Oryx Vol 33 No 1 January 1999 The population status of chameleons within Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar, and recommendations for future monitoring Richard K. B. Jenkins, Lee D. Brady, Kieron Huston, Juliet L. D. Kauffmann, Jeanneney Rabearivony, Georges Raveloson and J. Marcus Rowcliffe Abstract Malagasy chameleons are threatened by the on distance sampling within an area of relatively undisturbed rain forest at Ranomafana National relentless pace of habitat destruction. Their great popu- Park. In total 394 individuals from six species were larity amongst herpetoculturalists has also resulted in collection for international animal markets. Most previ- recorded and population densities ( SE) of 27.2  5.4/ha Brookesia spp. and 21.4 4.0/ha Calumma ous fieldwork has focused on the compilation of much needed species inventories, but little attention spp. were estimated using the computer program DISTANCE. The authors propose that monitoring of has been given to estimating chameleon popu- chameleons in areas subject to different threats should lation densities. This lack of information prevents a reliable assessment of the effects of habitat loss and begin immediately using the methods outlined in this paper. direct exploitation on wild populations. A simple and repeatable methodology for the monitoring of Keywords Chameleon, Madagascar, population den- chameleon populations is therefore urgently required. The present study developed survey techniques based sity, rain forest, trade. Introduction Although the degradation and destruction of forests are undoubtedly the primary threat to Madagascar’s fauna (Raxworthy, 1988), the additional pressure of exploi- tation for international animal markets cannot be re- garded as insignificant (IUCN/SSC Trade Specialist Group et al., 1993). Of all Madagascar’s wildlife it is the herpetofauna that is perhaps the most threatened by such collection (Behra, 1993; IUCN/SSC Trade Specialist Group et al., 1993). Since the mid-1980s both the diver- sity and quantity of Malagasy reptiles in the trade have increased significantly and for some chameleon species increases of up to 400 per cent have been reported (World Conservation Monitoring Centre & IUCN/SSC Trade Specialist Group, 1991; IUCN/SSC Trade Special- ist Group et al., 1993). These figures probably underesti- mate the true number of individuals exported because mortality during transit is often undocumented (IUCN/ SSC Trade Specialist Group et al., 1993) and illegal exportation levels are difficult to quantify. Also, be- cause chameleons require specialized husbandry (Bustard, 1989; de Vosjoli, 1990) captive breeding is unlikely to provide a sufficient supply of animals to meet increasing demands. The current trade In a review by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Trade Specialist Group, endemic Malagasy reptiles formed approximately 8 per cent of the species on Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) Appendix II that were traded at levels likely to be a threat to wild populations (World Conservation Monitoring Centre & IUCN/SSC Trade Specialist Group, 1991). The report concluded that by 1991 trade had increased for both CITES-listed and non-listed species to a level that may be detrimen- tal to wild populations. Some of the species recorded in Richard K. B. Jenkins School of Pure and Applied Biology, University of Wales, PO Box 915, Cardiff, CF1 3TL, UK. Lee D. Brady (corresponding author), The Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, CT2 7NJ, UK. E-mail: L.D.Brady@ukc.ac.uk Kieron Huston Surrey Wildlife Trust, Pirbright, Surrey, UK. Juliet L. D. Kauffmann Department of Biology, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK. Jeanneney Rabearivony and Georges Raveloson Universite d’Antananarivo, Madagascar. J. Marcus Rowcliffe Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, London, UK. Received 31 October 1997. Accepted 24 July 1998 © 1999 FFI, Oryx, 33(1), 38–46 38