Distribution of the forest nocturnal reptiles of Anjouan Island, their main habitats significances and conservation status

Paper Details

Research Paper 01/07/2016
Views (434) Download (29)
current_issue_feature_image
publication_file

Distribution of the forest nocturnal reptiles of Anjouan Island, their main habitats significances and conservation status

Ali Mohamed El-Yamine, Hamada Chakira, Nadjim Ahmed Mohamed, Ouledi Ahmed, Anllaoudine Abou, Cheng Xiao Hu, Hantanirina Rasamimanana
J. Bio. Env. Sci.9( 1), 159-176, July 2016.
Certificate: JBES 2016 [Generate Certificate]

Abstract

Comoros contains a unique diverse fauna and flora such terrestrial as marine. One of the 4 islands of the archipelago, Anjouan has fragmented forests surely inhabited by endemic animals and plants. The preliminary information from diverse authors on the reptilian biology and ecology is spread away. The data on the nocturnal reptiles’ distribution and habitats are rare because the studies done on them are not published. So, to determine the features, the distribution, the density, and the conservation status of the nocturnal reptiles of Anjouan Island, field researches have been conducted there from March to June 2011 in 17 sites. By means of different methods such as method of transect surveyed and point mark of the reptile location with GPS in the forests, the following results are obtained. One hundred and fifty eight individuals of nocturnal reptiles have been identified. They belong to 2 families and 5 genuses. One species of one genus belongs to one family Colubridae which is Lycodryas sanctijohannis. And all 4 remaining genus belong to the family of Gekkonidae with 6 species which are Hemidactylus platycephalus, H. mercatorius, H. brooki, Geckolepis maculata, Paroedura sanctijohannis and Ebenavia inunguis. They are nocturnal, cathemeral and diurnal. They are distributed all over the 17 sites in a heterogeneous way, dwelling in different altitudes and habitats. On the 21 indigenous Comorian reptiles, 6 unknown species and 8 identified ones have been found in Anjouan. Among these last only 2 are endemic in the Comoros. Nocturnal Comorian reptiles are threaten by deforestation.

VIEWS 8

Abdourabi F, Beudard F, Niccol M, Mindriri M. 2009. Plan d’Aménagementet de Gestion du Parc Marin de Mohéli. Report, Parc Marin de Mohéli, Nioumachoi, Mohéli, Union des Comores, 90p.

Adjanohoun E, Ake Assi L, Ahmed A, Eyme J, Guinko S, Kayonga A, Keita A, Lebras M. 1982a. Traditional medecine and pharmacopoeia: contribution to ethnobotanical and floristic studies in the Comoro Islands. In, ACC, Paris 217p.

Adjanohoun E, Ake Assi L, Ahmed A, Eyme J, Guinko S, Kayonga A, Keita A, Lebras M. 1982b. Medecine traditionnelle et pharmacopée: contribution aux etudes ethnobotaniques et floristiques aux Comores Paris: 511 p.

Altmann J. 1974. Observational study of behavior: sampling methods. Behaviour 49, 227-266.

Andiliyat MA. 2007. Étude écologique de la forêt du mont Karthala (grande-Comore): ethnobotanique, typologie, régénération naturelle, évolution spatio-temporelle et zonation potentielle en site de conservation. Diplôme d’Etudes Approfondies, Thesis, Université d’Antananarivo, Antananarivo, 89p.

Anllaoudine AH. 2009. Caractérisation écologique des espèces végétales les plus utilisées et de leurs habitats sur la partie nord du massif de la grille ((grande Comore)) ((inventaire- ethnobotanique- écologie et cartographie)). Diplôme d’Etudes Approfondies, Thesis, Université d’Antananarivo, Antananarivo 70p.

Arnold EN, Poinar G. 2008. A 100 million year old gecko with sophisticated adhesive toe pads, preserved in amber from Myanmar. Zootaxa 1847, 62-68.

Battistini R, Vérin P. 1984. Géographie des Comores. Agence de coopération culturelle et technique: Nathan 96, No. 533, 135-135 pp.

Beudard F. 2003. Contribution à l’étude des herbiers à phanérogames marines du Parc Marin de Mohéli (Archipel des Comores). Métrise Thesis, Université de la Réunion, CREGUR,la Réunion 75p.

Beudard F. 2005. Structure et production primaire des herbiers à phanérogames marines : impact des facteurs environnementaux et de l’herbivore à Itsamia (Mohéli- Archipel des Comores). Metrise Thesis, Université de La Rochelle, La Reunion 61p.

Boulenger G. 1893. Concluding report on the reptiles and batrachians obtained in Burma by Signor L. Fea, dealing with the collection made in Pegu and the Karin Hills in 1887-88. Annali del Museo civico di storia naturale di Genova 13, 304-347.

