Subsidient: Victor van Os/Wageningen University
Subsidie: S173.63

The Critically Endangered blue-eyed black lemur (Eulemur flavifrons) is endemic to a small area in northwestern Madagascar. To prevent this species from extinction in the wild, there is an urgent need to increase knowledge on its habitat requirements, because this would ultimately help to prioritize conservation sites. This study provides a habitat suitability assessment for E. flavifrons. I hypothesised that abundance of E. flavifrons would be positively influenced by (1) forest characteristics indicating lower human disturbance, and (2) a high food availability. In forest fragments on and near the Sahamalaza Peninsula, forest structural characteristics were measured in sample points on line-transects, and abundance of E. flavifrons was quantified using total count methods. Overall, human disturbance and food availability were found to be the most important determinants of abundance of blue-eyed black lemurs, confirming the hypotheses. The need to put a continuous effort in the study and conservation of the blue-eyed black lemur remains, because only then can the long-term survival of this species in the wild maybe be safeguarded.