the EANHS BULLETIN Volume 27 Number 2/3 August/December 1997 A SENSE OF BALANCE INSIDE The EANHS is on the verge of celebrating its 90th anniversary. This may be more remarkable titan it sounds— a thorough search so far has failed to turn up any similar society south of the Sahara that is nearly so venerable. Some might say that we’ve done quite well just to survive at all. Are there les- sons in this that we can draw on, when planning for the future? The Society has had its difficult moments. Fi- nances have often been rocky, and at times it looked as though the whole venture might go under. That it hasn't is due to the remarkable commitment and energy of members over the years. Lots of volun- teer input has allowed low overheads, a minuscule administration, and a flexible response In times of crisis. Should wc refrain from dtanging anything, in that case? Unfortunately, stasis may not he a sound long-term strategy. In August 1 997, members of the Executive and various sub-committees gathered to look at our plans for the next five years— a first step towards planning for the next 90! A report on this Strategic Planning Workshop went out with the April newsletter. and I hope has brought every- body up to date In this Bulletin you will find an analysis of the questionnaire that we sent out be- fore file workshop to ask members their views on a broad range of issues. It won't surprise anyone to find out that members' views are extremely varied. Nonetheless, some themes did emerge from both dvc questionnaire answers and the discussions in the planning workshop, and need to be kept in mind. As 1 see it, the Society has a scries of balancing acts to perform, not all of them easy. We have to professionalise our operations and make our ad- ministration more elfcctivc, not least so that wc can provide members will) interesting talks, worthwhile excursions and regular publications At the same time, we mustn't lose the volunteer ethos that is central to our way of working. Our image needs ■ Listing- off and modernising, but not at flic expense of our long history and established reputation. We >mve to make our voice heard for conservation, hut not become boggwl down in partisan politics. Sub- notion charges must remain affordable, but we also need to be financially self-sustaining. There is a real need to rcgiotialise activities, but it would be unwise to cease co-ordination from the centre. Comment 1 A Sense of Balance, LA Bennun 1 Articles 2 Ferns in East Africa: A note on their biology, distribution and conservation. JG Afurangah . A. D.(J Ag/tnv and & Vandcn Berghe Important bird areas in Kenya: Progress and prospects, LA. Bennun 6 three butterflies of Talta. Part II, T Oakley 11 EARTHWATCH Tne black lemur forest project. C. Ngarachu 13 NOTES Gull-billed Terns feeding on dung beetles (Family Scarabaetdae), D Richards 15 Life in and around the hot springs at Little Magadi. J. Darlington 15 Letters to the Editor Were the Mousebirds mating? C v Kalckstem 17 Elephants in I imuru — again! H S. kiortnn 17 Request from the Editor Urban wildlife 17 Society News EANHS membership questionnaire— results from 96 questionnaires returned as ofl 5 November, 1997 18 87th Annual General Meeting 20 Can these challenges be met? Of course — but only with the active support and participation of the Society's members. All Annual General Meetings are important, but the 1998 one par- ticularly so, as there will be a chance to discuss and vote on a number of crucial issues— including a new name for our Kenyan operations, a revised and streamlined constitution, and the out- line strategic plan. Please attend, make your views known, and help take the Society forward into its next 90 years! Bulletin of the EANHS 21 ( 23 ) 18 ARTICLES FERNS IN EAST AFRICA: A NOTE ON THEIR BIOLOGY, DISTRIBUTION AND CONSERVATION Introduction This note is put together to give general naturalists some idea of the diversity of ferns in East Africa. Because many people are understandably vague about what a fern is and how it lives, we have l»ad to make some basic explanations. Wehnve also tried 10 describe the general ecology' and distribution of the group to make field observations more meaningful Two accounts or ferns have recently become available, those of Johns ( 1 90 1 ) and Fadcn (1994). and many people will want some background information and generalisations about the Fern Flora of our region Ptcridophytes are situated between the mosses (non- vascular plants) and the higher plants in the evolutionary hierarchy of the plant world A distinctive anatomical feature of Pleridophyies which they share with higher plants — gymnosperms and angiosperms— is the presence of a water transpon (vascular) system in the plant body, but Ptcridophytes differ from the latter two divisions in lacking the seed habit: they reproduce by spores. The Ptcridophytes of East Africa are classified into four broad groups of spore-bearing plants that include whisk ferns (psilopsids), club mosses (lyeopsids), horsetails (sphenopsids) and ferns (filicopsids). These groups are not related to each other, being distantly descended from a hypothetical ancestor of the land plants in general. The rare psilopsids have no true roots or leaves, and the bristle-Iikc stems divide in two. repeatedly, bearing clusters of three spore- sacs. The club mosses have true roots and closely arranged scalc-likc leaves. Spore sacs are often crowded at the stem lips like cones. Ihe horsetails have tiny leaves in whorls or frills around the stem and spore sacs in groups, like anther?, crowded The EANHS wishes fo tha nk the follow- ing for (heir support in 1997: Sponsors of the Society: A. R. Gregory J.RE. Leakey Drs. T. Butynski & J. Kalina P. Colbert MJC. Minot T. Lehumberg A. Foresti S. Collins M. Rigby N. Heyer DrV.Somen into a definite cone a! the stem ups. The ferns are defined by having frond leaves that bear the spore sacs, usually on the lower side. The Ferns Life History All the Ptcridophytes have two phases of their life history: sexual and non-scxual. The sexual phase requires fertilisation of an egg by a swimming sperm and therefore needs free water at a critical time and this is a nsky business. The egg and the sperm arc called gametes and therefore the sexual plant is called a gametophyte and has one set (n) of chromosomes Because it needs a water film the gametophyte of the ferns is usually a liny thin green disk held close lu damp ground, and has a shod life during the rain) season, hul there ore interesting exceptions to this. The fiision of the gametes produces a cell with two sets of chromosomes (n*n = 2n) called a zygote This immediately grows into a fern plant Every fern plant is non-sexuttl. bearing spores which need no fertilisation, and so arc called sporophytes. The sports arc the result of dividing the chromosomes mto two similar sets (2ri - nit) The spores or.' dry and wind-borne over great distances so thut dispersal to suitable sites is rapid. But the> germinate and develop into the gametophyte with its chancy sexual reproduction and so few are successful in producing and fertilising an egg to grow into the next sporophyte germination (Raghavan, 1989). This process is called the ullernurion of generu/mns. This introduction to the biology' of ferns in East Africa discusses their ecological requirements and geographical distribution. Current changes in global and regional climates and habitats make their monitoring and conservation important. Ecology Ferns comprise a group of Ptcridophytes of about J. Ruparel N. Searle E. Bradley Martin C. Kathurima Corporate members: Elsa Conservation Trust Monsanto U.T.C. Major Donors: Royal Society for the Protection ofBirds August/December 1997 19 12.000 species of plants widely distributed throughout the world in many habitats. Most are found in the southern hemisphere. It is believed they evolved in a world that was considerably wetter and warmer than the present, as a result of which they maintained