Boulenger GA. 1885. Catalogue of the lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). order of the Trustees 2, 554p.

Boulenger GA. 1887. An Account of the Fishes obtained by Surgeon‐Major ASG Jayakar at Muscat, East Coast of Arabia. In, Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, Wiley Online Library 55, 653-667.

Boulenger GA. 1896. Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). order of the Trustees 3, 313-314.

Carranza S, Arnold EN, Mateo J, López-Jurado L. 2000. Long-distance colonization and radiation in gekkonid lizards, Tarentola (Reptilia: Gekkonidae), revealed by mitochondrial DNA sequences. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences 267, 637-649.

Carretero MA, Harris DJ. 2005. Recent observations of reptiles in the Comoro islands (Western Indian Ocean). Herpetological bulletin 19-28.

Censky EJ, Hodge K, Dudley J. 1998. Over-water dispersal of lizards due to hurricanes. Nature 395, 556-556.

Chakira H, El-yamine AM, Luca CP, Ouledi A, Wagan TA, Juma M, Hua HX, He YP, Belletto B. 2015. the butterflies of Nguazidja and their main habitats significances. Journal of Biodiversity and Environment Sciences 7, 127-140.

Cody ML. 1974. Competition and the structure of bird communities. Princeton University Press 7, 173.

Cole NC, Jones CG, Harris S. 2005. The need for enemy-free space: the impact of an invasive gecko on island endemics. Biological Conservation 125, 467-474.

Dorcas ORP, Schumacher J. 2002. Biology and Diseases of Reptiles. In Laboratory Animal Medicine, Elsevier Science 167, 93-90.

Douzery EJ, Pridgeon AM, Kores P, Linder H, Kurzweil H, Chase MW. 1999. Molecular phylogenetics of Diseae (Orchidaceae): a contribution from nuclear ribosomal ITS sequences. American Journal of Botany 86, 887-899.

Droissart V, Lowry PP, Bosser J, Roberts DL, Stévart T. 2010. Correcting confusion regarding the identity, circumscription and synonymy of Angraecum gracile Thouars (Orchidaceae). Taxon 1578-1580.

Dyer O. 1995. Crocodiles help to develop artificial blood. British Medical Journal 310, 211-211.

El-yamine AM. 2012. etudes de la distribution et de l’habitat des reptiles nocturnes d’Anjouan-Comores, Master thesis, University of Comoros, Moroni, Comores 69p.

Emerick C, Duncan R. 1982. Age progressive volcanism in the Comores Archipelago, western Indian Ocean and implications for Somali plate tectonics. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 60, 415-428.

Ergo A, De Halleux B. 1984. Catalogue mondial des données climatiques moyennes. Centre d’Informatique Appliquée au Développement et á l’Agriculture Tropicale.Tervuren : Center of Instructional Design and Academic Technology, L’Afrique 2, fasc, 6 micr of.

Fischer GA, Gravendeel B, Sieder A, Andriantiana J, Heiselmayer P, Cribb PJ, de Camargo Smidt E, Samuel R, Kiehn M. 2007. Evolution of resupination in Malagasy species of Bulbophyllum (Orchidaceae). Molecular phylogenetics and evolution 45, 358-376.

Glaw F, Vences M, Schmidt K. 2001. A new species of Paroedura Giinther from northern Madagascar (Reptilia, Squamata, Gekkonidae). Zootaxa 14, 52-63.

Glaw F, Vences M. 2007. A fieldguide to the amphibians and reptiles of Madagascar.Journal of Natural History 37p.

Glöer P, Meier-Brook C, Ostermann O. 1980. Süsswassermollusken. Dt. Jugendbund für Naturbeobachtung 73p.

Greenbaum E, Bauer AM, Jackman TR, Vences M, Glaw F. 2007. A phylogeny of the enigmatic Madagascan geckos of the genus Uroplatus (Squamata: Gekkonidae). Zootaxa 1493, 41-51.

Günther A. 1879a. 6. List of the Mammals, Reptiles, and Batrachians sent by Mr. Everett from the Philippine Islands. In, Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, Wiley Online Library 47, 74-79.

Günther A. 1879b. XXVI.—On mammals and reptiles from Johanna, Comoro Islands. Journal of Natural History 3, 215-219.

Hawlitschek O, Glaw F. 2013. The complex colonization history of nocturnal geckos (Paroedura) in the Comoros Archipelago. Zoologica Scripta, The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters 42, 135–150.

Hawlitschek O, Nagy ZT, Glaw F. 2012. Island Evolution and Systematic Revision of Comoran Snakes: Why and When Subspecies Still Make Sense. PLoS ONE 7.8, 19p.

