We contacted many scientists working in Madagascar to obtain guidance in selecting places to go. We looked for places that were relatively undisturbed and reasonably accessible while providing a good cross-section of habitat types. Once we got to the end of the road, we usually backpacked, sometimes with local guides, sometimes alone. In getting to and from these areas (mostly by public transportation) we were able to survey a variety of more humanized landscapes and interact with local people.

Acknowledgments:

Many people have contributed to the research and production effort behind this web site. Thanks to Margaret Sharp for lots of things, Joyce Guilio Stern for editing and Andrew Weiss for map production. George Schatz, Robert Drewes, Charles Griswold, Ed Ross, Frank Almeda, Andrew Clark, Claire Kremen and Adina Merenlender provided organism identifications and other scientific information. Travel site selection and logistics in Madagascar were facilitated by Peter Raven, George Schatz, Patricia Wright, Brian Fisher, Goulam Eugene Maximilien and Réné. Special thanks to Ken Preston-Mafham for writing Madagascar, a Natural History.

Technical considerations:

Most of the slides were taken on Fuji Velvia (ASA 50) film. We also used some Kodachrome 200 and Fuji 100. Most of the close-up portraits of invertebrates, frogs, etc. were taken with a 70mm lens on extension and set for f-32, resulting in maximal depth of field.

The slides were then digitized onto a Kodak PhotoCD. Each image was edited by Debbie Windus using Adobe Photoshop 5.5 to adjust sharpness, contrast, brightness, color balance, resolution, and physical size. The images were all saved as jpegs at 72dpi.

The text and images were put into a Microsoft Access database to facilitate searching and display. Chris Freeland designed and programmed the database and user interface using a mixture of HTML, JavaScript, and VBScript known as Active Server Pages.