a dependence on the water environment for their growth and reproduction (Rodger, 1974). In addition to high humidity, the ferns of the modem world thrive in shaded places especially under tree canopies or in rock crevices and stream banks. But they have other specialised features that make them competent to exploit various environments. We shall briefly describe some reproductive features and then adaptations for growth. Reproduction Most ferns need an extended period of surface water availability for spore germination, gametophyte growth and gametic transfer. The exceptions are those which have un underground gametophyte Because the sexual process is so chancy, vegetative reproduction has been developed repeatedly. Some have small bulb-likc lumps (called gemmae ) on their fronds that can be brushed off by passing animals, others can root front frond tips. Many mitt out the necessity for sex by producing asexual ( 2 n ) spores Spores of primitive ferns arc larger and their dispersal from spore sacs less efficient, therefore they are often found in open, windy places. Ferns growing in the water have developed separate male und female spores and gametophytes. which do not develop into autonomous plants. Possibly the reason for this is the rapidity with which water levels rise and fall, but it serves to show how adaptable the terns are. Growth Ferns grow slowly compared with flowering plants and need special strategies to overcome this competitive disadvantage. They can grow where flowering plants find difficulty in totally covering wet soil, or where their light spores can beat a heavy seed in the race to a suitable temporal^ site. They are easily destroyed by breakage or grazi ng. Few arc lough enough lo withstand trampling but most arc poisonous or glandular, and contain no starch in the leaves making them unattractive to herbivores Ferns have apparently found it easy to become poikilohydric. that is. capable of drying without dy ing and there are more of such plants in East Africa 'han in wetter climates. They are found in places like ••alls and cliffs, which arc usually dry but very wet «ner the slightest rain. Other adaptations to dry conditions are hairy coverings, and fronds that break op and fall when water becomes short. The form of 5»c (sporophyte) plant is important. Tufted fronds vound an upright stem (rosettes) are good at tapping 1 -ght in shaded conditions, while spaced fronds along a creeping stem are good at invading grassland or clinging to surfaces. Habitat Conditions and adaptations In these notes the reader is referred to Faden ( 1994) for descriptions of fem families and genera. There are no descriptions in Johns’ (1991) check list. Terrestrial Habitats On the forest floor, most ferns are rosettes with small spores in efficient spore sacs for weak air streams. Flowering plane are unable to hlanket the soil in these low light condinom Common genera here include Arplwium. BuHteUtt Dnvpterls. pterls . but there are many others Rock crevices with protected bare soil and limited tree w*xr period arc suitable habitat for other species many of having poikilohydric rosettes. Although rock cr ***** c» often in full light they can resist invasion by plants on the first-come-first-servcd principle am hold the only pteridophytes in dry country and common here are ActiniopterlS and Pellaea Streamsides have bare soils through water erosion, quickri exploited by masr.ive fem fromls. The tree ferns {Cftfhts spp) and those with large spores (Maraitla and the Thelypteridaceoe) can grow here. In adjacen' swam pi competition from flowering plants is intense but can be overcome by creeping stems nnd large fronds. Disturbed grasslands can contain conspicuous creeping ferns each plant of which covers a large area, wresting B i he rarity of sexual reproduction. The bracken fem Pti-rldlum aquilinum. is a worldwide weed in such grazing land. Hvpolepis is common in these habitat* at high© altitudes. Alpine rocks are an important habitat for ferru. which arc adapted to low temperatures, such at Anogramma. Potvs He hum and Woods la. Epiphytic habitats Hie surface of branches and irunks of forest trees have limited free water availnbility but are open habitats with mure light than on the soil Tlicre is a wide range of iniowc so we find a mixture of rosettes and creepers, large ar-j small spore bearers, water demanders and drought tolcrators. Species of the family Polypodiaceae ore major players in this habitat, including the Sing’s Horn Fem Plalvcerium which is uncommon in Kenya but often cultivated. Ii has stalkless, clasping leaves like elephant's ears, which gather soil against the tree trunk, and erect branched fronds bearing the missed spore sacs. Asplettium is a common epiphytic genus on moist forest ireev In the wettest forest, specie* of the delicate 'filmy fem* . Hynienophvlluni and Thchnmuncs. are often found hanging from tree minks or rocks by water. Aquutic Habitats Specialised ferns float or are submerged in water of pond* and shallow lakes and streams. They are invariably creeping and often successfully outgrow all other plants, such the rails of Salvlnia moUsta on Lake Naivosha and 20 Bulletin of the EANHS 27(2/3) elsewhere. The genus MarsHea is adapted lo seasonal water bodies. Thus fern species can be used as Indicators of habitat conditions. For instance, the bracken fem grows normally in forest edges and its presence below a tree canopy could be used as an indicator of past forest disturbance. Again the presence of filmy ferns is an indication of a wet humid undisturbed forest no matter how dry everything seems at the time. Many species of Ac/iniopierix and f'chaea nre indicators of dry areas while those of Marsilea ( water-floating ferns) are indicators of seasonal pools and streams. Diversity and biogeography Johns lists 519 species from East Africa in his recent Checklist of Easl African Ptcrulophyies, information on the distribution was available for 434 of these. Table I lists the number of species present in Kenyu. Tanzania and Uganda. Families with a high number of genera and species arc rhclypteridaceoc (13 genera. 33 species ), Dyopteridaccae (1 1 genera. 59 species), I'olypodinceae { 1 1 genera. 26 species), and Adiantiaccac ( 1 0 genera. 57 species). Some families however, have very few genera ( I or 2) but a large number of species, eg Asplcmaceac (2 genera). On the other hand monogcneric und monospecific families arc also present in our region such as Maratiiaceae, Osmundaceae and Davalliaceac The number of recorded species may increase when taxonomic research on each family has taken place although the overall specics/genera ratio in Johns (1991) is 5.04, which is very high. liven withoui the 99 species ofAsplenlum in Johns' list, the ratio is 4.08. Faden (1994) gives a ratio of 2.82 for the area of Kenya above 1 000 m altitude, which is much more reasonable for an ancient Table 1 Number of specie s per family of Ptendophytes occurring in each of the East African countries: Uganda (U) Kenya (K) and Tanzania (T) FAMILY U K T Actmioptendaceae 3 3 4 Adiantaceae 28 27 47 Asplentaceae 54 53 67 Azoliaceae 2 1 2 Blech naceae 2 e 8 Cyalheaceae 3 2 11 Davaliiaceae 1 1 1 Dennslaedtiaceae 11 11 17 Oryoptefidaceae 15 14 27 Gietcneruaceae 2 2 4 GfammtxJaceae 1 * 16 Hymenophyllaceae ^ 2 12 24 lomanopsidaceae 10 13 23 Marattiaceae 1 1 1 Mannleaceae 2 7 B Olcandraceae 7 6 10 Ophroglossaceae 10 a 11 Osmundaceae 1 i 1 Parttenaceae 1 i 1 Poi»podiaceae 16 13 19 Ptendaceae 16 15 25 Salvmiaceat* 0 2 2 Schizaeaceae 1 3 7 Thelypteridaceae 15 18 26 Viltanaceae 4 5 8 Woodsiaceae 4 7 15 Grand Total 2 22 236 386 group of plants, many of which arc at the end of evolutionary lines. It is clear that the taxonomy of many’ groups is in a state of flax and that differences of opinion exist between experts. There are many specimens in the East African Herbarium that have not been properly identified due lo lack of up to date literature and specialised botanists. Figure 1 shows how species are shared between the three countries of East Africa. As with orchids (Vandcn Figure 1 Number of fem species unique to each country, and snared between different combinations of countries Berghe & Bytchicr. 