With Comment on the Choice of Bayesian Branch-Length Prior When Analyzing Heterogeneous Data ⁎ Rauri C.K
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Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology Annual Report
Percy FitzPatrick Institute DST/NRF Centre of Excellence Annual Report January – December 2009 Department of Zoology University of Cape Town Private Bag X3 Rondebosch 7701 SOUTH AFRICA +27 (0)21 650 3290/1 [email protected] http://www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za University of Cape Town Contents Director’s report 1 Staff and Students 3 Research Programmes & Initiatives • Systematics and Biogeography 5 • Cooperation and Sociality in birds 13 • Rarity and Conservation of African birds 19 • Island Conservation 26 • Seabird Research 28 • Raptor Research 33 • Spatial Parasitology and Epidemiology 36 • Pattern-process Linkages in Landscape 39 Ecology • Environmental & Resource Economics 41 • Climate Change Vulnerability and 44 Adaptation • And a Miscellany 49 Conservation Biology Masters 53 Board Members: Programme Niven Library 55 Mr M. Anderson (BirdLife SA) Scientific Publications 59 Mr H. Amoore (UCT, Registrar) Dr G. Avery (Wildlife and Environment Society of Southern Africa) Semi-popular Publications 63 Prof. K. Driver (UCT, Dean of Science, Chairman) Prof. P.A.R. Hockey (UCT, Director, PFIAO) Seminars 2009 65 Assoc. Prof. J. Hoffmann (UCT, HoD, Zoology) Mr P.G. Johnson (co-opted) Dr J. McNamara (UCT, Development & Alumni Dept) Prof. M.E. Meadows (UCT, HoD, ENGEO) Mr C.A.F. Niven (FitzPatrick Memorial Trust) Mr J.D.F. Niven (FitzPatrick Memorial Trust) Mr P.N.F. Niven (FitzPatrick Memorial Trust) Mr F. van der Merwe (co-opted) Prof. D. Visser (UCT, Chairman, URC) The Annual Report may also be viewed on the Percy FitzPatrick Institute's website: http://www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za Director’s Report Director’s Report To say that 2009 was a busy and eventful year would be an understatement! Early in January, Doug Loewenthal, Graeme Oatley and I participated in the Biodiversity Academy at De Hoop Nature Reserve. -
MADAGASCAR: the Wonders of the “8Th Continent” a Tropical Birding Custom Trip
MADAGASCAR: The Wonders of the “8th Continent” A Tropical Birding Custom Trip October 20—November 6, 2016 Guide: Ken Behrens All photos taken during this trip by Ken Behrens Annotated bird list by Jerry Connolly TOUR SUMMARY Madagascar has long been a core destination for Tropical Birding, and with the opening of a satellite office in the country several years ago, we further solidified our expertise in the “Eighth Continent.” This custom trip followed an itinerary similar to that of our main set-departure tour. Although this trip had a definite bird bias, it was really a general natural history tour. We took our time in observing and photographing whatever we could find, from lemurs to chameleons to bizarre invertebrates. Madagascar is rich in wonderful birds, and we enjoyed these to the fullest. But its mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and insects are just as wondrous and accessible, and a trip that ignored them would be sorely missing out. We also took time to enjoy the cultural riches of Madagascar, the small villages full of smiling children, the zebu carts which seem straight out of the Middle Ages, and the ingeniously engineered rice paddies. If you want to come to Madagascar and see it all… come with Tropical Birding! Madagascar is well known to pose some logistical challenges, especially in the form of the national airline Air Madagascar, but we enjoyed perfectly smooth sailing on this tour. We stayed in the most comfortable hotels available at each stop on the itinerary, including some that have just recently opened, and savored some remarkably good food, which many people rank as the best Madagascar Custom Tour October 20-November 6, 2016 they have ever had on any birding tour. -
Freshwater Fishes
