TFCG Technical Paper 17 THE VERTEBRATE BIODIVERSITY AND FOREST CONDITION OF THE NORTH PARE MOUNTAINS By N. Doggart, C. Leonard, A. Perkin, M. Menegon and F. Rovero Dar es Salaam June 2008 © Tanzania Forest Conservation Group Cover photographs by Michele Menegon. From left to right. View of North Pare Mountains. Forest scene. Hyperolius glandicolor and Impatiens sp. Suggested citations: Whole report Doggart, N., C. Leonard, A. Perkin, M. Menegon and F. Rovero (2008). The vertebrate biodiversity and forest condition of the North Pare Mountains. TFCG Technical Paper No 17. DSM, Tz. 1 - 79 pp. Sections with Report: (example using section 3) Menegon, M., (2008). Reptiles and Amphibians. In: Doggart, N., C. Leonard, A. Perkin, M. Menegon and F. Rovero (2008). Report on a survey of the vertebrate biodiversity and forest status of the North Pare Mountains. TFCG Technical Paper No 17. DSM, Tz. 1 - 79 pp. 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The North Pare Mountains lie at the northern-most end of the Eastern Arc Mountains in Tanzania, just 30 kilometres east of Mount Kilimanjaro. Relative to other Eastern Arc Mountains, the North Pare Mountains are considered to be a low conservation priority due to the paucity of endemic species (Burgess et al. 2007; Burgess et al. 1998). The North Pare Mountains have also been subject to far less biodiversity research than some other Eastern Arc Mountain blocks such as the Udzungwas and East Usambaras. The correlation between research effort and documented biodiversity values has been demonstrated in other parts of the Eastern Arc such as the Rubehos (Doggart et al. 2006) and Ngurus (Doggart and Loserian 2007). The current surveys therefore set out to document the biodiversity values of the North Pare Mountains in order to assess whether their current ranking is a product of research effort or whether there really are few endemic species in this area. The surveys also aimed to assess the condition of the forests and to make recommendations on the conservation of this area. Situated in Mwanga District, Kilimanjaro Region, the North Pare Mountains are a densely populated mountain range with approximately 2720 ha of forest remaining in 1999 (Forestry and Beekeeping Division 2006c). Most of the remaining forest lies within six Central Government Forest Reserves, Minja, Kindoroko, Mramba, Kamwalla I and II and Kiverenge. In addition there are over two hundred small sacred forests dotted across the mountain landscape (Mwihomeki et al. 1998). This report documents the aims, methods, results and conclusions of biodiversity surveys carried out in the North Pare Mountains by a team from the Tanzania Forest Conservation Group and the Museo Tridentino di Scienze Naturali, Italy. The survey was financed by the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund as part of the partnership project ‘Filling the Knowledge Gap: Surveys of Poorly Known Sites and Species in the Eastern Arc and Coastal Forests’. The surveys were conducted between October and November 2005 by a team of four researchers for a total of eight days. In addition, camera traps were deployed for a total of 516 trap-days. The surveys covered mammals, reptiles and amphibians. The team used a combination of observations, sound recordings, pit fall traps and camera trapping in order to record vertebrate species. The condition of the forest was also assessed and interviews were conducted to document indigenous knowledge. The team carried out surveys in Kindoroko, Mramba and Minja Forest Reserves which range in altitude from 760 m to 2113 m asl (Table 1). The reserves contain a mosaic of forest, heath, woodland and thicket although the survey team focused on forested areas. A brief visit was also made to Kileo Local Authority Forest Reserve at the base of the North Pare Mountains. Table 1. Summary of area, altitudinal range and vegetation of forest reserves visited. Forest Reserve Area (ha) Altitudinal range (m) Vegetation Kindoroko 885 1600 - 2113 Montane forest and heath Mainly montane forest with a small area of submontane Minja 520 1500 - 1850 forest in valley bottoms Mainly woodland and thicket with some dry montane Mramba 3355 760 - 1700 forest The survey team recorded 92 vertebrate species including 56 birds, 19 mammals, 11 reptiles and 6 amphibians. The overall species list from the survey is provided in Table 2. Table 2. Vertebrate species recorded during the current survey in the North Pare Mountains. Scientific name Common name IUCN Endemism Habitat Minja Mramba Kindoroko Village land BIRDS Accipiter tachiro African goshawk xx x LC W F Buteo oreophilus Mountain buzzard xx x LC W F Stephanoaetus coronatus African crowned eagle xx x LC W