1995). the number of species occurring in Tanzania but not in cither of the two other East African countries is considerable higher than the species unique to either Kenya or l Iganda For both anunal groups for which a similar analysis was done, mammals (Gathuu& Vandcn Bcrglic. 1 993) and Diptora (De Meyer *7 ul . 1994). Uganda scored highest It would be interesting to subject more taxonomic groups to this analysis, to check whether a trend develops - four groups is not enough to draw definite conclusions. Fem disiribulion with respect to tJ»e botanical regions used in the Flora of Tropical East Africa (TTEA) is summarised in figure 2. A map of the floral regions, and a short discussion was given in a previous issue of the Bulletin anden Berghe & Bytcbier, 1 995 ). Most ferns arc found in U2 in Uganda, K4 in Kenya; and T2, T3 T6 and T7 in Tanzania. Of course species can occur in one or more botanical regions and therefore regional numbers of species ure independent The areas with most ferns include high altitudes such as Kwenzori Mountains (Uganda); Mis Kenya, A her dares, Miui and Elgon (Kenya); and Mts Meru. Kilimanjaro. Parcs. Usambarasand Ulugurus (Tanzania). High rainfall and cool mist-cloud climates occur in these greater altitudes which are ideal lor the establishment of ferns Conservation Status Unfortunately ideal fem habitats arc also the best potential agricultural areas in East Africa. At the same time the population rate of increase in East Africa, ^ust/Dccembcr 1997 21 apecially m Kenya, is one of the highest in the world. ThH has put much pressure on forests for conversion ,r.to agricultural, industrial and settlement land-use Thus many of the fern habitats arc decreasing daily • A ith increase in human development activities. Forest fragmentation has been increasing especially from the I Ui u7 u3 04 M k2 k3 M k5 W *T Figure 2: Number of fern species occurring in each of the floral regions ex-silu conservation. Cultivation of rare species needs expensive replication of their habitat requirements in controlled environments. Therefore protection of the habitats where they are naturally occurring is the cheapest way ol ensuring their future survival and should be given priority. References Budowiski. G. (1976). The global problems of conservation and the potential role of living collections. In Simmons. J.B.. R.I. Beyer. P.E Brandham. GL. Lucas' & T.H. Parry (cds) Conservation of threatened Plants 9-13. Plenum Press. London. De Meyer. M.. E. Vanden Berghc. J. Kitili & H. Liban (1994). The Diptcra fauna or East Africa: a preliminary overview. Bulletin EANHS 24(4): 55-59 Faden. R. (1994). Ferns and Fern Allies in Agncw ADQ & Agnew S (eds) Flora of Upland Kenya. Second Edition 9-39. EANHS, Nairobi. Gathua, M & E Vanden Berghc ( 1 993). Mammals o! East Africa; preliminary statistics. Bulletin EANHS 23(4): 74. 13 14 15 16 17 IB z p middle of this century when indigenous wet forests started to be cleared to give way to crop an.l exotic timber plantations. Continuing forest degradation is threatening the survival of ferns particularly due to the ^ opening of the forest canopy by logging, which reduces Rj.(!991 ). Pteridophytes of Tropical East Africa the humidity Besides degradation and reduction in ( p re i iminary check-list of the species. Royal Botanic habitat sire, collection of ferns from the forest foi thmicns Kew. Richmond. London, commercial use has been found to be another Rn ^ avan> y. (1989). Developmental biology of fern destructive force that requires to be checked and close y ... w ~' 4 "“ monitored. It is lime to take the advice or Budowiski (1976) who asked for “a code of ethics for those who collect live plants, and a code of ethics for those who propagate them in controlled conditions", to ensure effective protection of these fragile plants. Conservation policy in the three East African countries puts more emphasis on natural areas with high populations of wild animals as either National Reserves .... . . ,.r 1 nr Karinnril Parks Raghavan. V (1989). Ueveiopmemui • gametophytes. Cambridge 1 diversity Press. Cambridge. Rodger G. (1974). Ferns Pelham Books. London Vanden Berghc. E. A B. Bytebier( 1995). Orchids ofEast Africa: some statistics on their distribution. Bulletin EANHS 25(2): 20-23 . . with limited amount of protection) or National Parks , with total protection). Many forest habitats, however, do not fall under either of these two categories and their management is by the Forest Department, which allows multiple use of forest resources. It is therefore probable that most fern species arc not protected ami their survival is at risk In recent years however, some forest Departments have resolved the problem by scheduling areas of forest thought to be biologically important as Nature Reserv es This is common in many Forest Reserves in Kenya. There remain problems with resourcing the Nature Reserves and there are threatened ■pevries that are not inside the designated areas. In such iituaiions, if in situ conservation is difficult, then the fetology of such species need to be understood so that transfers of the species to a safe area can be made for By J.G. Mutangnh. A.D.Q. Agncw and F Vanden Berghc. Biology Institute. University College of Wales. Aberystwyth. UK and National Museums of Kenya Nairobi. Pffllaea calomelanos by Tim Campbell 22 Bulletin of the KANHS 27(2/3) IMPORTANT BIRD AREAS IN KENYA; PROGRESS AND PROSPECTS Biological conservation takes many different forms. Efforts may focus on a single species that is considered important for one reason or another, like the Black Rhinoceros or African Elephant. At the other end of the scale are attempts to conserve an entire landscape, often one inhabited by people, by regulating the type and intensity of land uses. The vast majority of conservation work His somewhere in between, and concentrates on particular chunks of land (or. indeed, water). This protected areas' approach assumes that by conserving a site and the habitat on it. we protect the biodiversity that it contains. Year by year, the human pressure on land grows inexorably more intense. Realistically, only a few ol the many sites we would like to conserve can be marked out for long-term protection. Which should these be? In East Africa, and no doubt elsewhere in the world, there used to be three main reasons for choosing areas to be protected. Either no-one wanted to live there in the first place (they were too arid or inhospitable or swarming with tsetse fly); or they were cluwk-a-block with large mammals that might be hunted or photographed: or they protected a water catchment and contained valuable timber. These criteria are reasonable enough by their own lights, but unfortunately arc quite hopeless when it comes to conserving biodiversity Except by a happy chance, there is no reason that sites selected in this way should contain exceptionally rich or distinctive fauna and flora. Ifbiodivcrsity is our real concern when making priorities for protection, we hud better focus on it to begin with. But how con this be done? We arc woefully ignorant of our biodiversity, and making even the simplest inventory of species takes enormous time and effort. By the time we had finished a full description of just one site, all the others would probably long have been lost. The rate at which biodiversity is being eroded, already breath-taking, is speeding up constantly; time is very short; we have no choice but to moke do as best we can with the information available. And for no major taxonomic group is more information available ihan for birds. Important Bird Areas (IBAs) arc places that are exceptionally important for bird conserve ion. Usually, therefore, they are also key sites for the conservation of biodiversity