WESTERN CAPE PROVINCE state oF BIODIVERSITY 2007 TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1 Introduction 2 Chapter 2 Methods 17 Chapter 3 Freshwater fishes 18 Chapter 4 Amphibians 36 Chapter 5 Reptiles 55 Chapter 6 Mammals 75 Chapter 7 Avifauna 89 Chapter 8 Flora & Vegetation 112 Chapter 9 Land and Protected Areas 139 Chapter 10 Status of River Health 159 Cover page photographs by Andrew Turner (CapeNature), Roger Bills (SAIAB) & Wicus Leeuwner. ISBN 978-0-620-39289-1 SCIENTIFIC SERVICES 2 Western Cape Province State of Biodiversity 2007 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Andrew Turner [email protected] 1 “We live at a historic moment, a time in which the world’s biological diversity is being rapidly destroyed. The present geological period has more species than any other, yet the current rate of extinction of species is greater now than at any time in the past. Ecosystems and communities are being degraded and destroyed, and species are being driven to extinction. The species that persist are losing genetic variation as the number of individuals in populations shrinks, unique populations and subspecies are destroyed, and remaining populations become increasingly isolated from one another. The cause of this loss of biological diversity at all levels is the range of human activity that alters and destroys natural habitats to suit human needs.” (Primack, 2002). CapeNature launched its State of Biodiversity Programme (SoBP) to assess and monitor the state of biodiversity in the Western Cape in 1999. This programme delivered its first report in 2002 and these reports are updated every five years. The current report (2007) reports on the changes to the state of vertebrate biodiversity and land under conservation usage. -
A Bioacoustic Record of a Conservancy in the Mount Kenya Ecosystem
Biodiversity Data Journal 4: e9906 doi: 10.3897/BDJ.4.e9906 Data Paper A Bioacoustic Record of a Conservancy in the Mount Kenya Ecosystem Ciira wa Maina‡§, David Muchiri , Peter Njoroge| ‡ Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Dedan Kimathi University of Technology, Nyeri, Kenya § Dedan Kimathi University Wildlife Conservancy, Dedan Kimathi University of Technology, Nyeri, Kenya | Ornithology Section, Department of Zoology, National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya Corresponding author: Ciira wa Maina ([email protected]) Academic editor: Therese Catanach Received: 17 Jul 2016 | Accepted: 23 Sep 2016 | Published: 05 Oct 2016 Citation: wa Maina C, Muchiri D, Njoroge P (2016) A Bioacoustic Record of a Conservancy in the Mount Kenya Ecosystem. Biodiversity Data Journal 4: e9906. doi: 10.3897/BDJ.4.e9906 Abstract Background Environmental degradation is a major threat facing ecosystems around the world. In order to determine ecosystems in need of conservation interventions, we must monitor the biodiversity of these ecosystems effectively. Bioacoustic approaches offer a means to monitor ecosystems of interest in a sustainable manner. In this work we show how a bioacoustic record from the Dedan Kimathi University wildlife conservancy, a conservancy in the Mount Kenya ecosystem, was obtained in a cost effective manner. A subset of the dataset was annotated with the identities of bird species present since they serve as useful indicator species. These data reveal the spatial distribution of species within the conservancy and also point to the effects of major highways on bird populations. This dataset will provide data to train automatic species recognition systems for birds found within the Mount Kenya ecosystem. -
Apalises Martins Bar-Throated Apalis Banded Martin Rudd's Apalis
Apalises Martins Bar-Throated Apalis Banded Martin Rudd's Apalis Brown-Throated Martin Yellow-Breasted Apalis Rock Martin Avocets Sand Martin Pied Avocet Moorhens Babblers Common Moorhen Arrow-Marked Babbler Lesser Moorhen Southern Pied Babbler Mousebirds Barbets Red-Faced Mousebird Acacia Pied Barbet Speckled Mousebird Black-Collared Barbet Nicators Crested Barbet Eastern (Yellow-Spotted) Nicator Bat Hawks Nightingales Bat Hawk Thrush Nightingale Batises Nightjars Cape Batis European Nightjar Chinspot Batis Fiery-Necked Nightjar Bee-Eaters Freckled Nightjar Blue-Cheeked Bee-Eater Pennant-Winged Nightjar European Bee-Eater Rufous-Cheeked Nightjar Little Bee-Eater Square-Tailed (Mozambique) Nightjar Southern Carmine Bee-Eater Oriole Swallow-Tailed Bee-Eater (Eastern) Black-Headed Oriole White-Fronted Bee-Eater African Golden Oriole Bishops Eurasian (European) Golden Oriole Southern Red Bishop Ospreys Yellow Bishop Osprey Yellow-Crowned Bishop Ostriches Bitterns Common Ostrich Dwarf Bittern Owls Little Bittern African Barred Owlet Boubous African Grass-Owl Southern Boubou African Scops-Owl Tropical Boubou African Wood-Owl Bulbuls Barn Owl Dark-Capped (Black-Eyed) Bulbul Cape-Eagle Owl Terrestrial Brownbul (Bulbul) Marsh Owl Buntings Pearl-Spotted Owlet Cape Bunting Pel's Fishing-Owl Cinnamon-Breasted (Rock) Bunting Southern White-Faced Scops-Owl Golden-Breasted Bunting Spotted Eagle-Owl Bustards Verreaux's (Giant) Eagle-Owl Denham's (Stanley's) Bustard Oxpeckers Kori Bustard Red-Billed Oxpecker Buttonquails Yellow-Billed Oxpecker Small -
