Transforming practice: checklists for delivering change

Delivering a revolution in evidence use requires a cultural change across society. For a wide range of groups (practitioners, knowledge brokers, organisations, organisational leaders, policy makers, funders, researchers, journal publishers, the wider conservation community, educators, writers, and journalists), options are described to facilitate a change in practice, and a series of downloadable checklists is provided

POND SIZE AFFECTS ABUNDANCE AND DIVERSITY OF AVIAN SPECIES

Wetlands provide great important ecosystem services and serve as refugia for biodiversity. Birds are bio-indicators of environmental health and utilize the wetland ecosystems. Wetlands and birds face many threats from anthropogenic activities in the forms of degradation and habitat loss. This research aimed at assessing the effects of pond size on avian abundance and diversity in a wetland in Jos south Local Government Area of Plateau state, ten (10) ponds were sampled using point count method. Each pond had two (2) points which were visited twice daily (morning and afternoon) each. A total of three thousand, four hundred and forty-eight (3448) individual birds consisting of 97 species belonging to fifty- one (51) families were recorded. Intra-African migrants such as Didric cuckoo (Chrysococcyx caprius) and yellow-billed kite (Milvus aegyptius) were recorded. Species diversity and abundance were tested against the size of the pond, depth of the pond and vegetation cover on and around the pond to determine the factors that best depicts the diversity and abundance of avian species at the Rennajj fish farm. Pond size was a significant predictor of bird abundance (P< 0.01) and had a slight positive effect on the diversity of avian species which was not statistically significant at (P>0.05). Depth of the pond had no significant effect on both bird abundance and species diversity (p>0.05). Vegetation parameters such as shrubs and saplings had positive effect while vegetation on water and number of trees had negative relationship at (p<0.001) on the abundance of birds, vegetation on the water had a negative relationship at (p<0.001) with the diversity of bird species. Wetland ecosystems should be protected from excessive human activities as they host wealth of biodiversity

PREVALENCE OF GASTROINTESTINAL PARASITES OF HORSES AND ASSOCIATED RISK FACTORS IN PLATEAU STATE, NIGERIA.

Horses are companion animals and highly resourceful in sports, national and traditional ceremonies, military and paramilitary involvements hence they play an important part in the economics of Nigeria. Gastrointestinal parasites are known to be deleterious to horses thus affecting the health, productivity and working capacity. In order to determine the prevalence of Gastrointestinal parasites and associated risk factors, fecal samples were collected from 107 horses comprising 58 females and 49 males from 3 local government areas including Jos North, Jos South and Riyom in Plateau State, samples were carefully examined using floatation and sedimentation techniques. The overall prevalence of gastrointestinal helminths was 46.7% out of which 11.2% were mixed infections. 7 different gastrointestinal parasites were observed in the animals studied: Ascaris equorum (12.1%), Eimeria spp (8.4%), Fasciola spp (3.7%), Gastrodiscus aegyptiacus (2.8%), Strongyloides spp (7.5%), Strongylus spp (11.2%) and Trichomena spp (14%). No significant differences (p>0.05) in the prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites were observed in relation to age, sex and breed but there was significant variation (p<0.05) in relation to location. The study reveals that gastrointestinal helminths are still a major constraint to the overall working and productivity of horses in the study areas hence the need for improved management practices

Identifying stakeholders and collaborating with communities

Working with communities, including local and Indigenous communities, is fundamental to most successful conservation practice. Key elements include determining the appropriate level of engagement, identifying the key stakeholders, identifying appropriate means of collaborating with different stakeholders, creating and maintaining trust, and collaborating to deliver the objectives

Eponyms have no place in 21st-century biological nomenclature

We argue that naming species in honour of a specific person is unjustifiable and out of step with equality and representation. Reforming taxonomy to remove eponyms will not be easy but could bring multiple benefits for both conservation and society

How citizen scientists are rapidly generating big distribution data: lessons from the Arewa Atlas Team, Nigerian Bird Atlas Project

The Arewa Atlas Team (AAT) in northern Nigeria has set an example for a robust methodological data collection and made a big impact for the African Bird Atlas Project. To broaden national bird atlas projects and coverage across the continent, this paper reports on the activities and protocols of the AAT. We set out how we have galvanised bird clubs and bird club members to participate in this important monitoring project. We then focus on a bird atlas expedition conducted to the Bauchi State as an example. The outing was carried out from 24 to 28 September 2020 in line with the BirdMap protocol. For the first time, the AAT atlased 100 pentads and recorded 8 591 individual birds of 222 species (24.21% of Nigerian birds) from 67 families. We explore what can be done with these data, by presenting a summary of descriptions of the birds observed. For instance, we recorded 184 resident species, nine intra-African and 24 Palearctic migrants. The highest bird abundance (120 individuals) was recorded at 11°00′26.9″ N, 9°29′46.5″ E, pentad 1105C0925. Furthermore, the Rock Firefinch Lagonosticta sanguinodorsalis was out-of-range from Lumba. The Tawny Eagle Aquila rapax (Vulnerable) and Pallid Harrier Circus macrourus (Near Threatened) were species of conservation concern. Results of this survey shows that citizen science is a powerful tool to make rapid biodiversity assessments of bird species richness and abundance and provides insights into bird occurrence and composition. This can be extended to distribution over time at a local geographic scale. Continuous efforts to map bird distributions are therefore recommended, mostly in regions and countries where atlas projects have not been established or still in the formative stages. It is important that bird atlas teams maximise ways to accomplish more noteworthy coverage in their respective national bird atlas projects and here we outline how we accomplished this as motivation and a model for the African Bird Atlas Project. Keywords: African bird atlas project; Bauchi State; bird distribution; bird conservation; volunteers; public awarenes

Transforming Practice: Checklists for Delivering Change

Delivering a revolution in evidence use requires a cultural change across society. For a wide range of groups (practitioners, knowledge brokers, organisations, organisational leaders, policy makers, funders, researchers, journal publishers, the wider conservation community, educators, writers, and journalists), options are described to facilitate a change in practice, and a series of downloadable checklists are provided.publishedVersio