Dr Manoa Faliarivola

Biologist (Madagascar)

About me

I am a Zoologist with a specialisation in ornithology. I hold a Master’s degree in Animal Conservation and a PhD in Zoology and Biological Anthropology thanks to a cooperation between the University of Antananarivo and Association Vahatra. I was working on ecological niche of understorey birds in the moist evergreen and the dry forest of Madagascar. Along the way, extraordinary biologists Pr Steve Goodman, Dr HDR Marie Jeanne Raherilalao and Pr Aristide Andrianarimisa trained and supervised me. Learning with these people about Malagasy birds while gaining an in-depth understanding of the relationship between biodiversity and people is probably the greatest moment of my life so far and also the driver for my pull towards research.

Previously, I gave several lectures about topics such as landscape ecology and zootechnics at public and private universities while working on a socio-political project to better understand challenges in conservation. Now, here I am with WWT ready to give my best and make a difference for Madagascar’s wetland biodiversity and local communities.

My role

I am the Madagascar’s biologist in the WWT International Programmes department. My work focuses on the scientific research such as to develop protocols for biological inventories, ecological mentoring and rapid surveys for the sites where WWT is intervening in Madagascar. It also includes fieldwork on bird counts, fish catching, estimation of mammal and reptile population, and assessment of immediate and long-term threats to wetlands (lake, marshes, rivers, their surrounding grasslands and forests).

Globally, I am leading collection and management of ecological data, supporting scientific research aspects, designing implementation and monitoring key research conducted at sites where WWT Madagascar is present. I also assist with report and paper writing related to my work.

Experience and interests

• Biological inventories and monitoring
• Landscape ecology
• Statistical analyses using R
• Spatial analyses using QGIS
• Environmental education
• Scientific communication

Publications

• Faliarivola, M. L., Raherilalao, M. J., Wilmé, L., Benjara, A., Rene de Roland, L.-A., & Goodman, S. M. 2022. Bird weights. In The new natural history of Madagascar, ed. S. M. Goodman (p. 1608-1732). Princeton: Princeton University Press.
• Faliarivola, M. L., Raherilalao, M. J., Andrianarimisa, A., & Goodman, S. M. 2022. Diversité des arthropodes de sous-bois des forêts sèches de Madagascar. Bulletin de la Société Entomologique de France,127(3), 233-250.
• Faliarivola, M. L., Raherilalao, M. J., Andrianarimisa, A., & Goodman, S. M. 2020. The diet of Malagasy understory birds based on fecal samples. Ostrich, 91(1), 35-44.
• Faliarivola M., Lanteigne, M. & Razakamaharavo, V. 2022. The forgotten, cascading crisis in Madagascar. African Arguments.