Disaggregation of Bird Families Listed on Cms Appendix Ii
Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals 2nd Meeting of the Sessional Committee of the CMS Scientific Council (ScC-SC2) Bonn, Germany, 10 – 14 July 2017 UNEP/CMS/ScC-SC2/Inf.3 DISAGGREGATION OF BIRD FAMILIES LISTED ON CMS APPENDIX II (Prepared by the Appointed Councillors for Birds) Summary: The first meeting of the Sessional Committee of the Scientific Council identified the adoption of a new standard reference for avian taxonomy as an opportunity to disaggregate the higher-level taxa listed on Appendix II and to identify those that are considered to be migratory species and that have an unfavourable conservation status. The current paper presents an initial analysis of the higher-level disaggregation using the Handbook of the Birds of the World/BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World Volumes 1 and 2 taxonomy, and identifies the challenges in completing the analysis to identify all of the migratory species and the corresponding Range States. The document has been prepared by the COP Appointed Scientific Councilors for Birds. This is a supplementary paper to COP document UNEP/CMS/COP12/Doc.25.3 on Taxonomy and Nomenclature UNEP/CMS/ScC-Sc2/Inf.3 DISAGGREGATION OF BIRD FAMILIES LISTED ON CMS APPENDIX II 1. Through Resolution 11.19, the Conference of Parties adopted as the standard reference for bird taxonomy and nomenclature for Non-Passerine species the Handbook of the Birds of the World/BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World, Volume 1: Non-Passerines, by Josep del Hoyo and Nigel J. Collar (2014); 2. -
Uganda and Rwanda: Shoebill Experience, Nyungwe’S Albertine Rift and Great Apes
MEGAFARI: Uganda and Rwanda: Shoebill experience, Nyungwe’s Albertine Rift and Great Apes 16 – 27 April 2010 (12 days), Leader: Keith Barnes, Custom trip Photos by Keith Barnes. All photos taken on this trip. The spectacular Shoebill was the star of the show in Uganda, and a much-wanted species by all. Introduction This was the second leg of the Megafari – a true trip of a lifetime for most of the participants. Our Tanzania leg had already been the most successful trip we had ever had, netting an incredible 426 bird species in only 11 days. The main aims of the Uganda and Rwanda leg was to see a Shoebill stalking in deep Papyrus swamps, score a gamut of rainforest birds in both the lowlands of Budongo and then also the impressive montane forests of the incredible Nyungwe NP, and to see primates and of course, the irrepressible great apes, Chimpanzee and Mountain Gorilla. Fortunately, we achieved all these aims, netting 417 bird species on this 12-day leg of the trip, as well as accumulating an incredible 675 bird species and 62 mammals in just over three-weeks of the Megafari. The Megafari was a boon for spectacular birds and we saw 51 species of bird of prey, 11 species of turaco, 11 species of kingfisher, 10 species of bee-eater, 12 species of hornbill, and 25 species of sunbird. We also saw the famous Big-5 mammals and had incredible encounters with Mountain Gorillas and Chimpanzees amongst 11 species of primates. For the extremely successful Tanzania portion of the tour, click here. -
The Biodiversity and Forest Condition of Mamiwa-Kisara North Forest Reserve
