• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Map
• Reference and further resources

Site description (2001 baseline)
The site consists of Lakes Ambanja, Vasily, Belongo and Manapatanana, located near Ambato-Boeni, and of Lakes Amparihibe, Mangabe, Bekopoly, Ambariasara and Bevoatavo, in the area of Maevatanana. The general area consists of a number of very large depressions, mainly covered (near Ambato-Boeni) by seasonal marshes which have been converted to rice-fields and other cultivation, and (near Maevatanana) by marshes and lakes. The main rivers are the Kamoro river, which flows across the Ambato-Boeni area, and the Betsiboka river, which flows west from Ambato-Boeni then south towards Maevatanana and which feeds the south of this area. The vegetation of the lakes includes beds of Cyperus, reedbeds of Phragmites, floating expanses of water-lily Nymphaea, non-native water-hyacinth Eichhornia and water-fern Azolla. On adjacent hills there are bushes of Zizyphus and Strychnos.

Key biodiversity
See Box and Tables 2 and 3 for key species. Thirty-four species are known from the site, of which three are endemic to Madagascar. Haliaeetus vociferoides is recorded infrequently, and Aythya innotata has been recorded in the past. Populations of Ardea humbloti and Tachybaptus pelzelnii are probably quite high, although nesting colonies of larger waterbirds in particular remain to be identified.

Non-bird biodiversity: Reptile: Erymnochelys madagascariensis (EN).

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Maevatanana - Ambato-Boeny wetlands (Madagascar). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/maevatanana--ambato-boeny-wetlands-iba-madagascar on 22/11/2024.