{"title":"Sympatry among Three Suid Species (Family Suidae) on the North Coast of Kenya","authors":"R. Amin, T. Wacher, T. Butynski","doi":"10.2982/028.106.0202","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2982/028.106.0202","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Three species of suids occur on the broad coastal plain of Kenya east and north of the Tana River; desert warthog Phacochoerus aethiopicus, common warthog Phacochoerus africanus, and bushpig Potamochoerus larvatus. Systematic cameratrap surveys, comprising 9229 camera-trap days on grids at six study sites, were used to determine the distribution and relative abundance of these three suids in the Boni-Dodori Forest Complex (ca. 4000 km2) and in Arabuko-Sokoke Forest Reserve (416 km2) on Kenya's north and central coasts, respectively. In the Boni-Dodori Forest Complex, desert warthog was captured at one camera site, common warthog at four camera sites, and bushpig at 33 camera sites. In Arabuko-Sokoke Forest Reserve, only bushpig was captured (seven camera sites). Sympatry of desert warthog and common warthog seems limited in the Boni-Dodori Forest Complex. Here, desert warthog appears to be narrowly sympatric with bushpig whereas common warthog is broadly sympatric with bushpig. Sympatry of the three suids in this region was not previously reported. This sympatry is absent in Arabuko-Sokoke Forest Reserve.","PeriodicalId":143820,"journal":{"name":"Journal of East African Natural History","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127185767","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Beryl A. Bwong, Joash O. Nyamache, P. Malonza, D. Wasonga, J. M. Ngwava, C. D. Barratt, P. Nagel, S. Loader
{"title":"Amphibian Diversity in Shimba Hills National Reserve, Kenya: A Comprehensive List of Specimens and Species","authors":"Beryl A. Bwong, Joash O. Nyamache, P. Malonza, D. Wasonga, J. M. Ngwava, C. D. Barratt, P. Nagel, S. Loader","doi":"10.2982/028.106.0104","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2982/028.106.0104","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT We present the first annotated amphibian checklist of Shimba Hills National Reserve (SHNR). The list comprises of 30 currently known amphibians (28 anurans and two caecilians), which includes 11 families and 15 genera. In addition, individual records per species, distribution in the reserve and brief remarks about the species are presented. The checklist is based on information from museum collections, field guides, unpublished reports and newly collected field data. We are able to confirm the presence of two Eastern Afromontane species in the SHNR: Scolecomorphus cf. vittatus and Callulina cf. kreffti. The latter has not been recorded since the original collection of a single specimen over 50 years ago. SHNR contains the highest number of amphibian species of any known locality in Kenya (about 30% of the country's total number); therefore it is of national conservation importance. Finally, we briefly discuss the biogeography of the SHNR and its connections to nearby biogeographic regions.","PeriodicalId":143820,"journal":{"name":"Journal of East African Natural History","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-10-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122167153","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The African Elephants' Toe Nails","authors":"I. Parker, A. Graham","doi":"10.2982/028.106.0101","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2982/028.106.0101","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Toe nails on front and hind feet of 689 culled elephants from three populations, two from Uganda and one from Kenya, were counted. Nineteen combinations were found, recorded as nails present on right front foot/left front foot/right hind foot/left hind foot. In addition, toenails from 33 foetuses are compared with their dams' toe nail combinations. The results nullify previous use of toe nail numbers for taxonomic purposes.","PeriodicalId":143820,"journal":{"name":"Journal of East African Natural History","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-10-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125929496","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Mangrove Litter Production and Seasonality of Dominant Species in Zanzibar, Tanzania","authors":"I. Mchenga, A. I. Ali","doi":"10.2982/028.106.0103","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2982/028.106.0103","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This study is aimed at examining the litter production and seasonality of Avicennia marina, Bruguiera gymnorhiza, and Rhizophora mucronata. Litter was collected using nylon litter traps of 1 mm2 mesh size in the Uzi-Nyeke mixed mangroves, Zanzibar, over a period of 2 years. Contents were sorted, dried, weighed, and the average daily litter production for each component was calculated. A distinct seasonality and species variation were found in all mangrove litter components. The average annual litterfall rate was higher in B. gymnorhiza, followed by R. mucronata and A. marina (3.0, 2.8, and 2.0 ton dry wt. ha-1 year-1 respectively). Leaf fraction was the main component of litter in all species, but fruit and flower for R. mucronata also had a considerable contribution to the total litterfall. The presented patterns of litter production are associated with average temperature and wind speed which are both strongly correlated with litter seasonality. Our data contributes to the body of knowledge on patterns of litter production and the ecological integrity of mangrove forests in Zanzibar.","PeriodicalId":143820,"journal":{"name":"Journal of East African Natural