in general. Birds are far from u perfect indicator of biological value, but they are a good stnn - and these* of sites we identify lor birds, with minimal effort, can be expanded as information on other groups becomes available. The official aim of BirdLife International's IBA programme is “to identify and protect a network of sites, at a biogeographic scale, critical for the long-term viability of naturally occurring bird populations, across the range of those bird species for which a sites-based approach is appropriate." That includes most bird species that are not very thinly scattered over large areas. By protecting a large set of bird species. conservation of an IBA network should ensure the survival of a correspondingly large number of ocher taxa. IBAs have been identified across Europe and the Middle East, and the programme is well advanced in Africa. A continental directory is due for publication in the year 2000 . IBAs are chosen using clear, quantitative and agreed criteria, which are outlined below. However, the network of sites is built up in a pragmatic fashion. All else being equal, existing protected areas are generally easier to conserve than non-protccred areas, so the protected area system often forms the network's backbone. Bigger sites are usually beret than smaller ones — ideally, each site should be large enough to support viable populations of the species for which it was identified. There can be difficulties in deciding the boundaries of sites, and how to classify clusters of small sites, but the oveT-riding criterion in all cases is common-sense If they arc to have any use. IBAs must be practical tools for conservation, so rules cannot he followed blindly. IBA categories and criteria There are four categories of IBAs, though a single site may qualify in two or more of these. Each category has its own criteria that set a minimal level for global recognition. I Globally-threatened birds. The site regularly holds significant numbers of n globally tlireatened or ncar- threntened species. These species are listed in the 1 994 BirdLife International publication Birds to Hutch 2 by Nig-I Collar and colleagues. Kenyan examples arc birds such as Pupyms Yellow Warbler Ch! nr opt to grot' I tiros iris or East Coast Akalat Sheppordia gunairtgi. In total. 23 Kenyan species (not nil of which are recognised by the EANHS as full species) are listed as threatened in Bird* to watch 2. together with 1 7 near-threutened species. The regional red-list exercise has added Sharpe s Longdaw Mocrcmyx sharp*, and Aberdare Cisticola Cutlcola aberdurr as provisionally threatened species: although not in Birds to watch 2, they arc both globally Vulnerable according to the IUCN criteria. 2. Restricted-range birds. The site holds a significant component of a group of species whose breeding distributions define an Endemic Bird Area (EB A ) or Secondary Area (SA). EBAs are places where two or more species of ‘restricted range', i.c. with world distributions of less than 50.000 km 1 , occur together. Globally, more than 70% of such species are also threatened. A Secondary Area (SA) also supports one or more restricted-range species, but has less than two species that are entirely confined to it. Restricted-range bird species, and the EBAs and SA*. they occur in. are listed in the recently-launched BirdLife International publication. Endemic Bird Areas of the World . by Alison Stattersfield and colleagues. Several EBAs and SAs occur in Kenya, but the Wua/Dccember 1 997 23 mo most important are the Kenyan Mountains EBA and the East African Coastal Forests EBA. Kenya holds all the restricted-range species (nine and seven, respectively) in these EBAs. We also have smaller parts of the Tanzania-Malawi Mountains EBA (three out of 37 species, all in the Taita Hills), the Serengeti Plains EBA (two out of six species), and the Jubba & Shabeelle Valleys EBA (one oui of five species — this EBAjust creeps into the extreme north-eastern comer of the country ). Secondary areas are the Kakamega and Nandi Forests (with Chapin's Flycatcher Muse I cop a Icndu). the North Kenyan Short-grass Plains (With Williams's Lark Mirafra wiUmmsi ) and Ml Kulnl (with Kulal White- eve Znsierops kululensl*). Once again, not all the species recognised by BirdLife arc considered full species by the EANHS — for example, the Kulal While-eve is normally considered a distinctive race of the Montane White-eye Z pitUngasfer. 3. Biome-restrictcd assemblages. The site holds a significant component of the group of bird species whose distributions are largely or wholly confined to one biome. A ‘biome’ is a major regional ecological community, characterised by distinctive life forms and principal plant species — and. in this case, by a group of bird species with largely shared distributions (of more than 50.000 km\ Kenya has substantial areas of the Somali-Masai biome (92/1 30 species), the East African Coast biome (30/36 species), the large Afrotropical I liglilands biome (67/ 224 species) and the small Lake Victoria Busin biome (9/12 species). Kenya also holds the easternmost outliers of the Guinea -Congo Forests Biome ( 43/278 species) and the Sudan and Guinea Savannah Biome (13/54 species). 4 Congregations. Sites that regu!arl> hold very large numbers of birds may qualify as IBAs. The critenu used are based, with slight modifications, on those of the Ramsar Convention Thus, sites qualify under this category if they hold more than 1 % of the biogcographic population of a woterbird. or more than 20.000 waterbirds in all. Sites that hold large numbers of congregatory seabirds or terrestrial species, or that form a migratory bottleneck, are also included. IBAs in Kenya Work to identify IBAs in Kenya began in January 1 995 Hie programme is co-ordinated by the liANHS. with the Ornithology Department of the National Museums of Kenya doing most of the technical work. Financial support has been prov ided by the Royal Society Tor the Protection of Birds. fhc initial step was to assess our present knowledge identify gaps. An extensive set of surveys was then ^sJertaken by the Ornithology Department to try and fill is many of these as possible. From 1995 to 1997. surveys were carried out in creeks, estuaries and beaches along the Kenya coast from the Tanzania border u-t Kiwayuu. all the major papyrus swamps along the Lake Victoria shoreline in Kenya, the five large dams on the upper Tana river. South Nandi forest, forests on Mt Kenya and around Eldama Ravine, the Cherangani Hills, the Taita Hills, and moist grassland in Busia and Suba Districts. Although 64 IBAs were initially listed, some adjacent sites have now been merged and the final list numbers 60 (see the map). There are IBAs identified in all provinces of the country except North-Eastern (Table 1 ). The lock of IBAs here reflects both a lack of knowledge and the rattier uniform character of this province, which contains species characteristic of the Somali-Masai biome that arc well-protected elsewhere. Malkaman National Reserve (within the Jubba-Shabeclle River Valleys Endemic Bird Area) is a potential IBA in this province that needs to be surveyed in the future. Table 1. Numbers of IBAs per province (eight sites overlap provinces) Province Number of IBAs Rift Valley 20 Coast 19 Eastern 11 Central 6 Nyanza 5 Western 5 Nairobi 2 North-eastern 0 The majority o! IBAs fall into more than one categoiy (Table 2). Overall, the globally-threatened species category contains the largest number of sites. Although 30 sites Tull into the restricted-range species category , no site is listed exclusively on this basis. Eight sites are listed solely for the large congregations of birds they contain, and six solely for (heir biomc-resincted species. Most IBAs in Kenya are forests or wetlands (Table 3). There is n small number in the drier savanna or desert habitats and just live in moist grassland. Sites in other habitats, which arc difficult to classify, include the Mukurwcini and Kianyaga Valleys (in heavily populated agricultural areas) and O! Donyo Sabache. which contains forest and bushland but is listed mainly for its cliffs. Most of the forest and savanna sites, but relatively few of those in other habitats, have some level of formal protection already However, a classification of sites into two broad allegories of threat (low/modcrate versus high/vety high) reveals the inadequacy of the present level of protection in the case of forests. Despite being Forest Reserves in most coses, almost all forest areas fall into the higher threat category , The same is true of almost ull the moist grasslands, but just half the wetlands and u quarter of the savanna sites. The total area of forests, moist grassland and wetlands in Kenya is small, and these sites are often in densely populated areas with heavy and increasing human pressures. I Insurprisingly. the main threat to all these sites is habitat loss and degradation through human activities. 