Lemurs are rainforest gardeners. By feeding on fruits and passing seeds in their feces, species of this highly-endangered primate group spread seeds throughout the forest. As Madagascar's primary seed dispersers, lemurs help sustain biodiversity and healthy plant communities throughout forest landscapes. Importantly, they can also encourage regeneration in disturbed habitats. However, some lemurs are more effective than others at promoting plant growth and survival. The effectiveness (quality and quantity) of seed dispersal interactions is highly variable and context-dependent. Seed dispersal effectiveness may depend on lemur species, plant species, and/or characteristics of both the lemurs and the plants. 

Deep in COMATSA (a community-managed protected area in northeastern Madagascar), our team has been searching for lemurs up and down steep mountain trails. Our goal is to better understand what characteristics influence the effect of lemur seed dispersal on plant germination. We are also eager to learn about what implications these effects have for forest regeneration. So, upon encountering a group of lemurs on the trail, we watch closely and cross our fingers for for a bowel movement. Luckily, after a morning of feasting on rotro seeds, the lemurs typically comply. Then, the search is on. Finding a fecal sample on the forest floor can be quite a challenge, but my teammates are diligent and skilled, and often return to camp victorious. 

Back at camp, we sort through samples and extract the seeds. After seed measurement and identification, we  place any seeds in Petri dishes, returning every few days to assess whether or not the seed has germinated. We conduct parallel germination experiments with control seeds (seeds directly from trees or the forest floor) so we can compare germination rates and times between lemur-passed and control seeds. We are also interested in determining if there are differences in germination rates of seeds passed by the two diurnal, primarily frugivoruous lemurs in the study site (Eulemur rubriventer and Eulemur albifrons), as well as differences across plant species and sizes. The lemur seed dispersal interactions are complex and fascinating. As an added bonus, we plant germinated seeds to aid in local reforestation efforts! 

While I am back at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, data collection is ongoing in Madagascar, led by Project Manager Zico Zandry and Assistant Project Manager Telesy Feno. Once the fieldwork is complete, we are all excited to analyze the data and add to the ever-deepening story of lemur rainforest gardeners. 

After 4 flights and several bumpy car rides, my team and I finally reached Ambodivoara village, a community in the SAVA region of Northeastern Madagascar. The journey from my doorstep in Durham, North Carolina to Ambodivoara was so long that it afforded me enough time to overcome any jet-lag. 
 
Climbing the steep trails to the campsite, I was surprised by the feeling of familiarity. It had been nine months since my last stint in COMATSA, a newly established (2015) protected area, yet I still recalled certain slippery log crossings and a particularly beautiful lychee grove. Four hours into the hike, I began to climb faster and faster, eager to reach the field site. 
 
The closer I moved towards camp, the more I realized that the landscape had indeed changed. I was prepared to see newly felled trees and altered stream water levels, so these changes did not surprise me. However, I did not expect to be greeted by large swaths of regenerating forests. All around camp, I was met with regrowth from previous clear-cutting for agriculture. The successional progress of this regenerating forest (savoka in Malagasy) was delightful. After not even a year, many new stems had already popped up. Although mostly early successional, shrubby species, these plants represented hope in a rapidly-changing landscape. 
 
In pervious field expeditions to COMATSA, my team and I diligently surveyed the primary forest. But what lives in the savoka? Might lemurs be dispersing seeds from the primary forest into the savoka, promoting regeneration of native species in disturbed habitats? With renewed motivation, we set out to establish botanical plots and two new lemur transects (a line where we conduct standardized data collection) in the savoko.
 
Establishing (“cutting”) the transects was a challenge. Wielding machetes, measuring tapes, flagging tape, and GPS devices, we set out into the regenerating forest. It’s a good thing that sweaty and covered in mud is my preferred state of being. I could do without the leech bites, but they are parr for the course in the savoka. 
 
Because cutting transects disturbs the forest, waited several days before collecting data on the new savoka transects. When the first survey day finally came, my stomach sank when we did not see any lemurs on our diurnal (during the day) survey. However, diurnal lemurs can be tricky to spot even in the primary forest; it wasn’t time to lose hope just yet. Even still, my nerves tingled as the nocturnal (nighttime survey) drew near. 
 
Lo and behold, our team encountered a nocturnal lemur (Goodman's mouse lemur) in the savoka that first night. The next night, we saw a different species of nocturnal lemur. As the days progressed, we identified four nocturnal lemur species and two diurnal lemur species in the savoka. Although early-successional forests are often thought of as “defaunated” (lacking animals), our research is showing that savoka can indeed provide habitat for threatened lemur species. These lemurs can assist forest regeneration and promote forest growth through ecological services such as seed dispersal. ​