F 1 Scientific name Common name IUCN Endemism Habitat Minja Mramba Kindoroko land Village Polyboroides typus African harrier hawk x LC W F Buteo augur Augur buzzard xx x LC W O Circeatus gallicus Short toed snake eagle x? LC O Guttera pucherani Crested guineafowl xx x LC W F Columba arquatrix Olive pigeon xx x LC W F Columba larvata Lemon dove xx x LC W F Turtur chalcospilos Emerald spotted wood dove xx x LC W F Tauraco hartlaubi Hartlaub's turaco xx x LC W FF Centropus superciliosus White-browed coucal x LC W O Strix woodfordii African wood owl xx x LC W F Caprimulgus poliocephalus Mountain nightjar ? LC W O Apaloderma vittatum Bar-tailed trogon x x x LC W FF Tockus alboterminatus Crowned hornbill x LC W F Ceratogymna bucinator Trumpeter hornbill xx x LC W F Ceratogymna brevis Silvery-cheeked hornbill xx x LC W FF Pogoniulus leucomystax Moustached green tinkerbird xx x LC W F Indicator variegatus Scaly-throated honeyguide x LC W F Indicator minor Lesser honeyguide x LC W F Dendropicos griseocephalus Olive woodpecker xx x LC W FF Psalidoprocne pristoptera Black saw-wing xx x LC W O Andropadus milanjensis Striped-cheeked greenbul xx x LC N FF Phyllastrephus cabanisi Cabanis's greenbul xx x LC W FF Pycnonotus barbatus Common bulbul xx x LC W F Chlorocichla flaviventris Yellow-bellied greenbul xx x LC W FF Alcippe abyssinica African hill babbler xx x LC W F Saxicola torquata Stonechat xx x LC W O Pogonocichla stellata White-starred robin xx x LC W F Cossypha semirufa Rüppell's robin-chat xx x LC W FF Zoothera gurneyi Orange ground thrush xx x LC W FF Turdus roehli Usambara thrush ? LC EA FF Phylloscopus umbrovirens Brown woodland-warbler xx x LC W FF Bradypterus lopezi Evergreen forest warbler xx x LC W FF Apalis thoracica Bar-throated apalis xx x LC W FF Apalis melanocephala Black headed Apalis xx x LC W FF Camaroptera brachyura Grey back camaroptera xx x LC W F Muscicapa adusta African dusky flycatcher x LC W F Zosterops senegalensis Yellow white-eye x x LC W F Trochocercus cyanomelas White-tailed crested flycatcher xx x LC W F Terpsiphone viridis Paradise flycatcher x LC W F Bradornis microrhynchus African grey flycatcher x LC W O Batis mixta Forest batis x LC N FF Malaconotus nigrifrons Black-fronted bush-shrike x LC W F Dryoscopus cubla Black-backed puffback xx x LC W F Tchagra australis Brown-headed tchagra x LC W O Coracina caesia Grey cuckoo-shrike X LC W FF Cinnyricinclus femoralis Abbott’s starling x x VU N FF Corvus albicollis White-naped raven x LC W O Hedydipna collaris Collared sunbird xx x LC W FF 2 Scientific name Common name IUCN Endemism Habitat Minja Mramba Kindoroko land Village Nectarinia mediocris Eastern double-collared sunbird xx x LC W FF Cyanomitra olivacea Olive sunbird xx x LC W F Cinnyris venustus Variable sunbird x LC W F Ploceus ocularis Spectacled weaver xx x LC W O Cryptospiza reichenovii Red-faced crimsonwing ? x LC W F MAMMALS Genetta tigrina Blotched genet x LC W FF Genetta maculata Cape’s genet x x LC W FF Civettictis civetta African civet x x LC W F Bdeogale crassicauda Bushy-tailed mongoose x x LC W FF Herpestes ichneumon Ichneumon mongoose x W FF Nandinia binotata African palm civet xx LC W FF Cercopithecus mitis kibonotensis Sykes’s monkey xx x LC W FF Papio cynocephalus Yellow baboon x LC W O Otolemur garnettii Garnett’s galago xx x LC ? Cricetomys gambianus Giant Pouched rat xx x LC W FF Beamys hindei Lesser pouched rat x LC W F Paraxerus sp. Squirrel xx x ? ? ? Rhynchocyon petersi Black and rufous sengi xx x EN N FF Petrodromus tetradactylus Four-toed sengi x LC W FF Procavia johnstoni Rock hyrax xx x LC W O Tragelaphus scriptus Bush buck x LC W F Potamochoerus larvatus Bush pig xx x LC W F Cephalophus harveyi Harveys’ duiker xx x LR/cd W FF Neotragus moschatus Suni xx LR/cd W F AMPHIBIANS Callulina sp. Nov. x x NL E FF Hyperolius mitchelli x LC N F Hyperolius glandicolor ssp. x LC W O Phrynobatrachus natalensis x LC W O Scolecomorphus sp. Nov. x x NL EA FF Leptopelis flavomaculatus x LC W F REPTILES Cnemaspis africana x x N FF Lygodactylus sp. x ? O Kinyongia tavetana x x N F Chamaeleo dilepis x W O Rhampholeon viridis x x EA FF Rieppeleon kerstenii x W O Adolfus jacksoni x W F Leptosiaphos kilimensis x N F Lamphrophis fuliginosus x W O Dispholidus typus x W O 3 Scientific name Common name IUCN Endemism Habitat Minja Mramba Kindoroko land Village Thelotornis mossambicanus x x x W F A further 128 vertebrate species have been recorded by other authors such as Cordeiro and Kiure (1995), Cordeiro et al. (2005) and Stanley et al. (2007) including 111 birds, 13 mammals and two amphibians. The total number of vertebrate species recorded from the North Pare Mountain forests is therefore 220 species (Table 3).