24 Bulletin of the EANHS 27(2/3) Kenya's Important Bird Areas Categories T - Globally-threatened species R Restncled-range species B • Biome-restncted species C - Congregatory species 11 BA no 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 I BA name A Per da re Mountains Kianyaga Valleys Kikuyu Escarpment Forest Kinangop Grasslands Ml Kenya Mukurweini Wileys Arabuko-Sokoke Forest Dahacha Woodland Diam Forest Dzombo Forest Gede Ruins National Monumem T Kaya Gandim TR Kaya Waa T Knife Islands C Kiunga Marine National Reserve C Malindi/Watamu Coast C Marenn Forest TRB Mnma MIH Forest TB Saoaki River Mouth C Shimba Hills Forest TRB T*ta Hills Forest TRB Tana River Delta TBC Tana River Forests TRB Tsavo East National Park. TB Tsavo West National Parte TB Chyuki Hills TR Orda Gaigalu Desert TRB Lake Turtcana C Macnakoa Valleys TR Masinga Reservoir C Meru National Park B Mwea National Reserve T Samburu and Buffalo Springs Game Reserves B Shaba National Reserve TRB Dandora Sewage Treatment Works C 36 Nairobi National Park TRB 37 Donga Swamp TB 30 Koguta 3 warn p TB 39 Kusa Swamp TB 40 Ruma National Part T 41 Yala Swamp TB 42 Am Co seh National Part B 43 Cherangani Hills 44 44 LaKp Banngo B 45 Lake Bogoria National Reserve TC 46 Lake Eimenteita TRC 47 Lake Magadi C 48 Lake Naivasha TRC 49 Lake Nakuru National Park TRC 50 Masai Mara TR 51 Mau Forest Complex B 52 MauNarok/Moto Grasslands TR 53 North Nandi Forest TRB 54 01 Donyo Sabacrte T 56 Sooth Nandi Forest TB 56 South Nguruman TR 57 Busia Grasslands TB 58 Kakamega Forest TR8 59 Ml Elgon Forest TRB 60 Sio Port Swamp TB Augusi/Deconber 1 997 25 Table 2. Number of IBAs in each category (24 IBAs are listed In two categories and 17 In three categories) Category Number of sites Number of sites In this category alone A1 Globally-threatened species 46 5 A 2 Restricted-range species 30 0 A3 Biome-restricted assemblages 28 6 A4 Congregations 14 8 Table 3. Kenyan IBAs and their level of protection and threat by dominant habitat Dominant habitat Number of sites Number protected Number severely threatened Forest 22 20 (91%) 21 (95%) •Vetland 18 5 (28%) 9 (50%) Bushland, semi-desert or desert 12 8 (67%) 3 (25%) Moist grassland 5 2 (40%) 4 (80%) Other 3 0 (0%) 3(100%) Total 60 35 (58%) 40 (67%) .All IBAs must meet a minimum set of criteria for listing, but that docs not mean that all IBAs arc equal in importance Among the Kenyan sites, some stand out because of their biological significance and the degree Of threat. These sites include: 1 Kenya's unique highland grasslands on either side of the central Kit! Valley, on the plateaux ofKinangop and Mau Narok. These are home to the endemic Sharpe's Longclaw Sfacronyx sharpei and Aberdare Cisticola Cisticola aberdare , among other specialised grassland species. These grasslands arc being cleared and convened remarkably fast, and the grassland endemics are under very severe threat. 2 Moist grasslands around Busia. Often seasonally- flooded. these grassland patches house many special birds, notably the Blue Swallow Ifirundu atrocaerulea This threatened intra- African migrant uses the grasslands for feeding and roosting. As agriculture inevitably expands, these sites are on the brink of disappearing completely 3 Ibe papyrus swamps around Lake Victoria — Dunga, Koguta. Kusa. Sio Port and especially Yala. These contain a unique set of papyrus endemic birds, including the globally threatened Papyrus Yellow Warbler Chiaropeia gracilirastris. They arc also of crucial ecological importance as water fillers and fish nurseries and refuges. The recent infestation of the lake with Water Hyacinth prevents fishermen from fishing and has dramatically increased human pressure on these swamps. They are being burned, harvested unsustainable and cleared and drained for cultivation. 4 River valleys around Kianyaga and Muktirwcini These are the stronghold of the scarce and local Hinders Babbler Turdnidcx hindci, a threatened Kenya endemic. The babbler is happy enough in cultivated areas, so long os it has a few thickets (in this case, of I.anlana) to shelter and nest in. As less and less land is left fallow, and more and more valleys are intensively cultivated, the babblers’ refuges arc fast disappearing. 5. The tiny and fragmented forests of the Taita Hills, the nonhemmost pan of the Eastern Arc mountains Sharp's Longclaw - A threatened Kenyan grassland endemic restricted to the Kenyan Mountains Endemic Bird Area Bulletin of the EANHS 27(2/3) 26 * ?*> south Kenya coast are important for threatened species. As well as birds, they contain many rare and valuable plants. All arc under pressure from n combination of illegal land allocations, logging and removal of other forest products, and encroachment. 10. The forests of Ml Kenya. These magnificent forests, important for the threatened Abbott’s Starling Cinnyricincius ft moral is and many Afroiropical Highland biome bird species, ore being severely degraded by large-scale illegal logging and clearance for agriculture and bhang plantations. What next? Amam Sunbird - A threatened species of the East African Coastal Forests EBA The Tails Hills forests shelter three endemic taxa of birds and many other scarce and distinctive animals and plants. The forests are so small that strict protection is required to proven t them from vanishing completely. ft Arubuko-Sokoke Forest. This is die largest remnant of the fragmented coastal forests of East Africa and shelters six threatened species of birds, among many other important animals and plants. It is under tlireal from potential dc-gazettcnicnt for settlement, tree poaching and unsustainable use of forest products. 7. Kakamcga Forest. The easternmost remiiunr of the great Guinea -Con go forests, nnd biogeographically unique. Kakamcga is home to the globally threatened Turner's Eremomela Eremomela turner i and Chapin's Flycatcher Musci capo lenJu, as well as many regionally threatened bird species and many birds found nowhere else in Kenya Kakamcga \ distinctive fauna and flora make it a very important eco-tourist destination. The forest is already small and highly fragmented, and is. being destroyed by rampant encroachment, poaching of trees, and grazing of livestock that prevents forest regeneration. 8 South Nandi Forest. Close to Kakamcga, South Nandi shelters probably the world's largest population of the threatened and little-known Turner's Eremomela. Large areas ofthe forest have been encroached and destroyed for agriculture, and the remainder is being subjected to intensive mechanised logging that degrades the forest structure and removes the Ercmomela’s favoured trees. 