History","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-10-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115334914","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A New Record of Zoraptera (Insecta) from Kenya, with Remarks on their Habitat","authors":"Y. Matsumura, Laban Njoroge","doi":"10.2982/028.105.0202","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2982/028.105.0202","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT We hereby record a zorapteran insect from Kenya. The species is easily distinguishable from other described African species of Zoraptera because of its distinct sexual dimorphism and male characteristics. Males have a hairy patch on the head and an asymmetric hairy patch with different types of setae on the last sternite, whereas females have no hairy patch. These conspicuous characteristics have not been described for any known African species described to date. The African fauna of Zoraptera were investigated until the 1970s and have not been thoroughly studied since that time. To accumulate knowledge on this enigmatic order and stimulate more research in Africa, we describe the habitat where we found this species in Kenya.","PeriodicalId":143820,"journal":{"name":"Journal of East African Natural History","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133591842","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Status and Behavioural Ecology of Sengis in the Boni-Dodori and Arabuko-Sokoke Forests, Kenya, Determined by Camera Traps","authors":"R. Amin, B. Agwanda, B. Ogwoka, T. Wacher","doi":"10.2982/028.105.0203","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2982/028.105.0203","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The biodiversity of northern coastal Kenya, east of the Tana River, is poorly understood because security problems and poor infrastructure have discouraged access to the area. However, the wooded areas in the region have great potential for harbouring endemic and rare species, including sengis or elephant-shrews (order Macroscelidea), especially giant sengis in the genus Rhynchocyon. Based on extensive camera-trap surveys of the Boni-Dodori forest, east of the Tana River near the Somalia border, and the Arabuko-Sokoke forest west of the Tana River, the goldenrumped sengi Rhynchocyon chrysopygus appears to be limited to the Arabuko-Sokoke area, while the giant sengi in the Boni-Dodori forest is different. The Boni-Dodori forest, the largest Kenyan coastal forest, with a potential forest and thicket area of at least 3000 km2 is likely to hold a significant number of Rhynchocyon, making it very important to sengi conservation. The study generated over 2700 images of giant sengi and 32 000 camera-trap images of soft-furred sengi in a total surveyed area of approximately 300 km2 providing the first detailed 24-hour behaviour data for the species. The circadian patterns have confirmed R. chrysopygus and Boni Rhynchocyon to be strictly diurnal while the soft-furred sengi were mostly nocturnal. Occupancy for Rhynchocyon was over 80 percent for both the Boni forest thicket and Arabuko-Sokoke Cynometra forest thicket. Occupancy and trapping rates for the soft-furred sengi were significantly higher for the Arabuko-Sokoke forest than the Boni-Dodori forest. It was not possible in the camera trap images to reliably differentiate between the two soft-furred sengi species, four-toed sengi Petrodromus tetradactylus and rufous sengi Elephantulus rufescens, known to occur in the area.","PeriodicalId":143820,"journal":{"name":"Journal of East African Natural History","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122632471","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
R. Gereau, N. Cumberlidge, C. Hemp, A. Hochkirch, T. Jones, M. Kariuki, C. Lange, S. Loader, P. Malonza, M. Menegon, P. Ndang’ang’a, F. Rovero, Phillip Shirk
{"title":"Globally Threatened Biodiversity of the Eastern Arc Mountains and Coastal Forests of Kenya and Tanzania","authors":"R. Gereau, N. Cumberlidge, C. Hemp, A. Hochkirch, T. Jones, M. Kariuki, C. Lange, S. Loader, P. Malonza, M. Menegon, P. Ndang’ang’a, F. Rovero, Phillip Shirk","doi":"10.2982/028.105.0104","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2982/028.105.0104","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT We present an account of the 909 globally threatened taxa (793 species, 74 subspecies, 42 varieties) of animals and plants in the Eastern Arc Mountains and Coastal Forests of Kenya and Tanzania and the sites in which they occur based upon a review of the 2015 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Results for animals are summarised by Class (Amphibia, Aves, Gastropoda, Insecta, Malacostraca, Mammalia, Reptilia) and presented for plants as a whole (Classes Bryopsida, Cycadopsida, Jungermanniopsida, Liliopsida, Lycopodiopsida, Magnoliopsida, Pinopsida, Polypodiopsida). We analyse the status of previously known and newly identified sites in which globally threatened biodiversity occurs and summarise the current state of research on the globally threatened and ecologically critical biodiversity of the EACF. We then provide recommendations for future research, environmental regulations, and management regimes based upon comprehensive and reliable data to ensure the continued survival of the EACF's biodiversity within the context of sustainable resource utilisation.","PeriodicalId":143820,"journal":{"name":"Journal of East African Natural History","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114255478","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Checklist of the Millipedes (Diplopoda) of Tanzania","authors":"H. Enghoff, R. Hoffman, K. Howell","doi":"10.2982/028.105.0103","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2982/028.105.0103","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT