Observations on the Association between Some Buprestid and Cerambycid Beetles and Black Frankincense Resin Inducement

Samburu resin harvesters in northern Kenya maintain that frankincense resin flow from Boswellia neglecta and Commiphora confusa is induced by insect larval activity. Observations on the insects’ larval behaviour support these claims. During the frankincense harvest, buprestid beetle larvae, identified as a Sphenoptera species, are found under B. neglecta resin, eating the monoterpene-rich inner bark, which apparently stimulates the trees to produce copious amounts of fresh resin. The same behaviour was observed with cerambycid beetle larvae, identified as Neoplocaederus benningseni Kolbe, on C. confusa trees. Remarkably, these insects have developed the capacity to digest the resin-saturated inner bark and overcome the toxic, repellent characteristics of oleo-monoterpenes. The frankincense resin also appears to act as a protective covering during the insects’ larval and pupal stages. Excessive tree damage was not noted from these insect invasions. Even though the tree species are from different genera, the resin produced by both is black, with a very similar aromatic chemical profile. The question thus arises as to whether the larval feeding behaviour of these beetle species has an influence, not only on the physical appearance but also on the chemical composition of the resins.

Remote Sensing for Biocultural Heritage Preservation in an African Semi-Arid Region: A Case Study of Indigenous Wells in Northern Kenya and Southern Ethiopia

The region of Southern Ethiopia (Borana) and Northern Kenya (Marsabit) is characterised by erratic rainfall, limited surface water, aridity, and frequent droughts. An important adaptive response to these conditions, of uncertain antiquity, has been the hand-excavation of a sequence of deep wells at key locations often along seasonal riverbeds and valley bottoms where subterranean aquifers can be tapped. Sophisticated indigenous water management systems have developed to ensure equitable access to these critical water resources, and these are part of well-defined customary institutional leadership structures that govern the community giving rise to a distinctive form of biocultural heritage. These systems, and the wells themselves, are increasingly under threat, however, from climate change, demographic growth, and socio-economic development. To contribute to an assessment of the scale, distribution and intensity of these threats, this study aimed to evaluate the land-use land-cover (LULC) and precipitation changes in this semi-arid to arid landscape and their association with, and impact on, the preservation of traditional wells. Multitemporal Landsat 5, 7 and 8 satellite imagery covering the period 1990 to 2020, analysed at a temporal resolution of 10 years, was classified using supervised classification via the Random Forest machine learning method to extract the following classes: bare land, grassland, shrub land, open forest, closed forest, croplands, settlement and waterbodies. Change detection was then applied to identify and quantify changes through time and landscape degradation indices were generated using the Shannon Diversity Index fragmentation index within a 15 km buffer of each well cluster. The results indicated that land cover change was mostly driven by increasing anthropogenic changes with resultant reduction in natural land cover classes. Furthermore, increased fragmentation has occurred within most of the selected buffer distances of the well clusters. The main drivers of change that have directly or indirectly impacted land degradation and the preservation of indigenous water management systems were identified through an analysis of land cover changes in the last 30 years, supporting insights from previous focused group discussions with communities in Kenya and Ethiopia. Our approach showed that remote sensing methods can be used for the spatially explicit mapping of landscape structure around the wells, and ultimately towards assessment of the preservation status of the indigenous wells.

New Dates for Megalithic Stele Monuments of Gedeo, South Ethiopia

This paper reports the results of an archaeological survey and test excavation conducted in one of the ancient megalithic stele sites in south Ethiopia, Sakaro Sodo. The Sakaro Sodo stele site is situated in Gedeo zone, which is known to have the largest number and highest concentration of megalithic stele monuments in Africa, with an estimate of more than 10,000 stelae in sixty or more sites. Prior to our work, only one absolute date was available (850 ± 40 BP) (Joussaume 2012) from a stele site in the Gedeo zone, suggesting stele sites began to be constructed in the region approximately a millennium ago. We report here new AMS dates suggesting that stelae were being emplaced about 2000 BP, pushing the creation of these monuments back at least a millennium. Additionally, we report preliminary findings from characterizing the geochemical properties of obsidian artifacts recovered from stele sites, and stone used to make stelae. While compositional analysis of obsidian suggests long-distance movement of material from sources located in northern Kenya, petrographic microscopy and electron microprobe analyses show a strong connection of stelae to local geological tuff exposures/sources.

Genomic analysis reveals geography rather than culture as the predominant factor shaping genetic variation in northern Kenyan human populations

Objectives: The aim of this study was to characterize the genetic relationships within and among four neighboring populations in northern Kenya in light of cultural relationships to understand the extent to which geography and culture shape patterns of genetic variation. Materials and Methods: We collected DNA and demographic information pertaining to aspects of social identity and heritage from 572 individuals across the Turkana, Samburu, Waso Borana, and Rendille of northern Kenya. We sampled individuals across a total of nine clans from these four groups and, additionally, three territorial sections within the Turkana and successfully genotyped 376 individuals. Results: Here we report that geography predominately shapes genetic variation within and among human groups in northern Kenya. We observed a clinal pattern of genetic variation that mirrors the overall geographic distribution of the individuals we sampled. We also found relatively higher rates of intermarriage between the Rendille and Samburu and evidence of gene flow between them that reflect these higher rates of intermarriage. Among the Turkana, we observed strong recent genetic substructuring based on territorial section affiliation. Within ethnolinguistic groups, we found that Y chromosome haplotypes do not consistently cluster by natal clan affiliation. Finally, we found that sampled populations that are geographically closer have lower genetic differentiation, and that cultural similarity does not predict genetic similarity as a whole across these northern Kenyan populations. Discussion: Overall, the results from this study highlight the importance of geography, even on a local geographic scale, in shaping observed patterns of genetic variation in human populations.

Molecular Detection and Characterization of Pasteurella multocida Infecting Camels in Marsabit and Turkana Counties, Kenya

BackgroundInfection with Pasteurella multocida is abundant in Kenya yet there is scarce information on their genetic diversity. Pasteurella multocida is considered to be one of the normal flora in the respiratory tract of camels and other animals but it becomes pathogenic and causes pasteurellosis when the resistance of the camel body is diminished by harmful environmental influences. Close herding, overwork, limited food supply, and wet climatic conditions are stresses that seem to speed the spread of the infection. Conventional PCR, Multiplex PCR and sequencing were applied to enhance identification of Pasteurella multocida at any level of specificity viz; strain, species, and genus. These molecular tools were applied to confirm the presence and genetic diversity of Pasteurella multocida in 102 blood and 30 nasal swab samples collected from Marsabit and Turkana counties in Kenya. Kmt1 gene was used as the marker gene for Pasteurella multocida and hyaD-hyaC, bcbD, dcbF, ecbJ, and fcbD as marker genes for capsular groups. A study done in northern Kenya noted that in Africa pasteurellosis infections causing death in camels (Camelus dromedarius) have been existing since 1890 though the real cause of this disease remains elusive and needs further study. The study was done to detect Pasteurella multocida and characterize its capsular types by application of molecular biology toolsResultsTwenty one Kenyan isolates were confirmed to be Pasteurella multocida and only capsular group E was detected in both counties. Pasteurella multocida sequences were found to be highly conserved, however isolates detected in Kenya were found to be genetically related to other isolates from African and other parts of the world. ConclusionsThe study confirm that the camels were infected by Pasteurella multocida of capsular type E in Marsabit and Turkana Counties of Kenya. DNA sequences were found to be homologous to Pasteurella multocida thereby confirming that the camels were infected by Pasteurella multocida.