Hawlitschek O. 2008. Reptiles and amphibians of the Comoro islands. Unpublished Diploma Thesis, University of Munich, Munich, Germany 98p.

Hermans J, Bosser J. 2003. A new species of Aeranthes (Orchidaceae) from the Comoro Islands. Adansonia 25, 215-217.

Hervouet JM, Descourvières P, Fienena FR, Ranaivo J. 2014. Two new species of the genus Benthamia A. Rich. (Orchidaceae) from Madagascar, B. boiteaui Hervouet, sp. nov. and B. bosseri Hervouet, sp. nov. Adansonia 36, 209-219.

Huey RB. 1982. Temperature, physiology, and the ecology of reptiles: Biology of the Reptilia.Book section of University of Washington, Seattle, U.S.A, Citeseer 25-91.

IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC). 2001. IUCN red list categories and criteria: version 3.1.

Jackman TR, Bauer AM, Greenbaum E, Glaw F, Vences M. 2008. Molecular phylogenetic relationships among species of the Malagasy-Comoran gecko genus Paroedura (Squamata: Gekkonidae). Molecular phylogenetics and evolution 46, 74-81.

Keith P, Marquet G, Valade P, Bosc P, Vigneux E. 2006. Atlas des poissons et des crustacés d’eau douce des Comores, Mascareignes et Seychelles. Collection Patrimoines naturels 65, 228-233.

Köhler A, Dos Santos D. Beljonne D, Shuai Z. Brédas JL, Holmes A, Kraus A, Müllen K, Friend R. 1998. Charge separation in localized and delocalized electronic states in polymeric semiconductors. Nature 392, 903-906.

la Croix I, Bosser J, Cribb PJ. 2002. The genus Disperis (Orchidaceae) in Madagascar, the Comores, the Mascarenes and the Seychelles. Adansonia 24, 55-87.

Lévêque C, Mounolou J. 2001. Biodiversité. Dynamique biologique et conservation, Dunod. Book, In Univer Sciences, Paris 274p.

Losos JB. 1992. The evolution of convergent structure in Caribbean Anolis communities. Systematic Biology 41, 403-420.

Losos JB. 1994. Integrative approaches to evolutionary ecology: Anolis lizards as model systems. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 467-493.

Losos JB. 1996. Phylogenetic perspectives on community ecology. Ecology 1344-1354.

Louette M, Abderemane H, Yahaya I, D Meirte. 2008. Atlas des oiseaux nicheurs de la Grande Comore, de Mohéli et d ‘Anjouan. Studies in Afrotropical Zoology 294, 1-240.

Louette M, Jocque R, Meirte D, Cousin J. 1999. [The terrestrial fauna of the island of Mayotte [Comores]]. Annales-Musee Royal de l’Afrique Centrale. Sciences Zoologiques (Belgium) 284, 247p.

Louette M, Meirte D, Jocqué R. 2004. La faune terrestre de l’archipel des Comores. Musée royal de l’Afrique centrale 65-87.

Manley GA. 1970. Comparative studies of auditory physiology in reptiles. Journal of Comparative Physiology A: Neuroethology, Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology 67, 363-381.

Martins M, Oliveira M. 1993. The snakes of the genus Atractus Wagler (Reptilia: Squamata: Colubridae) from the Manaus region, central Amazonia, Brazil. Zoologische Mededelingen 67, 21-40.

Martos F, Dulormne M, Pailler T, Bonfante P, Faccio A, Fournel J, Dubois MP, Selosse MA. 2009. Independent recruitment of saprotrophic fungi as mycorrhizal partners by tropical achlorophyllous orchids. New Phytologist 184, 668-681.

Meier H. 1986. Der Formenkreis von Phelsuma v-nigra (Boettger, 1913)(Sauria; Gekkonidae) auf den Komoren: Beschreibung Von zwei neuen Unterarten. Salamandra 22, 11-20.

Meier J, Theakston R. 1986. Approximate LD 50 determinations of snake venoms using eight to ten experimental animals. Toxicon 24, 395-401.

Meirte D. 1992. Cles de determination des serpents d’Afrique. Annales-Musee Royal de l’Afrique Centrale-Sciences Zoologiques (Belgium). Annalen-Koninklijk Museum voor Midden-Afrika-Zoologische Wetenschappen 267p.

Meirte D. 1993. New records of Leioheterodon madagascariensis (Reptilia: Colubridae) from the Comoros. The Journal of the Herpetological Association of Africa 42, 21-23.

Meirte D. 2004. Reptiles. La Faune Terrestre de l’Archipel des Comores. Studies in Afrotropical Zoology 199-220.