TFCG Technical Paper 41 The biodiversity and forest condition of Mamiwa-Kisara North Forest Reserve By J. Gwegime, M. Mwangoka, E. Mulungu, J. Latham, R. E. Gereau and N. Doggart Dar es Salaam, 2014 i © Tanzania Forest Conservation Group Suggested citation: Gwegime, J., M. Mwangoka, E. Mulungu, J. Latham, R.E. Gereau and N. Doggart (2014). The biodiversity and forest condition of Mamiwa-Kisara North Forest Reserve. TFCG Technical Paper 41. TFCG, DSM, Tz. 1-86 pp. Cover photograph: Forest at the Nongwe Study Site by Justine Gwegime. ii ii Executive Summary The Ukaguru Mountains encompass six catchment forest reserves within the Eastern Arc Mountains (Ikwamba, Mamboto, Mamboya, Mamiwa-Kisara North, Mamiwa-Kisara South and Uponera). Mamiwa– Kisara North and South comprise the largest forest block in the Ukaguru Mountains. The reserves cover 14,469 ha (Mamiwa-Kisara North is 8,203 ha and Mamiwa-Kiwara South is 6,266 ha). The reserves are approximately 80 km from Kilosa and 20 km from Gairo. Mamiwa-Kisara forest is part of the Ukaguru Mountains Important Bird Area. At least three strictly endemic and 14 Eastern Arc endemic vertebrate species are found in the Ukaguru Mountain forests (Rovero et al., 2014). The forests also contain plants species that are either strictly endemic, such as Lobelia sancta (strictly endemic to Mamiwa-Kisara forest), or of restricted distribution, such as Impatiens ukagaruensis as well as Allanblackia stuhlmannii, Schefflera lukwangulensis, Pavetta lynesii, Streptocarpus schliebenii and Arisaema uluguruense (Lovett and Pocs, 1993). There is one newly discovered amphibian species known in Mamiwa–Kisara forest, Nectophrynoides paulae (Rovero et al. -
29Th 2019-Uganda
AVIAN SAFARIS 23 DAY UGANDA BIRDING AND NATURE TOUR ITINERARY Date: July 7 July 29, 2019 Tour Leader: Crammy Wanyama Trip Report and all photos by Crammy Wanyama Black-headed Gonolek a member of the Bush-shrikes family Day 1 – July 7, 2019: Beginning of the tour This tour had uneven arrivals. Two members arrived two days earlier and the six that came in on the night before July 7th, stayed longer; therefore, we had a pre and post- tour to Mabira Forest. For today, we all teamed up and had lunch at our accommodation for the next two nights. This facility has some of the most beautiful gardens around Entebbe; we decided to spend the rest of the afternoon here watching all the birds you would not expect to find around a city garden. Some fascinating ones like the Black-headed Gonolek nested in the garden, White-browed Robin-Chat too did. The trees that surrounded us offered excellent patching spots for the African Hobby. Here we had a Falco patching out in the open for over forty minutes! Superb looks at a Red-chested and Scarlet-chested Sunbirds. The gardens' birdbath attracted African Thrush that reminded the American birders of their American Robin, Yellow- throated Greenbul. Still looking in the trees, we were able to see African Grey Woodpeckers, both Meyer's and Grey Parrot, a pair of Red-headed Lovebirds. While walking around the facility, we got good looks at a flying Shikra and spent ample time with Ross's Turaco that flew back and forth. We had a very lovely Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird on the power lines, Green-backed Camaroptera, a very well sunlit Avian Safaris: Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.aviansafaris.com AVIAN SAFARIS Spectacled Weaver, was added on the Village and Baglafecht Weavers that we had seen earlier and many more. -
Avian Malaria on Madagascar: Prevalence, Biodiversity and Specialization of Haemosporidian Parasites
International Journal for Parasitology 49 (2019) 199–210 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect International Journal for Parasitology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijpara Avian malaria on Madagascar: prevalence, biodiversity and specialization of haemosporidian parasites q ⇑ Sandrine Musa a, , Ute Mackenstedt a, Friederike Woog b,1, Anke Dinkel a,1 a University of Hohenheim, Emil-Wolff-Str. 34, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany b State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart, Rosenstein 1, 70191 Stuttgart, Germany article info abstract Article history: Previous studies about geographic patterns of species diversity of avian malaria parasites and others in Received 18 March 2018 the Order Haemosporida did not include the avian biodiversity hotspot Madagascar. Since there are Received in revised form 31 October 2018 few data available on avian malaria parasites on Madagascar, we conducted the first known large- Accepted 1 November 2018 scale molecular-based study to investigate their biodiversity. Samples (1067) from 55 bird species were Available online 22 November 2018 examined by a PCR method amplifying nearly the whole haemosporidian cytochrome b gene (1063 bp). The parasite lineages found were further characterized