Centre
for Tropical Plant Conservation, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden,
11935 Old Cutler Road, Coral Gables, FL 33156-4242 USA
quentin.luke@swiftkenya.com
An
annotated checklist of the Shimba Hills in Kwale District is presented.
The checklist includes the plants found in the Shimba Hills National
Reserve, Mkongani North and West Forest Reserves, Matuga, Mwaluganje
Forest Reserve and Elephant Sanctuary, as well as Kaya Chombo, Kaya
Teleza, Chitsanze Sacred Grove and the recently destroyed Kaya Miyani.
One thousand three hundred and ninety six (1396) plant taxa in 145
families and 686 genera are documented. This represents 44% of the
coastal flora and 21% of the Kenyan flora. For each taxon recorded,
I also present recent synonyms, a reference specimen, a more precise
locality within the checklist area, a short description of its habit
and a diagnostic characteristic, as well as some notes on its distribution
and conservation status.
Back
to the top
*********************************************
Ingo Lehmann
Turnerweg 09, 23970 Wismar, Germany
ingo.lehmann@freenet.de
Esther
Kioko
Department of Invertebrate Zoology, National Museums of Kenya, P.O.
Box 40658, Nairobi, Kenya
ekioko@icipe.org
Three
isolated lowland coastal forest patches in Kwale District, namely
Kaya Muhaka, Kaya Kinondo and Kaya Diani are classified here as
“Wetter mixed semi-deciduous forest”, “Groundwater
forest on coral rag” and “Maritime scrub forest”.
Although they are sacred to the Digo people, different rates of
disturbance were assessed. Kaya Kinondo, which represents a rare
forest type along the Kenya coast, is undisturbed at least since
the authors began their studies in 1994. Floristic diversity and
endemism are high in all Kayas. Lepidoptera diversity is low in
Kaya Kinondo, showing that an undisturbed forest does not automatically
have a rich Lepidoptera fauna and that the latter does not always
respond to a diverse flora. With 352 species, Lepidoptera diversity
and endemism is high in Kaya Muhaka. This includes species with
a western and central Africa distribution, as well as the Kenyan
endemic montane subspecies Charaxes acuminatus shimbanus. Larger
moths that appear to be endemic to coastal eastern Africa are presented
and others have been preliminary classified as rare for coastal
Kenya including species first recorded from Kenya. Two biogeographical
groups of coastal forests were found among ca. 30% of the Kenyan
butterfly fauna and the authors believe that a further sub-division
of the “Usambara-Kwale local centre of endemism” is
possible between coastal forests further inland (e.g. Kaya Muhaka)
and those close to the shoreline of the Indian Ocean (e.g. Kaya
Kinondo, Kaya Diani).
Back
to the top
********************************************
Thierry
Deroin
USM 0602 Taxonomie et Collections, Département Systématique
et Évolution, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle,
CP 39, 57 rue Cuvier, F-75231 Paris cedex 05, France
deroin@mnhn.fr
Quentin
Luke
The East African Herbarium, National Museums of Kenya, P.O. Box
45166, Nairobi, Kenya
quentin.luke@swiftkenya.com
A
new species Toussaintia patriciae, from the Udzungwa Mountains in
Tanzania, is described and illustrated and its relationship to the
other three species in the genus discussed.
