Philip Muruthi

Resource base, parity, and reproductive condition affect females' feeding time and nutrient intake within and between groups of a baboon population

SummaryWe examined within- and between-group differences in aspects of feeding and nutrient intake among adult females of a single population of baboons (Papio cynocephalus) in Amboseli National Park, Kenya. Differences in time spent feeding, daily energy and protein intake and feeding efficiency (nutrient intake per minute spent feeding) reflected differences in resource base, reproductive condition and parity. Baboons that partially fed from a lodge garbage dump spent less than half the time feeding than those that were feeding totally in the wild. During this greatly reduced feeding time, the garbage-feeding group had a similar daily energy intake and only a slightly lower daily protein intake relative to wild-feeding baboons. Consequently, the feeding efficiency of the semi-provisioned baboons was appreciably higher than that of the non-provisioned baboons. For the totally wild-feeding baboons, samples were large enough to permit analyses of feeding time and nutrient intake during different reproductive states and parity. Females spent more time feeding and had higher daily energy and protein intake when they were pregnant or lactating than when they were sexually cycling. Nulliparous females spent more time feeding than their multiparous counterparts. The daily energy intake of nulliparous females was higher than that of their multiparous counterparts, but their daily protein intakes did not differ significantly. Pregnant or lactating and nulliparous females had higher feeding efficiency than their sexually cycling and multiparous counterparts. The two nulliparous females in the garbage-feeding group spent more time feeding but did not take in more energy or protein per day than their multiparous counterparts.

Gastrointestinal Parasites in Free-Ranging Kenyan Baboons (Papio cynocephalus and P. anubis)

We screened fecal samples from 3 groups of wild-living baboons (Papio cynocephalus and P. anubis), involved in longitudinal behavioral studies, for evidence of gastrointestinal parasites. The two objectives of the study were: 1) to compare parasites from two of the groups with different foraging behavior from the same area and 2) to obtain fecal parasitic data on 3 groups of baboons to provide baseline reference data. We sampled individual baboons opportunistically from Lodge and Hooks groups, Amboseli National Park and from Mpala Group, Mpala Wildlife Research Centre, Kenya. Lodge Group baboons supplemented foraging on wild foods by daily foraging in human-source refuse, whereas Hooks and Mpala groups did not. We collected fecal samples from 55, 30 and 42 individuals in Hooks, Lodge and Mpala groups, respectively, and processed them via ether sedimentation. We identified strongylids, Streptopharagus sp., Physaloptera sp., Trichuris sp., Enterobius sp., and Strongyloides sp., in the feces, but no parasite directly attributable to exposure to people. Garbage- and wild-feeding Amboseli baboons differed in the prevalence of Streptopharagus sp., Physaloptera sp. and Trichuris sp.

The Heartland Conservation Process: enhancing biodiversity conservation and livelihoods through landscape-scale conservation planning in Africa.

The African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) has developed and applied a landscape-scale conservation planning methodology in eight priority conservation landscapes in Africa, areas we call African Heartlands. The foundation of the African Heartland Program is a landscape-scale planning process that has been developed and applied as part of the overall Heartland Conservation Process. This process helps AWF and its partners develop intervention strategies that address critical threats to the ecological viability of these landscapes, and to specific biodiversity conservation targets, whilst also working to improve the livelihoods of local people. In applying this participatory planning process to eight conservation landscapes in Africa we have begun to document and learn about the benefits and limitations of planning and implementation at the landscape-scale with stakeholders. We draw out lessons on the challenges and successes from our experience. Central to this are the merits of balancing a systematic science-based and pragmatic approach to landscape-scale conservation planning while addressing the needs and aspirations of local people. This approach could be particularly useful for other large-scale conservation planning efforts in developing countries where conservation objectives and human livelihoods are inextricably linked.

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.