In south-eastern Madagascar, patches of forest that were once cut down to make way for farms are slowly naturally regenerating after being left to lie fallow. But recovering a native forest needs more than just gaining tree cover. The animals that once lived in these forests also need to make their way back so that the forest can function the way it used to.
When these native animals try to return, however, they often find that the forest has been taken over by invasive species they’ve never encountered before.
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I am part of a group of interdisciplinary biologists from Canadian, American and British universities who are working with students from the University of Antananarivo in Madagascar to study how forests there regenerate. For the past two years, we’ve studied the forest in and around Ranomafana National Park, in south-eastern Madagascar. This park is home to 12 species of the country’s famous lemurs.