9. Diani, Dzombo Hill, Kay a Gan dim. Kaya Waa. Marenji Forest and Mrima Hill. These small forest remnants on the The idea of the IBA work is not just to identify places that need attention, hut to make sure that they arc properly looked after. The IBA process can be thought of as having four *tugcs. The first stage involves setting up the institutional framework — i.e., who will do what- In Kenya, the EANHS (as the BirdLife Partner) has co-ordinated, the National Museums has done most of the inventory work, and an IBA Advisory Council (made up of conservationists and planners from a range of mainly Government institutions) has steered the project. The second stage involves site identification and survey plus inventory compilation. Hus has been keeping us busy for the lost three yeari The Kenya IBA directory is about to go to press, and should be available within the next few months. This will provide information on all the sites and tbdr key physical and biological features. The data are also stored in a custom-designed database so that they can be updated regulurly. Stage 2, then, is almost complete. Stage 3 involves setting priorities and implementing advocacy, monitoring and action for key sites, and Stage I establishing a ‘sustainable management cycle' ( i.e a Hinde s Babler - A threatened, rest*ected-range Kenyan endemic confined to the Kenyan Mountains Endemic Bird Area Ai^uS/December 1997 27 »ei! -perpetuating way of monitoring sites and taking krt’on to correct problems). Moving to Stage 3. and eventually Stage 4, requires e « n resources. Support to take the 1BA programme forward will come from the Global Environment Facility. Ten BirdLife Partners in Africa will be involved, in Burkina Faso, Cameroon. Ethiopia. Ghana. Sierra Leone, south Africa. Tanzania. Tunisia and Uganda (the EANHS again! ) as well as Kenya. The project. 'African S'GO-Govemment Partnerships for Sustainable tirtxliversity Action*. Is the lira major GEF grant given m a non-governmental grouping. As the project’s title uggests. die BirdLife Partners will be working closely •rilh Governments, but bringing in their special abilities ii advocacy and gross-roots Involvement to enhance lilting conservation efforts. In Kenya, the GEF project should work at two levels. Nationally, we will be advocating that IBAs be ‘iKorporated as a central plank in conservation planning i as they have been now ucross the European Union, for example). This will also Involve expanding and formalising die IBA Advisory Council. Locally, we w-ill v helping to establish site-support groups that can monitor IB As and work with the district administration conserve them. Many activities are enmeshed within these main themes, including deciding which sites are ■he highest priorities, drafting management plans and 'u.*»ding proposals, training the members oflocal groups *Td Government staff, and so on. This will all be a great deal of work, and the Society recruited two new staff to shoulder the bulk of it. Af always, however, the hope is that EANMS member* themselves will step in to assist. For any member wishing to make a tangible contribution to conservation, the IBA project provides the opportunity. There are several ways to become involved: - jend in information on the status of particular IBAs that you visit or live near { for instance, conservation problems or improvements you have noticed, or interesting records of animals or plants) • if you live near an IBA. start, or involve yourself with. a site-support group affiliated to the EANHS. Site- support groups of one sort or another already exist for Arabuko-Sokoke Forest. Kakamega Forest, the Kinangop Grasslands and Lake Naivusha — eventually every' IBA should have one • if you have expertise in a particular area, volunteer a little time as a resource-person. The project is likely to involve a good deal of training at different levels and across a wide range of skills, from identifying plants, birds and butterflies to simple office administration and book-keeping. If you are interested in being involved, and you live ir xenya. why not contact the EANHS office in Nairobi ice more information. Similar work is beginning in l gandaand in Tanzania — members in Chose countries ■bould contact the EANHS Uganda branch or the • ikllifc Conservation Society of Tanzania, respectively. Acknowledgements The IBA programme in Kenya has been generously supported by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the BirdLife International Partner in the United Kingdcvn. Leon Bennun. Chairman, Ornithology Dept.. National Museums of Kenya. Box 40658. Nairobi. Kenya. THREE BUTTERFLIES OF TAITA Part II. Papilio desmondl taita (Editor’s note: The first pan of this article appears in the BAN US II til Id in Vol. 21 :2. p. 1 8. This part of the paper has been recovered from some files of our laic Editor. Mrs DaphhC Backhunit. Our apologies to the author for the long delay between pans.) Introduction While living in the luita Hills I became interested in its butterflies and have described my findings on Papilio nireus in a previous bulletin. I had found nireus larvae when I had been looking for the Taita endemic /’ ilexmniull («jt page 39) Yrt eventually I did find larvae different from nireus. which proved to be P. desmondl. In general P. desmondl is less abundant, and while it can overlap with P nireus, only on one occasion have I round more eggs or larvae of desmondl than nireus. The overall discovery rates of nireus. for eggs and larvae together, were 6,0 and 2.5 per hour respectively for Mwanibirwa and Choke Forests, but only 1.2 per hour for dexmondi on Mwnmbirwn nnd even less on Choke I have only ever found desmondi on Toddniia uxiutlea — and only once in Choke. So. the statistics for Mwambiiwu forest are the ones which help analysis, although there are places un Choke area where adults can Ik seen regularly, indeed probably all the year round The regular sighting of these feeding on Stavhyiaphda (and on Citrus higher up), is beautiful indeed. And the territorial features of some males could be observed; although I noted that the place was not in a westward lacing position as previously reported by ICBP— rather, it was at the south end of a north/south ridge, only partly protected by trees. Life History 111 is has been worked out. both from larval specimens und eggs found in the wild, and from the eggs laid when a captured adult was sleeved. It seems that there arc four patterns of larval colouration, but I have been unable to see how this fits into 5 instnrs. Probably instars 2 and 3 arc Identical The eggs took about a week to hatch, at an average temperature of 24.8°C and had been yellowish/grccn in colour, about 0.9- 1 .0 mm in diameter. The young larvae ore between 3.5 and 5 mm in size, and different from nireus. Nireus caterpillars, freshly hatched, are brownish all over, but with bands of alternate orange or brown across the body, which are Bulletin of the EANHS 27(2/3) 28 apparent either through a hand lens, or as the larvae grow. The banding is in the body colour, whereas the hairs are all dart: brown. Desmond! caterpillars are very dark brown — but with a white (slightly bluish) patch at the head and tail ends. The two species cannot be confused. Moreover, the desmondi caterpillars, at this stage and unlike n Ire us. prefer to be under the leaf rather than on the upper side. It is not until sometime during the second instar that desmondi moves to the upper leaf surface — so the lower surface of leaves should always be searched, for larvae as much as for eggs. The second 'stage' still has the light segments at head and tail, but like nireus. now has some orangish colour on some of the middle segments. The third stage' has a much more ashy and dull green colour, unlike the leaf- green colour of nireus. The final stage is uniform greenish all over— whereas nireus has a lighter shade of green between the 'V* pattern in the middle of the body segments. The desmondi final stage, also often has a very marked blue colour to the intersegmenta! memhranes and. even in earlier stages, small paired appendoges at head and tail end tend to be slightly bluish— rather than the whitisli/yellowisli version in nireus. And so to the pupa, which w ould be difficult to distinguish from the green form of nireus. 