Distribution and habitat selection of mongoose lemurs on Anjouan, Union des Comores

Eulemur mongoz is listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List due to habitat loss and hunting. It is one of two species of lemur that exists in the wild outside of Madagascar, also being found in the Comoros where it is thought to have been introduced by human agency. There has been no thorough status assessment of E. mongoz on the Comoros. While native forest habitat in Madagascar has been heavily fragmented by tavy, on the island of Anjouan in the Comoros, native forest has been converted to large areas of agroforestry plantation. This study investigated the distribution, occupancy and habitat selection of the species on the island of Anjouan.

Presence data were collected across the island in 2015-2016 from 20 transects, interviews, camera traps and opportunistic sightings. Vegetation data were collected within a 10m strip along transects. An ensemble forecasting approach was used to predict spatial distribution on the island. Habitat specific abundance was calculated using hierarchical binomial mixture models.

As an introduced and ecologically flexible species, we expect E.mongoz to occupy a broad habitat range and to be more abundant in areas of agroforestry and habitat containing a higher density of fruiting tree species.

Given that the species is critically endangered on Madagascar, a successful population on the Comoros could be an important genetic reservoir and potential source population for future translocations.