We are pleased to announce that fieldwork for the project ‘Examination of correlations between chameleons and plants in the Vohimana reserve’, led by Colin Ruffieux, has begun, a Masters student in biology at the University of Neuchâtel, has officially begun in Madagascar.
For three months, Colin will be exploring this exceptional reserve to understand a fascinating behaviour of chameleons: the choice of their nocturnal perches. These reptiles have to choose their resting place carefully, as a good perch offers them both protection from predators and a solid hold in which to spend the night. The main aim of this study is to determine whether these choices are influenced by the degree of degradation of the surrounding forest.
Accompanied by experienced local guides, Colin is working each evening in the field to :
Identify and locate chameleons in different types of forest (intact and degraded).
Document the characteristics of the roosts (height, type of plant, density of vegetation).
Analyse the data to understand how these behaviours evolve in response to environmental change.
This project, supported by the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle - Zoo de Paris, the NGO L'Homme et l'Environnement, and the Faculty of Sciences at the University of Neuchâtel, aims to gain a better understanding of the ecology of these fascinating reptiles and provide recommendations for their conservation in changing ecosystems.
A huge thank you to our partners for their support, and to the local guides for their invaluable expertise! We look forward to sharing with you the exciting discoveries made during this adventure.
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