1 never found any brown pupae. The whole process as far as pupation, took from 38—18 days, depending on temperature and feeding conditions; aqd from 1 8-25 days for the pupal stage (not much different from nireus). In both species, the males are easily distinguished by the whitish line on the underside of the hind- wing and b> a generally darker background colour. On the upper surface, the desmondi are best distinguished in that the blue stripe on the front wing is not only wider (especially in (he males) but is also narrower towards the from, whereas in nireus the blue stripe has parallel sides Tlicre is some variation in the width of blue in both species although the average desmondi width is typically twice as wide as nireus. You are more likely to be confused by the females in tills regard than the males. Seasonal Variations The maximum rate of discovery was in June— a time when the presence of nireus is starting to decline w ith the colder weather. However, the sample sizes were very small, the June maximum for desmondi resulting from the discovery of three eggs— although in more than one area After that, there was a decline in desmondi numbers— but not as steeply as for nireus. Only in November and December were no eggs found None of the larvae showed any tendency to hibernate as nireux docs. The result is that, although desmondi is Affected by the weather, it is more of an 'all year-round* butterfly than nireus-, and this is bom out by observations of the adults. With this in mind, it is not surprising that there arc even times when desmondi is more numerous (in the right son of forest area) than nireus— ns well as the reverse. I never had any that were parasitised by the Different preferences for laying eggs It had been an early observation that the desmondi larvae discovered were always in shady areas of Toddalia. They were never discovered along paths which were effectively in the open, whereas nireus were commoner in open places. This may explain why desmondi is dependant on there being 'forest' nearby for it to breed successfully. And do they lay eggs on other plants too? In the only experiment I did, fltree newly hatched larvae each were put on leaves of C irrus, Clausena and TecJeo — as well as Toddalia Possibly, there was a linic growth on one specimen on Clausena, but even that one. as well as all the others, were dead within 6 days, Ifnot earlier. In the same, time, the 5 larvae on Toddalia had more than doubled their size. One example is insufficient proof— although an earlier larva, just hatched, was lost through ils 'walking ofT Clausena — which nireus would not have done. It has been reported that there are populations thriving on Citrus in the Mbololo area (Wild-Life Clubs— Mike Clifton). Obviously this is possible and to be welcomed; but m present. I would guess from the above that the majority- of desmondi are stiU breeding on Toddalia. No other host plant is common enough in Toito. to support the existing numbers of desmondi. The Taita Hills survey (Nairobi Museum) had found that Toddalia is common or occasional in many forests — especially at the edges; whereas Vespris was only on Ngangao (and Sagalla), and Teclea mostly at Ngangao (although there was some T nobilis at Mbololo) So. although van Somercn (date) reports ‘P. teitu' on Teclea and Vespris, I wonder whether these are die main food plant! — at least today. Future Its future is probably safe! In places. Toddalia is abundant, and being tough, it grows again quickly whenever cut back. The fact that the host plant is growing under exotic trees, as opposed to natural forest, is no deterrent to P. desmondi ; indeed, it may have even expanded its numbers in that cutting down older forests has actually increased the amounts of Todduliu\ Not only Ls it present in places like Mbololo and Mwwnbirwa and Ngangoo. but we hove seen it at Choke— a relatively small piece of forest The earlier report by ICBP, had guessed that there could be scattered small populations of desmondi and that guess seems correct. I have also seen an individual male at Shtgharo. and another at Wesu; and that points probably to other centres— Toddalia being present in both of those places. It is pretty safe as a species for some time: indeed, it could be common and secure enough to become a lest case for butterfly farming It could give a chance to make some income from the maJ es. and to help keep the stocks ol wild females higher too. Of course more research is needed — for example, as !o the optimum conditions for wasps that affected nireus caterpillars, but my sample sizes were small. getting this delicate and more shade-loving species to lay eggs. But it is a colourful species worth conserving; and in so doing, the local people could be helped to August/Decembcr 1997 29 aJtc a fresh interest and pride in their local insects and forests. TST Yun Oakley, The Rectory, Bcafrod. Winklcigh. I>rvon EX 1 9 8NN, England. EARTHWATCH THE BLACK LEMUR FOREST PROJECT in the end. we conserve only what vve love. We love cnly what we understand. We understand only what we arc taught. ’ Babr Dioum Dioura, Senegalese Poet Hie Black Lemur Forest Project gave me a wonderful opportunity to learn nnd lake part in a conservation project of another country. I. like most naturalists visiting Madagascar, was amazed at its diversity and endemism. With a land area of only 2% it has more orchids and baobabs than all of mainland Africa. 80% of its plant rpecies and 32 of its primate species (among which is the Black Lemur) occur only in Madagascar. . The project: The Black Lemur Forest Protect consists of four main parts: 1 ) Identification and study of 1 emur groups. 2) Community relations and development. 3) Training of Malagasy students. 4) School education outreach. Our Earthwatch expedition team was able to participate in the first two parts. The first pan was identification and study of Lemurs, which involved watching and describing individual Lemurs and the behaviour of groups in primary and secondary forest and in situations where they rely on tourists to feed them. The second pan of ihe expedition involved interaction with local villagers and tourists. In the long *tnn. from data collected by Earthwatch groups, we should be better able to understand how well and for h'*w long Lemurs can survive in the different situations. The team. "he size of the our Earthwatch team was good in that -e sll felt that our involvement and contribution was ecessary and important The team consisted of six Africans. Four were Kenyans; one who works for a non- governmental organisation (Friends of Conservation ), md tow others who work for the Kenya Wildlife Service. • *i»ch is the government organisation entrusted with *** Protection and conservation of wildlife in Kenya ** iln working with parks in their countries were two ,Jvcn from Rwanda and Zaire. The other two members ** ,eam were a Malagasy student from Antananarivo c-. d a British student who had worked with Jersey Zoo. - the south of England. It was a very exciting and special group as wc all came from conservation backgrounds and quite predictably wc talked conservation long into the night. Even with a language barrier I managed to find out what the other African countries where doing, especially with regard to the protection of elephants and lowland and mountain gorillas. In an unexpected way we were able to contribute as a group towards conservation in that part of Madagascar. Our Principal Investigator has been requested to write a management plan for Lokobe Reserve which ANGAP hopes to open to tourism. She felt our visit was very fortunate as our talks helped her clarify some of her ideas, made her change her thought about some things and gave her new ideas. The study sites: a. Lokobe Reserve, which consists of 740 hectares ot primary forest. Opened only to researchers, we were unfortunately not able to study Lemurs here as the team h3d not been given clearance. b. Ampasipoye village, which is situated along the edge of the reserve and