A checklist of millipedes (Diplopoda) known to occur in Tanzania is given. Based on all available literature and abundant hitherto unpublished material, 296 species of millipedes are recorded, including seven species never before recorded from the country, viz., Helicochetus digititarsus Kraus, 1957, Helicochetus gregorii (Pocock, 1896), Geotypodon intermedius (Carl, 1909), Plethocrossus nairobinus Attems, 1914, Lophostreptus bicolor Carl, 1909, Oreiadessa diana Hoffman, 1990, and Chondromorpha xanthotricha (Attems, 1898). Eight species erroneously recorded from Tanzania are excluded from the list. A few records from Kenya and Uganda are also given, including the first record of Otostreptus gilvitarsus (Attems, 1914) from Kenya. A historical account of millipede collecting in Tanzania is included.","PeriodicalId":143820,"journal":{"name":"Journal of East African Natural History","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122177593","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Local Rules and Their Enforcement in the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest Reserve Co-Management Arrangement in Kenya","authors":"F. L. M. Ming’ate, M. Bollig","doi":"10.2982/028.105.0102","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2982/028.105.0102","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The management of common-pool resources is a key problem in global environmental governance: forests, freshwater resources, pastures, and land are often managed by communities and organisations (bureaucracies, NGOs) at different organisational scales that are competing for the right to manage the resource in question, and often find ambiguous negotiated institutional solutions to co-management problems. Often these solutions are the result of complex bargaining processes rather than of institutional design. In the context of the ongoing debate over the kinds of rules that are appropriate for the sustainable management of common-pool resources (CPRs), this paper examines the local rules and their enforcement emerging from comanagement between government agencies and local project communities in Arabuko-Sokoke Forest Reserve (ASFR), Kenya's largest remaining coastal forest. Arabuko-Sokoke has been a national forest reserve for many decades, but only during the past two decades have communities been involved in conservation and resource extraction under piloting participatory forest-management schemes. A state-owned and controlled resource is made into a co-managed common-pool resource—or so the theory of community-based natural resource management goes. Our contribution is informed by Ostrom's (1990, 2008) design principles, but we critically scrutinize the manifold problems involved in transfers of access and management rights from state to local community, and the planned (re-)emergence of common-pool resource management. We compare communities involved in a governmental programme fostering communal management and communities not involved in such programmes (The study addresses a number of critical questions related to the transfer of centralised governmental rights in the management of natural resources, and the co-management of forests between government agencies and local communities. The ASFR co-management programme was initiated nearly two decades ago with the aim of conserving the forest and at the same time improving the livelihoods of the communities dependent on it. The findings show that despite a number of challenges, local rules and enforcement have started to emerge in co-managed parts of ASFR, though in an imperfect, volatile and ambiguous manner.","PeriodicalId":143820,"journal":{"name":"Journal of East African Natural History","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-03-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114107228","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Vegetation of the Koobi Fora Region Northeast of Lake Turkana, Marsabit County, Northern Kenya","authors":"John Kimeu Mbaluka, F. Brown","doi":"10.2982/028.105.0101","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2982/028.105.0101","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The Koobi Fora region east of Lake Turkana in northern Kenya ranges in elevation from ca. 360 to 560 m, has a mean annual temperature of ca. 32°C, and rainfall of ca. 130 mm per year. The area, much of which lies within Sibiloi National Park, supports a diverse flora. Here we provide a list of 367 plant species (361 angiosperms) collected from an area of about 2600 km2 between 2012 and 2014, compare the region's angiosperm flora with the only other documented floras nearby, discuss the principal vegetation types in the study area, and highlight occurrences of some less common plants and plants of restricted distribution. Some 137 plant species (131 angiosperms) are newly documented in this region, none of which have been recorded in the Marsabit region to the east-southeast or in the lower Omo Valley to the northwest. Comparison of the flora of this region with reported floras of the Omo Valley and the Marsabit region show that only 98 species are common to all three areas, and that each area has unique taxa that make up about one-third of its angiosperm flora. Thus each region has a distinct flora, despite having a similar physiognomic appearance. Most of the area is covered by grassland or dwarf shrubland, with about 16% shrubland, and <0.5% riparian forest and riparian woodland combined.","PeriodicalId":143820,"journal":{"name":"Journal of East African Natural History","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-03-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"123543429","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}