phylogenetically and the degree of specialization Keywords: was determined with a newly introduced host diversity index (Hd). Our results demonstrate that Plasmodium Madagascar indeed represents a biodiversity hotspot for avian malaria parasites as we detected 71 genet- Haemoproteus Leucocytozoon ically distinct parasite lineages of the genera Plasmodium and Haemoproteus. Furthermore, by using a Host diversity phylogenetic approach and including the sequence divergence we suspect that the detected haemo- sporidian lineages represent at least 29 groups i.e. proposed species. The here presented Hd values for each parasite regarding host species, genus and family strongly support previous works demonstrating the elastic host ranges of some avian parsites of the Order Haemosporida. -
MADAGASCAR TRIP REPORT Aug.-‐Sept 2012 John Clark
MADAGASCAR TRIP REPORT Aug.-Sept 2012 John Clark ([email protected]) Our London friends, Dick and Liz Turner, Mary Ward-Jackson and I spent almost 4 weeks in Madagascar. Our primary focus was Birds, But we were also interested in nature more Broadly and culture. The tour was excellently prepared By our guide, Fanomezantsoa Andrianirina (Fano) – who was a perfect guide as well as Being great fun to travel with. The trip was excellent and we ended up seeing 122 of the endemic (and endemic Breeding) Birds of Madagascar, plus 54 non-endemics. Fano was not only an excellent Bird-guide himself, But he had lined up local guides in most of the locations – most of whom were terrific (especially, perhaps, Jaqui in Ampijoroa). Fano is doing much to help develop these local guides as more experienced and confident bird-guides in their own right. The logistics and places to stay were excellent – well, as excellent as an inevitaBle dependence on Madagascar Air permits! (They don’t call it Mad. Air for nothing; it is quite the worst airline I have ever had to use!). Fano’s drivers were also terrific (and keen budding birders!) So our main advice, for those planning a birding (or indeed broader nature/wildlife) trip to Mad. is to use Fano if at all possible. He was totally professional, accurate, dogged, scientifically knowledgeaBle about the Bird, mammals and other species and became a good friend. He can Be contacted By email on [email protected], phone: (+261)32 02 017 91 or website: www.madagascar-funtourguide.com If you want more info on the trip, please email me, and if you’d like to see some of our photos go to: https://picasaweb.google.com/104472367063381721824/Madagascar2012?authkey=Gv1sRgcJH0nYK-wenN9AE# Itinerary Aug. -
Uganda: Comprehensive Custom Trip Report
UGANDA: COMPREHENSIVE CUSTOM TRIP REPORT 1 – 17 JULY 2018 By Dylan Vasapolli The iconic Shoebill was one of our major targets and didn’t disappoint! www.birdingecotours.com [email protected] 2 | TRIP REPORT Uganda: custom tour July 2018 Overview This private, comprehensive tour of Uganda focused on the main sites of the central and western reaches of the country, with the exception of the Semliki Valley and Mgahinga National Park. Taking place during arguably the best time to visit the country, July, this two-and-a-half-week tour focused on both the birds and mammals of the region. We were treated to a spectacular trip generally, with good weather throughout, allowing us to maximize our exploration of all the various sites visited. Beginning in Entebbe, the iconic Shoebill fell early on, along with the difficult Weyns’s Weaver and the sought-after Papyrus Gonolek. Transferring up to Masindi, we called in at the famous Royal Mile, Budongo Forest, where we had some spectacular birding – White-spotted Flufftail, Cassin’s and Sabine’s Spinetails, Chocolate-backed and African Dwarf Kingfishers, White-thighed Hornbill, Ituri Batis, Uganda Woodland Warbler, Scaly-breasted Illadopsis, Fire-crested Alethe, and Forest Robin, while surrounding areas produced the sought-after White-crested Turaco, Marsh Widowbird, and Brown Twinspot. Murchison Falls followed and didn’t disappoint, with the highlights being too many to list all – Abyssinian Ground Hornbill, Black-headed Lapwing, and Northern Carmine Bee-eater all featuring, along with many mammals including a pride of Lions and the scarce Patas Monkey, among others. The forested haven of Kibale was next up and saw us enjoying some quality time with our main quarry, Chimpanzees.