Tanzania Red-billed Hornbill Tockus ruahae feeding on a Giant Water Bug

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Preliminary comparison of birds inhabiting exotic Acacia and native bushland habitats in semi-arid east-central Tanzania

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Avian Use of Habitat Patches Dominated by Exotic Leucaena leucocephala or Native Tree Species in Urban Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

There has been an incursion of an exotic Leucaena leucocephala in disturbed areas and into habitat patches of native tree species in some areas in Tanzania. However, the impacts of this exotic tree on native biodiversity are not well understood. We assessed bird use of habitat patches dominated by L. leucocephala in comparison to patches of native tree species  at the University of Dar es Salaam main campus, Tanzania, by comparing bird species richness, abundance and diversity using mist netting. Based on the same mist netting efforts in each habitat patch type, patches of native trees had significantly higher overall diversity (t = 1.999, df = 293.64, p < 0.05) and abundance (χ2 = 40.525, df = 1, p < 0.001) of birds than those dominated by the exotic L. leucocephala and significantly greater abundance of forest-dependent species (χ2 = 10.938, df = 1, p < 0.001) and forest visitors (χ2 = 15.258, df = 1, p < 0.001). The similarity in bird species between the two habitats was 0.658 indicating that many bird species occurred in both habitat types. The lower diversity and overall abundance of  birds in the patches dominated by the exotic plant suggest that it does not provide appropriate habitat for many bird species, and further spread of this exotic will be detrimental to the local avifauna. Keywords: Birds, diversity, native tree species, exotic tree species, Leucaena leucocephala

Understorey Bird Communities 8 and 18 Years after River Diversion in Kihansi Gorge, Udzungwa Mountains in the Eastern Arc Mountains, Tanzania

On the most south-western slopes of the Udzungwa Mountains in Tanzania lies Kihansi River. The river was diverted underground in 2000 to run electric turbines for electricity generation. Using mist netting, pre-diversion (in 1998 and 1999) and short term post-diversion (in 2001) effects of the river diversion on understorey birds were undertaken before and year after river diversion, respectively. Intermediate and long-term effects of river diversion on understorey birds at the same transects are non-existent. In September 2008 and August and September 2018, using mist nets, birds were surveyed at the same transects  to assess whether or not there have been changes in avian community structure, abundance and diversity eight and 18 years after the river was diverted. Results suggest that there have been no significant changes in pre- diversion and eight and 18Keywords:     Avian community composition; Kihansi River; Mist netting; River diversion; Species diversity; Understorey forest bird

Effect of habitat fragmentation on diversity and abundance of nesting birds in an urban landscape: the case of Mwalimu Nyerere Campus thickets, University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Little is known of the nesting bird species in most of urban areas of East Africa. An investigation was made of the occurrence of breeding bird species in the fragmented thickets found in the Mwalimu Nyerere Campus of the University of Dar es Salaam, in the City of Dar es Salaam. The study examined how habitat fragmentation affects nesting bird species richness and diversity in the thickets. Systematic physical nest searches of breeding birds were conducted in the fragmented thickets. Searches were conducted in transects and they included inspecting vegetation, bare ground, cavities, stream (river) banks and other suitable nesting locations for the presence of active nests. Numbers and diversity of nesting bird species increased with fragment size which suggest that most nesting birds avoid smaller fragments and that reductions in size of habitat might negatively affect majority of the nesting bird species. For continued conservation of birds, protection of the remaining thicket fragments on the campus is recommended.Keywords: fragmentation, nesting birds, thickets, campus of the University of Dar es Salaam, nest species diversit

The role of kopjes in bird species’ conservation within an agricultural matrix west of the Greater Serengeti Ecosystem, Tanzania

This study was conducted in unprotected agricultural land located just west of the Greater Serengeti Ecosystem to assess 1) avian community composition in four different habitat types, and 2) the importance of kopjes found in agricultural areas in conservation of birds. All species recorded during this study have been recorded in the nearby Serengeti Ecosystem suggesting that the study area is a subset of this ecosystem. The density of bird species and individuals were higher in the kopjes than in the surrounding human-impacted habitats. Thus the kopjes in farmland increase regional avifaunal diversity, and this is likely due to the provision of diverse habitats. The kopjes as well as the surrounding habitats are important for bird species conservation even though they are found in agricultural areas

Birds of Golden Pride Project area, Nzega District, central Tanzania: an evaluation of recolonization of rehabilitated areas

