Warneckea melindensis(Melastomataceae), A New Combination for an East African Coastal Forest Endemic

The Arabuko-Sokoke Forest (ASF) is the largest area of coastal forest remaining in East Africa. However, encroachment and habitat degradation threaten the existence of many plant and animal species, including the East African endemic Amani Sunbird Anthreptes pallidigaster. The aim of this study was to arrive at an estimate of population size for Amani Sunbirds within the ASF. Forty transects were surveyed over 3 months in 1999. The total length of all transects was 63.572 km. In total, 103 Amani Sunbirds were detected at an estimated density of 36.6 birds/km2. Thus with a total area of 77 km2, the Brachystegia woodland of the ASF should hold about 2,818 Amani Sunbirds. This estimate is much lower than the 5,800–9,400 birds estimated by Britton and Britton (1978). While it is possible that their estimate was inaccurate, the apparent decline in the population could be due to natural population fluctuations. Habitat degradation is another possible cause, as illegal logging and tree-felling continue in and around the ASF. Since the majority of the local people around the ASF are farmers, there is little concern for the welfare of the forest, especially when they see few benefits stemming from conserving the resource. Future funding towards the conservation of the ASF should focus on (1) setting up a consistent monitoring programme that will provide further population estimates for endangered species such as Amani Sunbird, and (2) ensuring that local people get some benefit.

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Grebennikovius, a new genus to accommodate Epactoides basilewskyi (Balthasar, 1960) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Deltochilini)

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.4544.1.6 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 4544 (1) ◽

pp. 113

Author(s):

SUKOLUHLE MLAMBO ◽

CLARKE H. SCHOLTZ ◽

CHRISTIAN M. DESCHODT

Keyword(s):

Type Species ◽

New Genus ◽

Dung Beetle ◽

The Other ◽

New Combination ◽

Beetle Species ◽

East African ◽

African Species

Phacosoma basilewskyi Balthasar, 1960 was described for a peculiar East African deltochiline dung beetle species. Years later, Paulian (1975) erected the deltochiline genus Madaphacosoma Paulian, 1975 for two new Malagasy species, namely Madaphacosoma humberti Paulian, 1975, as the type species, and M. betschi Paulian, 1975. Phacosoma basilewskyi was transferred to Madaphacosoma in that same publication. Later, Paulian (1991) added Madaphacosoma major Paulian, 1991 to the genus for a total of three Madagascan and one mainland African species. Recently, Madaphacosoma together with three other genera occurring in Madagascar, namely Aleiantus Olsoufieff, 1947, Phacosomoides Martinez & Pereira, 1959 and Sikorantus Paulian, 1976, were synonymized with Epactoides Olsoufieff, 1947 by Wirta & Montreuil (2008). Although Madaphacosoma basilewskyi (Balthasar, 1960) is not specifically mentioned as a new combination with three other species, M. major, M. humberti and M. betschi, catalogued on pages 661–662 in Wirta & Montreuil (2008), and the genus is treated as valid by Tarasov & Dimitrov (2016) and Tarasov (2017), it is currently lumped with the other Malagasy species in the genus Epactoides. The current accepted name for the species is thus Epactoides basilewskyi (Balthasar, 1960).

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Ecosystem functions in natural and anthropogenic ecosystems across the East African coastal forest landscape

Biotropica ◽

10.1111/btp.12780 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 52 (4) ◽

pp. 598-607

Author(s):

Jan Christian Habel ◽

Werner Ulrich

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Functions ◽

Forest Landscape ◽

Coastal Forest ◽

East African ◽

Anthropogenic Ecosystems

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Spatial response of the globally-endangered Sokoke Pipit (Anthus sokokensis van Someren, 1921) to habitat degradation in an Eastern Arc Coastal forest

F1000Research ◽

10.12688/f1000research.3-59.v2 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 3 ◽

pp. 59 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Nickson Erick Otieno ◽

David Ngala ◽

Alex Mwalimu

Keyword(s):

