Foreword Acknowledgments PART 1: Madagascar in Perspective: Past and Present Introduction General Aspects of Format The Artist Geological Time, Dates, and Radiocarbon Dating What Is a Subfossil? The Types of Subfossil Sites An Overview of the Origins, Geology, Animal Colonization, and Modern Habitats of Madagascar Madagascar in Deep Time--Isolation and Origin of Its Plants and Animals History of Animal Colonization Geography Geology Vegetational Patterns Humid Forest Dry Deciduous Forest Spiny Bush Savanna and Grassland Formations A Brief History of Climatic Change on Madagascar since the Late Pleistocene History of Human Colonization of Madagascar Considerations of Language and Different Types of Introductions The Human Genetic Evidence Evidence of Pre-Iron Age Colonization of Madagascar The Archaeological Record of Occupation and Settlement Paleontological and Paleoecological Evidence Summary Human Interactions with Now-Extinct Land Vertebrates Reptiles Tortoise Birds Elephant Birds Mammals Lemurs Hippos Hypotheses on What Caused the Extinctions during the Holocene Extinction, Conservation, and the Future PART 2: Case Studies Geographical Plates Plate 1: Cap Sainte Marie--the Ecology of Elephant Birds and Their Interface with Humans Plate 2: Andrahomana I--the Ecology of Extreme Southeastern Madagascar and a Barometer of Change Plate 3: Andrahomana II--Evidence of a Holocene Tsunami in the Southern Indian Ocean and Predator-Prey Relations Plate 4: Tsimanampetsotsa--Rapid Ecological Shifts in the Face of Natural Climate Change Plate 5: Taolambiby--Hypotheses Associated with Animal Extinction and Hunting by Humans: Physical Evidence and Interpretation Plate 6: Ankilitelo--a Deep Pit Cave and Inferences on Recent Ecological and Faunal Change Plate 7: Ampoza I--Reconstruction of the Ecology and Fauna in a Formerly Permanent Riverine Habitat in the Southwest Plate 8: Ampoza II--Ecological Change in a Forest Community and Connecting Humid Forest Corridors to the Eastern Portion of the Island Plate 9: Belo sur Mer--a Window into Different Hypotheses Associated with Environmental Change: Natural versus Human-Induced Plate 10: Mananjary--the Former Estuary System of Eastern Lowland Madagascar and Some of Its Faunal Elements Plate 11: Antsirabe Region--Ecology of Highland Marsh and Forest Habitats as a Measure of Change through Time Plate 12: Ampasambazimba--Reconstruction of a Montane Woodland Habitat that No Longer Occurs on the Island Plate 13: Anjohibe I--Secrets of the Past Disclosed by Careful Study of Subfossil Bone and Pollen in a Cave Plate 14: Anjohibe II--Inferences Based on Cave Remains and Aspects of the Organisms Living in the Adjacent Ecosystem Plate 15: Anjajavy--a Trapdoor Cave, Ecology of an Extinct Lemur, and Untold Extinct and Extant Biodiversity Plate 16: Ankarana I--Ecological Change of a Forest Community, a View from the Ground Up Plate 17: Ankarana II--Ecological Change of a Forest Community, a Bird''s-Eye View from the Forest Canopy Plate 18: Ankarana III--Tragedy and How the Bone Remains of an Extinct Lemur Can Help Piece Together How It Lived and the Former Local Forest Ecology Species Plates Plate 19: Cryptoprocta spelea --an Extinct Mega-Predator and Aspects of How It May Have Lived and Hunted Plate 20: Stephanoaetus mahery --a Presumed Primate Specialist and Its Role in the Evolution of Behavioral Aspects of Living and Extinct Lemurs References Index to Malagasy Place-Names Index to Scientific Names.