Abstract:
There are two possible approaches to
understanding natural and human-induced changes in the primate
communities of Madagascar. One is to begin with present-day and
recent historic interactions, and work backwards. A second is to
begin with paleoecological records of Malagasy primate communities
before and immediately following human arrival, and the associated
evidence of human and nonhuman primate interactions, and work
forwards.
On the basis of
biological and climatic studies, as well as historic and
ethnohistoric records, we are beginning to understand the abiotic
and biotic characteristics of Madagascar's habitats, the lemurs’
ecological adaptations to these unique habitats, the extent of
forest loss, fragmentation and hunting, and the differential
vulnerability of extant lemur species to these pressures. On the
basis of integrated paleoecological, archaeological, and
paleontological research, we have begun to construct a detailed
chronology for late prehistoric Madagascar. We are beginning to
understand the complex sequence of events that led to one of the
most dramatic of recent megafaunal extinction/extirpation events.
Combining the
perspectives of the past and the present, we see a complex set of
interactions affecting an initially rich but vulnerable fauna. The
total evidence refutes any simple, unicausal (e.g., hunting /
habitat destruction / climate change) explanation of megafaunal
extinctions, yet unequivocally supports a major role - both direct
and indirect - for humans as the trigger of the extinction
process. It also supports a change over time in the relative
importance of hunting vs. habitat loss, and in the trophic
characteristics of the primate communities in Madagascar.