Back
to the top
****************************************
Norbert
J. Cordeiro
Department of Biological Sciences (m/c 066), University of Illinois,
Chicago, IL 60607-7060, USA
ncorde1@uic.edu
Nathalie
Seddon
Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street,
Cambridge, UK
nathalietobias@hotmail.com
David
R. Capper
Environmental Policy Department, Foreign & Commonwealth Office,
King Charles Street, London, SW1A 2AH, UK
david.capper@defra.gsi.gov.uk
Jonathan
M.M. Ekstrom
BirdLife International, Wellbrook Court, Girton Road, Cambridge,
UK
Jonathan.Ekstrom@birdlife.org
Kim
M. Howell
Department of Zoology & Marine Biology, University of Dar es
Salaam, P.O.Box 35064, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
kmhowell@udsm.ac.tz
Isabel
S. Isherwood
Tomsteads, Woodland, Broughton-in-Furness, Cumbria, LA20 6DG, UK
isisherwood@yahoo.co.uk
Charles
A.M. Msuya
Department of Zoology & Marine Biology, University of Dar es
Salaam, P.O.Box 35064, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
cmsuya@uccmail.co.tz
Jonas
T. Mushi
Kilimanjaro Catchment Forest Office, P.O. Box 1826, Moshi, Tanzania
jacksontz2004@yahoo.com
Andrew
W. Perkin
Nocturnal Primate Research Group, Anthropology Department, Social
Sciences and Law, Oxford Brookes University, Gipsy Lane, Headington,
Oxford OX3 0BP, UK
bwanakomba@yahoo.co.uk
Robert
G. Pople
BirdLife International, Wellbrook Court, Girton Road, Cambridge,
UK
rob.pople@cantab.net
WilliamT.
Stanley
Division of Mammals, Field Museum of Natural History, 1400 S Lake
Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605, USA
wstanley@fieldmuseum.org
From
1993 to 2000, observations were made of small to medium-sized mammals
in seven poorly known submontane forest reserves and one village
forest in the North Pare, South Pare, East Usambara and Nguu Mountains,
Tanzania. Of 26 species recorded, three are Red-Listed as Threatened
(Endangered: Zanj elephant shrew Rhynchocyon petersi; Vulnerable:
red-bellied coast squirrel Paraxerus palliatus, and eastern tree
hyrax Dendrohyrax validus) and five as Lower Risk (two dwarf galagos
Galagoides spp., African buffalo Syncerus caffer, suni Neotragus
moschatus, and Harvey's duiker Cephalophus harveyi). Most of our
mammal records represent new distributions in the Eastern Arc Mountains,
and one record of an unidentified squirrel in the Nguu Mountains
is of conservation interest. Together with timber removal and cultivation,
hunting appears to threaten the survival of mammals in these forests.
There is an urgent need to establish long-term conservation programmes
in these forests and more thorough surveys of mammals are necessary.
Back
to the top
*****************************************
Rauri
C.K. Bowie
Evolutionary Genomics Group, Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch
University Private Bag X1, Matieland 7602, South Africa
bowie@sun.ac.za
Jon
Fjeldså
Zoological Museum, University of Copenhagen, Universitietsparken
15, Copenhagen, Denmark
jfjeldsaa@zmuc.ku.dk
The
Udzungwa forest partridge, Xenoperdix udzungwensis is known from
only three forests within the Udzungwa and Rubeho Highlands of the
Eastern Arc Mountains. Given the phenotypic differences between
the Udzungwa (X. u. udzungwensis) and Rubeho Highland (X. u. obscurata)
populations, it seems unlikely that there remains recurrent gene
flow between these two populations. We used a combination of mitochondrial
(1041 bp of NADH Dehydrogenase subunit 2) and nuclear DNA (569 bp
of Fibrinogen intron 5 and 387 bp of Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate
Dehydrogenase intron 11) markers to investigate the degree to which
these two taxa are separated. In mtDNA, 0.5% sequence divergence,
with five-fixed mutational differences (two amino acid changes)
was recovered between X. u. udzungwensis and X. u. obscurata. One
fixed difference was found for Fib5 and none for Gadph11. Coalescent
models suggest that no gene flow is taking place between the Udzungwa
and Rubeho Highlands and that divergence between the two taxa took
place about 200 000 years before present. The presence of fixed
mutational differences in mtDNA and in one of the two nDNA markers
analysed, the lack of gene flow, and diagnosable morphological differences
(including potential display signals) between X. u. udzungwensis
and X. u. obscurata, suggest that X. u. obscurata be accorded full
species status, Xenoperdix obscurata, for which we put forth the
common name ‘Rubeho forest partridge’.
