SCIENCE LAB SCREEN : MADAGASCAR LAND GRAB [ 2 ]

Fruit-bearing plant prized by lemurs has a ravenous appetite of its own.

'' For a long time, some conservationists thought it's not that harmful - it feeds lemurs, so maybe it's good,'' said Amy Dunham, an ecologist at Rice University in Houston and an author of the study.

'' Now we know that while it can provide short-term benefits to wildlife, it also causes long-term ecological harm.''

Jonah Ratsimbazaly, a primatologist in Madagascar who was not involved in the work, said its findings were useful.

'' Recommendations for how to deal with invasive species like guava are very important for the park managers,'' he said.

Madagascar's future depends not only on protecting remaining forests, but also on restoring natural landscapes that were disturbed by human activities. Such efforts are ongoing.

Moving forward, one thing that can be done, Dr. Dunham said, is to ensure new parches of guava do not take root in current restoration sites. 

'' When they're just seedlings, we've got to rip them out.''