Fiesta Warinwa

Population Status and Trend of the Maasai Giraffe in the Mid Kenya-Tanzania Borderland

The Maasai ostrich (Struthio camelus) is a the largest avian species in East Africa and though it’s not considered to be a species of conservation concern, some populations are on the decline and this is attributed to bush meat activities, predation on their eggs illegal consumption by humans, habitat destruction and forage competition with other large wildlife species. Climate change is also emerging to be another major threat due to interference with food availability which in turn interferes with the breeding rhythm. Thus, this study examined the population status, trend and distribution of the Maasai ostrich in the Southern Kenya and Northern Tanzania borderland after the 2007 to 2009 drought. The results showed that the species was found across the entire borderland but the Amboseli region had the highest number and density of Maasai ostrich (726.00 ± 100.9; 0.08 ± 0.01 ostriches per km), followed by Lake Natron area (330.8 ± 69.8; 0.05 ± 0.01 ostriches per km) and the least was in West Kilimanjaro (85.5 ± 18.0; 0.03 ± 0.01 ostriches per km). Drought caused a decline in the population of the Maasai ostrich but the Amboseli area experienced the highest decline in density (−13.44 ± 12.61) compared to other borderland sectors. However, the populations increased in most sectors after the drought, and wet season numbers and densities were higher than the dry season. The highest positive increase in number and density was in Lake Natron area (+85.65 ± 91.06) followed by West Kilimanjaro (+68.39 ± 59.54), and the least was in the Magadi area (+22.26 ± 32.05). There is a need to enhance conservation of avian species like the Maasai ostrich other than just focusing on the charismatic species such as the African elephant and black rhino. We therefore recommend joint collaboration in monitoring all large wildlife populations across the Kenya-Tanzania borderland with a view of underHow to cite this paper: Okello, M.M., Kiringe, J.W., Kenana, L., Warinwa, F., Maliti, H., Sitati, N.W., Kanga, E., Bakari, S., Ndambuki, S., Muruthi, P., Gichohi, N., Massawe, E., Kimutai, D., Mwita, M. and Muteti, D. (2016) Population Status and Trend of the Maasai Ostrich in the Mid Kenya—Tanzania Borderland. Natural Resources, 7, 558579. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/nr.2016.710047 Received: March 22, 2016 Accepted: October 28, 2016 Published: October 31, 2016 Copyright

Tree Species Diversity and Dominance in Ketumbeine Forest Reserve, Tanzania

Ketumbeine Forest Reserve, an isolated forest on a small protruding hill located in the dry area of northern Tanzania has unknown tree species diversity and dominance. Using a systematic grid of 390 m by 780 m in 77 randomly selected plots of 0.071 ha, located along nine transects, botanical names of tree species, diameter above breast height (dbh), regenerants and key shrub species were recorded in order to determine species diversity index, dominance index, number of shrubs and regenerants, forest stocking and tree basal area, respectively. A total of 26 tree species and 17 shrubs were recorded. The tree species with the highest importance values were Cassipourea malosana (37%), Nuxia congesta (20%), Olea europaea (10%), and Juniperus procera (10%), among others. The Simpson index value ranged between 0.0 and 0.0925 with Cassipourea malosana and Nuxia congesta having the highest index with 0.0925 and 0.0278, respectively. The Shannon index of tree species diversity ranged between 0.0177 and 0.3620 with Cassipourea malosana having the highest index. Forest stocking was 435 stems per ha with a mean species basal area of 30.49 m2 per hectare with Nuxia congesta occupying the highest (259.443 m2 per ha) area and Flacoutia indica the lowest (0.0044 m2 per ha), respectively. The estimated wood volume per hectare was 395.07 m3 . The mean total density of regenerants was 97 ± 30 stems per hectare with Urtica masaica (90), Lippia javonica (30), Rhus vulgaris (20), being the dominant shrubs. In conclusion, the forest has high tree species diversity which is a good stand characteristic of a natural forest. The forest basal area is quite good for the montane forest which normally ranges between 20-60 m2 / ha. However, if unchecked, human disturbance may alter the tree species composition. This survey established a baseline for future monitoring of the forest performance.