the social and the ecological and shown that cultural and moral analyses bring important insights and challenges to resilience thinking. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 2: Submitted. Paper 3: Manuscript. Paper 5: Submitted. Paper 6: In press.</p>

A Madagascar, un programme de sélection sur les eucalyptus est conduit à l'aide de vergers à graines, en pollinisation libre qui constituent les populations d'amélioration. L'obtention de gains génétiques et le maintien de la diversité génétique sont réalisés si la reproduction tend vers le modèle panmictique. Or, le faible niveau de domestication des essences forestières et les conditions environnementales conduisent à une variabilité phénotypique importante ayant des conséquences probables sur la phénologie. Dans un premier temps, notre approche est basée sur la caractérisation biologique d'un verger de 349 Eucalyptus grandis. Ensuite, il s'agit d'effectuer, sur un échantillon de 724 descendants récoltés sur 30 géniteurs, une analyse de paternité basée sur 6 marqueurs microsatellites. Nous en déduisons les conséquences sur la variabilité génétique et la croissance des descendants. En première approche, les résultats confirment les inquiétudes que nous avions quant à la panmixie et à l'équi-participation des géniteurs. Le taux de pollution pollinique atteint 39% et les contributions des géniteurs au nuage pollinique diffèrent de leur effectif dans le verger. En revanche, plus de 50% d'entre eux y ont participé et nous n'avons pas observé d'effet de voisinage sur la pollinisation. Le taux moyen d'allogamie est de 97% et les croisements entre demi-frères représentent 3,5% des recombinaisons. Seule la croissance des descendants issus d'autofécondation est significativement affectée par les effets de la dépression consanguine. En dépit du taux de contamination, nous pouvons estimer que le brassage génétique, confirmé par le maintien de la variabilité allélique et le faible taux d'autofécondation, correspond à ce qui est attendu sous l'hypothèse de la panmixie. Néanmoins, certaines recommandations sont proposées pour atteindre les objectifs multiples attribués aux vergers à graines et pour limiter la contamination pollinique.

Habitat fragmentation potentiates biodiversity loss worldwide. Species preservation requires an integrated understanding of wildlife-habitat relationships; however, responses to habitat fragmentation may vary considerably as a function of the species ecological flexibility and the unique attributes of each fragment habitat. In this dissertation, I explore the behavioural and health ecology of an ecologically flexible primate, the ringtailed lemur (Lemur catta), occupying forest fragments in south-central Madagascar that differ in isolation, degree of anthropogenic pressure, and L. catta food resource structure. Anja Special Reserve is a 34 ha rocky-outcrop forest fragment that is highly isolated from other forests containing L. catta. L. catta in this reserve have access to abundant food and water resources year-round due to the introduction of non-native fruit trees and the construction of an artificial lake adjacent the reserve, which support a population density of L. catta (6.6 lemurs/ha) that is higher than at any other site in which the species has been studied. In comparison, the Tsaranoro Valley forest is a 53 ha rocky-outcrop forest fragment that is surrounded by a matrix of grassy savannah and a few anthropogenic crops. While land clearing is pronounced in the valley, a few fragments remain within range for L. catta dispersal. L. catta in this fragment have limited access to introduced or anthropogenic resources and the population density (1.13 lemurs/ha) is one-sixth that at Anja. During the late dry season of 2010 and mid- to late-wet season of 2011, I collected continuous time focal animal data to examine behavioural patterns related to habitat use (ranging, matrix use, terrestriality), activity budgets, and feeding ecology of L. catta in each fragment. In addition, I examined two health parameters, stress and endoparasitism, through the collection of fecal samples from focal individuals. I compared these variables between and within populations to examine the potential impacts of habitat fragmentation on an ecologically adaptable primate. L. catta at Anja depended on smaller home range areas and a focused diet consisting largely of introduced food resources, and correspondingly exhibited lower energy expenditure, while spending more time engaging in rest and social acitivities when compared with the Tsaranoro lemurs. In comparison, L. catta at Tsaranoro occupied large home ranges, traveled greater distances to forage in the matrix habitat surrounding the fragment, and exhibited a more broad-based dietary strategy that contained few introduced or anthropogenic resources. From a health perspective, L. catta at Anja exhibited higher stress levels throughout the study period, while L. catta at Tsaranoro exhibited a greater prevalence of endoparasites, which may be reflective of differences in the social pressures and ranging patterns of L. catta between the two fragments, respectively. These results illustrate differences in the quality of the habitats and the potential fitness consequences that the L. catta populations must cope with, with important implications regarding the long-term suitability of these fragments for sustaining these populations. Such information is integral when assessing the viability of wildlife populations in degraded landscapes and should be a primary consideration for wildlife managers in biodiversity conservation. / Graduate / 0327 / 0329 / denisegabrie@gmail.com

Diss. Uppsala : Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet, 2004.

Thesis (M.E.S.)--York University, 2005. Graduate Programme in Environmental Studies. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 225-228). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=0&did=1216719341&SrchMode=1&sid=11&Fmt=2&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1195054593&clientId=5220

Th. 3e cycle--Paris--INALCO, 1988.