ABSTRACT

This chapter examines the impact of an extensive fire on nonflying small mammals in a montane sclerophyllous forest at 1960-m elevation and compare these results to an unburned control site at the same elevation. It investigates how animal composition, distribution, and population dynamics are linked to types of disturbance. One of the classical explanations for the Holocene extinction of nearly 20 species of large mammals, birds, and reptiles on Madagascar is, in part, human-induced fires and associated modifications of the natural environment. In certain regions of the island, particularly the high-mountain zones, fire is a natural aspect of the environment. The natural vegetation of our study site, with a western exposure, is upper-montane sclerophyllous forest with year-round leaf cover. Lichens and bryophytes are abundant on the ground or as epiphytes. An attempt was made to correlate certain parameters of small-mammal relative density and diversity with the regeneration of the local plant communities, based on monitored survey plots.