Micheneau C, Carlsward BS, Fay MF, Bytebier B, Pailler T, Chase MW. 2008. Phylogenetics and biogeography of Mascarene angraecoid orchids (Vandeae, Orchidaceae). Molecular phylogenetics and evolution 46, 908-922.

Ministère du Développement Rural de l’Artisanat et de l’Environnement (MDRI). 2006. Programme d’Action Nationale d’Adaptation aux changements climatiques 92p.

Mori S. 1995. Disorientation of animals in microgravity. Nagoya. J. science 58, 71-81.

Morin PJ. 1983. Predation, competition, and the composition of larval anuran guilds. Ecological Monographs 120-138.

Nougier J, Cantagrel J, Karche J. 1986. The Comores archipelago in the western Indian Ocean: volcanology, geochronology and geodynamic setting. Journal of African Earth Sciences 5, 135-144.

Nussbaum RA, Raxworthy CJ. 1998. Revision of the genus Ebenavia Boettger (Reptilia: Squamata: Gekkonidae). Herpetologica 18-34.

Paris B. 1999. Espèces de faune et de flore connues en RFI des Comores. Projet de conservation de la biodiversité et développement durable (PNUD/FEM, UICN&DGE Fomboni). Report, Moroni, Comores 92p.

Pellegrin J. 1933. Les poissons des eaux douces de Madagascar et des îles voisines:(Comores, Seychelles, Mascareignes). Memoir. Academic. Malgache, Tananarive 14, 224p.

Rakotoarivelo F, Pailler T, Faliniaina L. 2013. Revision of the genus Jumellea Schltr.(Orchidaceae) from the Comoros Archipelago. Adansonia 35, 33-46.

Raxworthy CJ, Pearson RG, Rabibisoa N, Rakotondrazafy AM, Ramanamanjato JB, Raselimanana AP, Wu S, Nussbaum RA, Stone DA. 2008. Extinction vulnerability of tropical montane endemism from warming and upslope displacement: a preliminary appraisal for the highest massif in Madagascar. Global Change Biology 14, 1703-1720.

Rocha S, Carretero MA, Harris DJ. 2005a. Diversity and phylogenetic relationships of Hemidactylus geckos from the Comoro islands. Molecular phylogenetics and evolution 35, 292-299.

Rocha S, Carretero MA, Harris DJ. 2005b. Mitochondrial DNA sequence data suggests two independent colonizations of the Comoros archipelago by chameleons of the genus Furcifer. Belgian Journal of Zoology 39, 135, 39.

Sartorius SS, do Amaral JP, Durtsche RD, Deen CM, Lutterschmidt WI. 2002. Thermoregulatory accuracy, precision, and effectiveness in two sand-dwelling lizards under mild environmental conditions. Canadian Journal of Zoology 80, 1966-1976.

Schoener TW. 1974. The compression hypothesis and temporal resource partitioning. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 71, 4169-4172.

Turlin B. 1994. Faune lépidopterologique de l’Archipel des Comores (Ocean Indien)—Rhopalocères, Sphingidae, Attacidae. Lambillionea 94, 81-94.

Vences M, Freyhof J, Sonnenberg R, Kosuch J, Veith M. 2001. Reconciling fossils and molecules: Cenozoic divergence of cichlid fishes and the biogeography of Madagascar. Journal of Biogeography 28, 1091-1099.

Vences M, Vieites DR, Glaw F, Brinkmann H, Kosuch J, Veith M, Meyer A. 2003. Multiple overseas dispersal in amphibians. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences 270, 2435-2442.

Vences M, Wanke S, Vieites DR, Branch WR, Glaw F, Meyer A. 2004. Natural colonization or introduction? Phylogeographical relationships and morphological differentiation of house geckos (Hemidactylus) from Madagascar. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 83, 115-130.

Vences M. 2004. Origin of Madagascar’s extant fauna: A perspective from amphibians, reptiles and other non‐flying vertebrates. Italian Journal of Zoology 71, 217-228.

Vitt LJ, Zani PA, Avila-Pires TCS. 1997. Ecology of the arboreal tropidurid lizard Tropidurus (Plica) umbra in the Amazon region. Canadian Journal of Zoology 75, 1876-1882.

WHC-UNESCO. 2010. Ecosystème terrestres et paysage culturel de l’archipel des Comores. BLACKWELL References 126p.

Whitfield SM, Pierce MS. 2005. Tree buttress microhabitat use by a Neotropical leaf-litter herpetofauna. Journal of Herpetology 39, 192-198.

Wilbur HM, Fauth JE. 1990. Experimental aquatic food webs: interactions between two predators and two prey. American Naturalist 176-204.

World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations of Environment Program (UNEP). 1992. Urban air pollution in megacities of the world. BLACKWELL References 230p.