Trends in forest fragment research in Madagascar: Documented responses by lemurs and other taxa.

The rise in research investigating fragmentation and its impact on primates and other taxa reflects the growing presence of fragmented landscapes themselves. Although numerous studies report the negative effects of fragmentation on biodiversity, it is difficult to generalize responses to fragmentation for specific taxonomic groups, such as non-human primates, when studies have not employed a definitive concept of fragmentation or fragments themselves. Madagascar's high degree of fragmentation, wealth of endemic taxa, and extensive history of ecological research provide the opportunity to compare fragmentation studies across similar contexts. We conducted a literature search of peer-reviewed articles on fragmentation in Madagascar to characterize its trends. A total of 70 articles, 46 of which concentrated on lemurs, tested the impacts of fragmentation on Malagasy taxa, while additional sources conducted research in one or more fragments without testing its effects (n = 112 total, 79 on lemurs). Studies on lemurs most frequently tested fragmentation's impacts on genetics and biodiversity metrics (n = 16 and 15 studies, respectively), although health, modeling, behavioral, and cross-disciplinary techniques were also reported. Responses to fragmentation were reported for 49 lemur species, with most studies concentrated in eastern Madagascar (87%). Although there was variation in the metrics reported in studies testing the effects of fragmentation on Malagasy species, the most common measures were fragment area, isolation, or comparison to a control site. Landscape-scale approaches and examination of fragmentation per se were rarely employed. Characterizing trends of fragmentation research in Madagascar emphasizes the challenges of documenting fragmentation's effects while highlighting the benefits of research within fragmented landscapes, particularly when combined with consideration for how the matrix within human-modified landscapes may impact primate populations.

Are we making the grade? Practices and reported efficacy measures of primate conservation education programs.

Conservation education is often employed alongside primate conservation efforts with the aim of changing knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors toward non-human primates. Recommended best-use practices include longevity, use of program incentives, collaboration among educators, and adaptive program assessment, among others. This study surveys primate conservation education programs (PCEPs) to assess the frequency of suggested best-use practices, and to investigate impacts on program efficacy. Online surveys were collected from PCEPs in 2013-2014 (N = 43). The majority of programs reported lengths of 5-10 years, with participant involvement ranging widely from a day to several years. Non-economic and economic incentives were distributed by approximately half of all programs, with programs that provided economic incentives reporting positive participant attitude changes more frequently than those that did not (P = 0.03). While >70% of PCEPs consulted with community leaders, local teachers, and research scientists, only 45.9% collaborated with other conservation educators and only 27% collaborated with cultural experts such as cultural anthropologists. Programs that collaborated with other conservation educators were more likely to report reductions in threats to primates, specifically to bushmeat hunting and capture of primates for the pet trade (P = 0.07). Formal program evaluations were employed by 72.1% of all programs, with the majority of programs using surveys to assess changes to participant attitudes and knowledge. Formal evaluations of participant behavior, community attitudes and behaviors, and threats to primate populations were less common. While results indicate that PCEPs follow many suggested best-use practices, program impacts may be enhanced by greater discussion of economic incentivization, increased collaboration between conservation educators, and improved commitment to adaptive evaluation of changes to behaviors in addition to attitudes and knowledge.