Back
to the top
***************************************
William
T. Stanley
Division of Mammals, Field Museum of Natural History, 1400 South
Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605, USA
bstanley@fieldmuseum.org
Alfeo
M. Nikundiwe, Fatina A. Mturi, Philip. M. Kihaule
Department of Zoology and Marine Biology, University of Dar es Salaam,,
P.O. Box 35064, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
zoology@udsm.ac.tz
Patricia
D. Moehlman
Wildlife Trust Alliance, Box 2031, Arusha, Tanzania
PDMBHF@aol.com
Small
mammals were sampled in the Udzungwa Mountains National Park, Tanzania,
during 1995 and 1996. Twenty-four species, representing 16 genera
were recorded for three orders: Insectivora, Chiroptera and Rodentia.
Identifications and natural history information are presented for
this poorly known fauna from a unique Eastern Arc Mountains habitat.
Back
to the top
*******************************************
William
T. Stanley
Division of Mammals, Field Museum of Natural History, 1400 South
Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605, U.S.A.
bstanley@fieldmuseum.org
Jody
Gunn
Environmental Science Research Centre, Anglia Polytechnic University,
East Road, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB1 1PT, UK
j.gunn@apu.ac.uk
Philip.
M. Kihaule
Department of Zoology and Marine Biology, University of Dar es Salaam,,
P.O. Box 35064, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
zoology@udsm.ac.tz
Small
mammals were sampled on Mount Malundwe in Mikumi National Park,
Tanzania, during July 2004. Nine species, representing seven genera
were recorded for three mammalian orders: Insectivora, Chiroptera
and Rodentia. Species documented included those common in other
montane areas of Tanzania as well as inhabitants of drier habitats.
Identifications and natural history information are presented for
this poorly known fauna from a unique Eastern Arc habitat.
Back
to the top
*******************************************
William
T. Stanley & Mary Anne Rogers
Department of Zoology, Field Museum of Natural History, 1400 South
Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605, USA
bstanley@fieldmuseum.org
marogers@fieldmuseum.org
Kim
M. Howell, & Charles A. Msuya
Department of Zoology and Marine Biology, University of Dar es Salaam,
P.O. Box 35064, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
zoology@udsm.ac.tz
The
small mammals of Kwamgumi Forest Reserve, a habitat representing
transition between coastal and Eastern Arc forest types, and one
of the lower forest reserves of the East Usambara Mountains, Tanzania,
were sampled to gain a preliminary perspective on the diversity
and abundance of the shrews, bats and rodents of this unique forest.
While the species documented are reminiscent of those found at higher
elevations in the East and West Usambara Mountains, the abundance
of shrews and rodents, based on trap success, was much lower than
in the montane forests of the Eastern Arc Mountains.
Back
to the top
******************************************
Joyce
Chege & Benny Bytebier
East African Herbarium, National Museums of Kenya, P.O. Box 45166,
00100 Nairobi, Kenya
y.chege@cgiar.org
bytebier@sun.ac.za
The
structure of four small forest fragments, Kichuchenyi, Macha, Ndiwenyi
and Yale, all situated in the Dabida massif of the Taita Hills,
was analyzed. The study was based on sample plots of 400 m2 each.
Basal area, stratification and disturbance data are presented. All
fragments are heavily disturbed. Ndiwenyi and Kichuchenyi forests
are structurally very similar. However, the main characteristic
of the former is its remarkably large diameter trees in comparison
to all the other fragments. Yale is the least disturbed of the four
forests and has the highest number of species typical of the primary
forest.
Back
to the top
*******************************************
Ole
Z. Göller
Vester Janderupvej 17, 6851 Janderup, Denmark
ole@ozg.dk
During
a bird watching excursion to the Amani Nature Reserve (East Usambara
Mountains), Tanzania, in July 2003, five ornithologists encountered
a mongoose of the Bdeogale-group. The mongoose was most likely the
Sokoke dog mongoose Bdeogale omnivora Heller, 1913, a species first
observed from this area in 1939, but not reported since then.
Back
to the top
