A shared landscape: spatial and temporal patterns in livestock and dog presence within a protected tropical dry forest lemur habitat

Habitat degradation is a threat to primate species worldwide with agricultural practices chief among these. Livestock play prominent historical, economic, cultural and social roles in Madagascar, a biodiversity hotspot where one-fifth of the world's primates are endemic. In the arid regions of Madagascar, livestock and lemurs occupy the same forest habitats and understanding their co-existence is a conservation priority; however, lack of knowledge of livestock spatial and temporal movements in shared habitats limits our ability to manage impacts. This study aimed to detect livestock presence and characterize spatial and temporal patterns of livestock occurrence inside Beza Mahafaly Special Reserve. We analyzed five autonomous recording units with recording from one minute every 30 minutes in two forest types and protection zones (inside and outside fenced Parcel I) for one year. To gain a broader understanding of the potential impacts of livestock, we also looked at chopping sounds as a proxy for fodder collection and vocalizations of dogs that often accompany herders. We found that livestock were present in forests most often at dawn and dusk, suggesting a pattern of movements along well-traveled routes. Both livestock and chopping occurrences were greater outside of Parcel I, suggesting the fence may provide additional forest protection, but some nocturnal livestock activity was detected in Parcel I gallery forests. Livestock occurrence peaked in the wet season, but chopping was higher in the dry season (and in gallery forests) indicating herders may be supplementing livestock diets with fodder in the lean season. The presence of dog vocalizations were not consistent with livestock patterns of occurrence; instead, the dogs, an introduced predator, seemed to be free-roaming the reserve at night, which could pose a threat to the lemurs there. Our findings demonstrate that passive acoustic monitoring is an effective method of monitoring livestock related activities in protected areas.