Habitat Degradation ◽

Tree Canopy ◽

Habitat Modification ◽

Conservation Strategies ◽

Coastal Forest ◽

East African ◽

Anthropogenic Pressures ◽

Critical Habitat ◽

Eastern Arc ◽

Species Population

The Arabuko-Sokoke forest is the largest relic of a formerly larger contiguous East African coastal forest. It forms part of the Eastern Arc Mountains and Coastal forest ecoregion which is a global biodiversity hotspot with considerable species endemism. Despite such conservation significance, the forest is undergoing rapid modification and habitat loss mainly from anthropogenic pressures, with negative impacts on sensitive species such as the Sokoke Pipit (Anthus sokokensis), one of the globally-endangered birds. The study examined impacts of habitat degradation on the species’ population and spatial occurrence within three blocks of Brachystegia woodland in this forest. Over a three week period, six 1km transects were used to estimate the species’ population in relation to major habitat quality variables. Sokoke Pipits occurred at an overall mean density of 0.72±0.15 birds/ha with an estimated population of 5,544 in the Brachystegia woodland. Tree logging intensity was the key cause of the degradation of the Sokoke Pipit’s critical habitat, which affected its density (R2 = 0.663, ß = -0.814, p = 0.048). The species also preferred sites covered with deep floor litter (R2 = 0.769, ß = 0.877, p = 0.021) even in areas with low tree canopy height, but showed no clumped distribution (χ2(2, 0.05) = 2.061). The species generally occurred at very low densities in sites with intensive elephant activity that accelerated habitat modification by felling trees and opening the understorey. We conclude that although human-driven tree removal is a major driver of overall degradation of the Sokoke Pipit’s critical habitat, elephant activity may be an important additional catalytic factor in this process. Long term conservation strategies for the species will require stricter control of logging. Management of the population and dispersal of the elephants across the forest, especially in the Brachystegia woodland, may also be helpful.

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Biogeographic patterns of the East African coastal forest vertebrate fauna

Vertebrate Conservation and Biodiversity ◽

10.1007/978-1-4020-6320-6_5 ◽

2007 ◽

pp. 57-86 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ermias T. Azeria ◽

Isabel Sanmartín ◽

Stefan Ås ◽

Allan Carlson ◽

Neil Burgess

Keyword(s):

Coastal Forest ◽

East African ◽

Vertebrate Fauna ◽

Biogeographic Patterns

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Muhaka icipe, an enigmatic new genus and species of Kleidotomini (Hymenoptera: Figitidae: Eucoilinae) from an East African coastal forest

Journal of Natural History ◽

10.1080/00222933.2015.1042411 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 49 (43-44) ◽

pp. 2597-2607 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

M.L. Buffington ◽

R.S. Copeland

Keyword(s):

New Genus ◽

Coastal Forest ◽

New Genus And Species ◽

East African

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Spatial response of the globally-endangered Sokoke Pipit (Anthus sokokensis van Someren, 1921) to habitat modification in an Eastern Arc Coastal Forest

F1000Research ◽

10.12688/f1000research.3-59.v1 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 3 ◽

pp. 59

Author(s):

Nickson Erick Otieno ◽

David Ngala ◽

Alex Mwalimu

Keyword(s):

Habitat Quality ◽

Tree Canopy ◽

Habitat Modification ◽

Conservation Strategies ◽

Coastal Forest ◽

East African ◽

Anthropogenic Pressures ◽

Critical Habitat ◽

Eastern Arc ◽

Species Population

The Arabuko-Sokoke forest is the largest relic of a formerly larger contiguous East African coastal forest. It forms part of the Eastern Arc Forest system which is a global biodiversity hotspot with considerable species endemism. As one of the most important bird habitats in Africa, it hosts nine globally-threatened and four regionally threatened species. Despite such conservation significance, the forest is undergoing rapid modification and habitat loss mainly from anthropogenic pressures, with negative impacts on sensitive species such as the Sokoke Pipit (Anthus sokokensis). This study examined impacts of change in habitat quality on the species’ population and spatial occurrence within three blocks of Brachystegia woodland in the forest. Over a three week period, six 1-km transects were used to estimate the species’ population in relation to major habitat quality variables. Sokoke Pipits occurred at an overall mean density of 0.72±0.15 birds/ha with an estimated population of 5,544 in the Brachystegia woodland. Tree logging intensity was the key cause of the degradation of the Sokoke Pipit’s critical habitat, which affected its density (R2 = 0.663, ß = -0.814, p = 0.048). The species also preferred sites covered with deep floor litter (R2 = 0.769, ß = 0.877, p = 0.021) even in areas with low tree canopy height, but showed no clumped distribution (χ2(2, 0.05) = 2.061). Sites with intensive elephant activity, which leads to tree felling and clearing of the understorey, had low Sokoke Pipit densities. We conclude that although human-driven tree removal is a major driver of degradation of the Sokoke Pipit’s critical habitat, elephant activity may be an important additional factor in this process. Long term conservation strategies for the species will require stricter control of logging but management of the population and dispersal of elephants across the forest, especially in Brachystegia woodland, may also be helpful.

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