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Vocalization Analyses of Nocturnal Arboreal Mammals of the Taita Hills, Kenya. DIVERSITY 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/d12120473] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Three poorly known nocturnal mammal species from the montane forests of the Taita Hills in Kenya, were studied via vocalization analysis. Here, their acoustic behaviour is described. The studied animals were the tree hyrax (Dendrohyrax sp.), the small-eared greater galago (Otolemur garnettii), and the dwarf galago (Paragalago sp.). High-quality loud calls were analysed using RAVEN PRO, and compared to calls of presumed closest relatives. Our findings include the first detailed descriptions of tree hyrax songs. Moreover, our results suggest that the tree hyrax of Taita Hills may be a taxon new to science, as it produces a characteristic call, the ‘strangled thwack’, not previously known from other Dendrohyrax populations. Our data confirms that the small-eared greater galago subspecies living in the Taita Hills is Otolemur garnettii lasiotis. The loud calls of the elusive Taita Hills dwarf galago closely resemble those of the Kenya coast dwarf galago (Paragalago cocos). Thus, the population in the Taita Hills probably belongs to this species. The Taita Hills dwarf galagos are geographically isolated from other dwarf galago populations, and live in montane cloud forest, which is an unusual habitat for P. cocos. Intriguingly, two dwarf galago subpopulations living in separate forest patches in the Taita Hills, Ngangao and Mbololo, have clearly different contact calls. The Paragalagos in Mbololo Forest may represent a population of P. cocos with a derived call repertoire, or, alternatively, they may actually be mountain dwarf galagos (P. orinus). Hence, differences in habitat, behaviour, and contact call structure suggest that there may be two different Paragalago species in the montane forests of the Taita Hills.
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Aerts R, Van Overtveld K, November E, Wassie A, Abiyu A, Demissew S, Daye DD, Giday K, Haile M, TewoldeBerhan S, Teketay D, Teklehaimanot Z, Binggeli P, Deckers J, Friis I, Gratzer G, Hermy M, Heyn M, Honnay O, Paris M, Sterck FJ, Muys B, Bongers F, Healey JR. Conservation of the Ethiopian church forests: Threats, opportunities and implications for their management. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2016; 551-552:404-14. [PMID: 26881731 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.02.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2015] [Revised: 02/04/2016] [Accepted: 02/05/2016] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
In the central and northern highlands of Ethiopia, native forest and forest biodiversity is almost confined to sacred groves associated with churches. Local communities rely on these 'church forests' for essential ecosystem services including shade and fresh water but little is known about their region-wide distribution and conservation value. We (1) performed the first large-scale spatially-explicit assessment of church forests, combining remote-sensing and field data, to assess the number of forests, their size, shape, isolation and woody plant species composition, (2) determined their plant communities and related these to environmental variables and potential natural vegetation, (3) identified the main challenges to biodiversity conservation in view of plant population dynamics and anthropogenic disturbances, and (4) present guidelines for management and policy. The 394 forests identified in satellite images were on average ~2ha in size and generally separated by ~2km from the nearest neighboring forest. Shape complexity, not size, decreased from the northern to the central highlands. Overall, 148 indigenous tree, shrub and liana species were recorded across the 78 surveyed forests. Patch α-diversity increased with mean annual precipitation, but typically only 25 woody species occurred per patch. The combined results showed that >50% of tree species present in tropical northeast Africa were still present in the 78 studied church forests, even though individual forests were small and relatively species-poor. Tree species composition of church forests varied with elevation and precipitation, and resembled the potential natural vegetation. With a wide distribution over the landscape, these church forests have high conservation value. However, long-term conservation of biodiversity of individual patches and evolutionary potential of species may be threatened by isolation, small sizes of tree species populations and disturbance, especially when considering climate change. Forest management interventions are essential and should be supported by environmental education and other forms of public engagement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raf Aerts
- Division Forest, Nature and Landscape, University of Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200E-2411, BE-3001 Leuven, Belgium; College of Dryland Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mekelle University, P.O.·Box 231, Mekelle, Ethiopia.
| | - Koen Van Overtveld
- Division Soil and Water Management, University of Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200E-2411, BE-3001 Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Eva November
- College of Dryland Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mekelle University, P.O.·Box 231, Mekelle, Ethiopia; Division Soil and Water Management, University of Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200E-2411, BE-3001 Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Alemayehu Wassie
- Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University and Research Centre, P.O. Box 47, NL-6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands; College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Bahir Dar University, P.O. Box 5501, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.
| | - Abrham Abiyu
- Institute of Forest Ecology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Peter Jordanstraße 82, A-1190, Vienna, Austria; Amhara Agricultural Research Institute, P.O. Box 527, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.
| | - Sebsebe Demissew
- National Herbarium, Department of Plant Biology and Biodiversity Management, Addis Ababa University, P.O. Box 3434, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia..
| | - Desalegn D Daye
- School of Environment, Natural Resources and Geography, Bangor University, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2UW, UK; Ethiopian Wildlife and Natural History Society, P.O·Box 13303, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
| | - Kidane Giday
- Division Forest, Nature and Landscape, University of Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200E-2411, BE-3001 Leuven, Belgium; College of Dryland Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mekelle University, P.O.·Box 231, Mekelle, Ethiopia.
| | - Mitiku Haile
- College of Dryland Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mekelle University, P.O.·Box 231, Mekelle, Ethiopia.
| | - Sarah TewoldeBerhan
- College of Dryland Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mekelle University, P.O.·Box 231, Mekelle, Ethiopia.
| | - Demel Teketay
- Department of Crop Science and Production, Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Private Bag 0027, Gaborone, Botswana.
| | - Zewge Teklehaimanot
- School of Environment, Natural Resources and Geography, Bangor University, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2UW, UK.
| | - Pierre Binggeli
- School of Environment, Natural Resources and Geography, Bangor University, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2UW, UK.
| | - Jozef Deckers
- Division Soil and Water Management, University of Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200E-2411, BE-3001 Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Ib Friis
- Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Sølvgade 83, Opgang S, DK-1307 Copenhagen K, Denmark.
| | - Georg Gratzer
- Institute of Forest Ecology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Peter Jordanstraße 82, A-1190, Vienna, Austria.
| | - Martin Hermy
- Division Forest, Nature and Landscape, University of Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200E-2411, BE-3001 Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Moïra Heyn
- Division Forest, Nature and Landscape, University of Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200E-2411, BE-3001 Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Olivier Honnay
- Ecology, Evolution and Biodiversity Conservation Section, University of Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 31-2435, BE-3001 Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Maxim Paris
- Faculty of Engineering Technology, University of Leuven, Kleinhoefstraat 4, BE-2440 Geel, Belgium
| | - Frank J Sterck
- Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University and Research Centre, P.O. Box 47, NL-6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands.
| | - Bart Muys
- Division Forest, Nature and Landscape, University of Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200E-2411, BE-3001 Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Frans Bongers
- Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University and Research Centre, P.O. Box 47, NL-6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands.
| | - John R Healey
- School of Environment, Natural Resources and Geography, Bangor University, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2UW, UK.
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