In Tanzania, the success of habitat restoration in mining areas to create suitable environmental conditions for wildlife is poorly understood. Between March 2010 and December 2014 bird species were recorded at the Golden Pride Project area, a gold mine in Nzega District, central Tanzania. The aims of this study were to document bird communities in the mine area, and to assess the extent to which rehabilitated areas have been recolonised. Mist netting, point counts, timed species counts and opportunistic observations were used to document 181 species of birds at the mine area. These included two species endemic to Tanzania, the Tanzanian Red-billed Hornbill Tockus ruahae (treated here as a species separate from T. erythrorhynchus, see Kemp & Delport 2002, Sinclair & Ryan 2010) and Ashy Starling Cosmopsarus unicolor. Rehabilitated areas had about half the number of species found in the unmined areas. Bird use of areas under rehabilitation suggests that habitat restoration can be used to create corridors linking fragmented landscapes. Results suggest that as the vegetation of the rehabilitated areas becomes more structurally complex, the number of bird species found there will be similar to those in unmined areas. This study provides a baseline for future monitoring, leading to a better understanding of the process of avian colonisation of rehabilitated areas. Furthermore, results imply that in mining areas it is useful to have an unmined area where vegetation is naturally allowed to regenerate, free of human activity. These unmined areas can later act as source habitats from which birds can disperse into rehabilitation areas once the vegetation structure is sufficiently complex

The reptiles of Mkomazi National Park, Tanzania an updated checklist with some aspects of biogeography

The Mkomazi National Park (MNP) is a protected area representing three major biomes, yet it remains poorly known from a herpetological perspective. Intensive surveys for reptiles were carried out in the MNP during dry and wet seasons in 2018, with the main focus of updating the existing data and assessing the influence of the three biomes on the park’s species composition. Various methods were used to document 55 species, most of which were found during the dry season. The checklist of reptiles of MNP is now updated to 73 species, 97% of which are typical of the Somalia-Maasai biome, equivalent to 54% of all Somalia-Maasai biome species in Tanzania. The MNP was found to be the most discordant in species composition from the contiguous Pare and Usambara Mountains, the latter two areas harbouring Afromontane forest-dependent species. We recommend surveys at Kinondu, Ibaya and Maji Kununua hills and foothills along the West Usambara and South Pare Mountains in order to confirm Afromontane species in MNP. Keywords: Herpetofauna, inventory, Somalia-Maasai, biodiversity, conservatio

Profile of plasma lipids and degree of derangements among the elderly of Morogoro region, Tanzania

Changes in lifestyles and ageing have been associated with growing rates of modifiable cardiovascular risk factors (CRF). Dyslipidemia is one of the CRF associated with numbers of cardiovascular diseases. This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the profile and degree of derangements of plasma lipids among 300 (176 females and 124 males) elderly individuals aged ≥60 years in Morogoro, Tanzania. The calorimetric enzymatic methods and the Friedewal’s equation were used for determination of cholesterols and triglycerides (TG). Social and demographic characteristics were gathered by structured questionnaires. The logistic regression models were used to identify the determinants of abnormal serum lipids level. Mean Total Cholesterols (TC) and Low Density Lipoprotein Cholesterols (LDL-C) in females exceeded significantly that of males. Mean TC, LDL-C as well as TG (mg/dL) declined significantly with age while mean High Density Lipoprotein Cholesterols (HDL-C) also declined but only slightly. Elderly females were two times more likely to have elevated TC (OR=2.11; 95% CI: 1.04-4.28: P=0.05) and LDL-C (OR=2.15; 95% CI: 1.17-3.97: P=0.019) and three times to have lowered HDL-C (OR=3; 95% CI: 1.97-5.30: P<0.001) than males. Urban residents were about two times more likely to have elevated LDL-C (OR=1.84; 95% CI: 1.04-3.25: P=0.047) than their rural counterparts. Body Mass Index of ≥30 kg/m2 was also associated with elevated LDL-C (OR=1.89; 95% CI: 1.05-3.42: P=0.045) and lowered HDL-C (OR=2.18; 95% CI: 1.3-3.65: P=0.004), respectively. The present study has established the profile and level of derangements of serum lipids among the elderly of Morogoro region in Tanzania. It appears that, female sex and BMI of ≥ 30kg/m2 are significant factors for elevated TC, LDL-C and lowered HDL-C while urban life is a significant factor for elevated LDL-C

The avifauna of a naturally regenerating secondary forest, Pangani, North-Eastern Tanzania

As humans modify native ecosystems with increasing frequency, natural habitats including forests are lost. Under such circumstances, secondary forests can increasingly be important to conservation of biodiversity at landscape scales. However, in East Africa, little is known about avian community composition in regenerating secondary forests. In this study, avian diversity of a regenerating secondary forest was assessed in Pangani, northeastern Tanzania, using point counts. Sixty point counts were conducted for a duration of 12 days in about 90 ha of the regenerating secondary forest. Thirty species were found to utilise the regenerating secondary forest, of which 12 are categorized as forest-dependent species, and 12 were forest visitors. Using the same sampling effort in the adjoining riverine forest, there were 42 bird species, of which 11 and 13 were forest-dependent species and forest visitors, respectively. These results suggest that the regenerating secondary forest provided a habitat for a number of bird species including forest-dependent species and a few intra-African migrants, and it is thus of conservation value, at least at a local scale. Maintaining such regenerating secondary forests can provide greater landscape connectivity for the survival and, possibly, dispersal of birds