Summary
within at least one protected area. As a result, further investigations are
being conducted to search for species of concern off-site in the period
before construction. Until evidence has been gathered that confirms the
existence of populations outside the immediate mine area, each species
will be retained on the list and they will be subject to focused species-
level conservation programs.
Faunal species of concern in the mine area include local and regional
endemics, rare species and species restricted for trade under CITES.
Five amphibian and reptile species are regionally endemic and cause for
conservation concern. Three of these species are not currently officially
classified. Two species are new to science and have been found only in
the Ambatovy area. As in the case of flora, while discovery of individuals
of these species outside the project area is likely, they must be
considered locally endemic to the project area until found elsewhere. Six
of the species observed in the mine area are listed by IUCN and
21 species are listed by CITES.
The most significant bird species was observed outside of the immediate
mine area in the Torotorofotsy Wetlands. This species is the endemic
slender-billed flufftail, which is only known from one other location in
Madagascar and is facing severe habitat loss. Studies for this project
have added greatly to the understanding of the biology of this species.
Marsh habitat is severely threatened in Madagascar due to conversion of
marsh into irrigated rice. Fifteen of the bird species observed in the mine
area are listed by IUCN and 16 species are listed by CITES.
The slender-billed flufftail
For mammals, nine lemur species were found in the mine area. All
lemurs are endemic to Madagascar and seven of the nine lemur species
observed are listed by IUCN. All lemur species are listed in Appendix I
of CITES. One of the small mammal species, a shrew tenrec, may
represent a new species. Two species identified during the surveys are
IUCN listed but none is listed by CITES. Six bat species and one genus
were detected during the bat survey, with one species listed by IUCN.
None of the bat species detected is listed by CITES.
An indri
For insects, an important discovery was the observation of colonies of
the
Pilotrochus
ant near Ambatovy. This endemic genus has not been
observed since 1975 near Moramanga, despite widespread surveys.
The discovery in the Ambatovy area suggests that
Pilotrochus
is locally
endemic. In addition, one ant species is IUCN listed as vulnerable, but
none is listed by CITES. The detection of the rare
Hovala
2 is the most
significant butterfly observation. There are less than 10 known
specimens of this undescribed
Hovala
, which appears localised to the
Analamazaotra region. The IUCN vulnerable species,
Papilio mangoura
,
a swallowtail butterfly, was recorded although this has not yet been
confirmed from detailed taxonomic analysis. No butterfly species is
listed by CITES.
January 2006
Ambatovy Project — 8