consists of secondary forest interspersed with crop farming c. Marodoka. which is also a small village. Here wc were able to carry out Lemur surveys and talk to local people. d. Nosy Komba, which is an island of secondary forest with a tourism ‘park* (really a very small enclosure) established by the community. This was our main study site. c Ampasidava, which is a small section of inhabited bench front land which borders the Lokobe Reserve From here a night survey was carried out. Identification and study of Lemur groups The studies entailed a number of morning and afternoon sessions of Lemur watching with a partner. Our first task was to find our own group of Lemurs which at Nosy Komba look about five to twenty five minutes. To watch Lemurs at Marodoka we walked (about 35 minutes) from Ampasidava where we spent a few days. When we found a group we took down the following details: Date General Location Specific Location Weather Group Composition : Number of adult males adult females subadult males subadult females infant males infant females Total The next task was to find one Lemur in the group with distinguishing features. My focal animals included one female with no left ear and another female with a 30 Bulletin of the EANHS 27(2/3) stripe across the head and extraordinary red ear tufts. We would then watch and follow this focal animal for as long as possible noting down on a data sheet every five minutes the following details: Time; location; behaviour; what tree is occupied (it was not possible for the team to learn the different plant species); where the lemur is situated, either in the canopy or under the canopy; what the lemur is doing; resting .grooming, feeding or travelling, and a final column for comments In the evenings wc would compare our different lemur groups and discuss interesting observations. I noticed, for example, from my fust group that one lemalc seemed dominant and her movements from tree to tree were followed by the rest of the group. Although it is not confirmed, fcmnles do seem to dominate groups It also seemed that the rearing of infants was a communal responsibility as the young lemurs would at times move to other females than the moth er for short periods. Something else of interest was the fighting that sometimes erupted. We learnt that small territorial skirmishes are common in wild groups but that very fierce fighting was confined to the lemurs at Nosy Kuiiiba where they rely on being feed by tourists I also found that Lemurs so not stay In the top canopy during the day. probably to avoid predators Community relations and development At Nosy Kotnba (with the help of a translator) and at Marodoka (where, to our surprise, older people still remember Swahili) wc were able to find out more on local perceptions towards tourism development in their area and preservation of the environment. Most interesting were our visits to Marodoka. Here the Black Lemur Forest Project has helped to put up a small community centre where at present the women are learning pattern making for souvenirs. This village was the first in Madagascar, settled by people originally from Tanzania who were trying to av oid Uk Arab slave traders. They built the first Malagasy mosque. The reception we received was very warm, the villagers being very excited to meet our team of all Africans with whom they could communicate. The President of the village invited us for a formal welcome where we were greeted with Franjapani necklaces and treated to local delicacies before settling down on floor mats to talk about then hopes and aspirations for development and then project. The people of Marodoka arc very proud of Lokobe Reserve and because they have the forest with its flora and fauna and the village history they led they have something to offer tourism. They would like to (cacti tourists about themselves and gain benefits from it so they will be better able to preserve their natural areas and keep the village from dying, because at present all the young people move away. They were very keen to hear what wc had to ofler by way of advice and experience. We also met with other key players of conservation, development and tourism in this area One of whom w-as the chief of the Lokobe reserve. The reserve is now under the management of the National Association for the Management of Protected Areas (AN GAP). Another was the Swiss Foundation who have built a ecotourism hotel, the revenues from which will go to community projects. Wc interviewed tourists to find out their job background, how they travelled— via an agent or os independent travellers— what souvenirs they bought and if they were aware of what souvenirs they should not buy. and their reasons for coming to Madagascar. I was able to cam' out a hotel survey at Ampasipoye to find out the hotelier's feelings towards development and the environment 1 found out details of number of rooms, type of facilities, cost of accommodation, building materials (local or imported), number of employees and if they were from the area, and what the hotel did for the community. How did the experience benefit me? Until now. my experience in biological monitoring has been confined to waterfowl counts on Rifl Valley lakes und game counts in the Nairobi National Park. I have never before done a study on a single species working at identifying individuals and monitoring individual and social behaviour. 1 found it a stimulating experience which I value as having given me an invaluable insight into the logistics, the methodology, and the human endeavour that goes into this soil of research. I work as the Office Manager of the East Africa Natural History Society , a scientific and environmental organisation established in 1 909. The Society provides its member* with a program of films, birdwalks. outings as well as free entry to the Museums of Kenya, and a library service. It publishes a scientific Journal and a Bulletin for general member reading. My Earthwatch experience has broadened my understanding and therefore my appreciation for scientific research. Within the same organisation 1 have started a Special Project known as Friends of City Park. City Park consists of gardens and natural forest and is visited by hundred*; of Nairobi residents each week. We hope to carry out environmental education programs from this site as well as improve on its facilities. From my visit to Madagascar I gained invaluable ideas which I can apply to the project: I. An ’“adopt a tree" campaign. This will help us raise awareness and funds for the maintenance of the forest area of the park. 1 Our school outreach program can foster links between the schools in Nairobi and those in the Nosy Be area by way of the Black Lemur Forest Project's own school program. 3. The surveys that I carried out of tourists, hoteliers and local villagers arc very useful in giving me experience and knowledge which I will rely on when carrying out similar surveys at City Park 4. The Principal Investigator encouraged me to think of creating an Earthwatch program for the Pork, in which volunteers like myself can take *^gusi/Deccmber 1 997 31 part in a worthwhile park program while raising funds for that particular work. I look forward to sending enquiries to Earthwatch on this possibility. Thoughts on the fellowship program. • The first day or so we all pointed to our countries. The third or fourth day we were pointing to our continents. By the fifth day we were aware of only one earth.' Sultan Bin Salman al-Saud. Astronaut Ihe fellowship program is a great idea for people like myself who would not hove Ihe financial ability to niBkc such a trip to expand on their horizons and gain strength in learning, experience and sharing. Although two weeks is a substantial amount of lime to visit u project, before any work can begin there is a lot of orientation. It would have been very' nice to have more time to assimilate all the aspects of the work involved and to adjust to new conditions. The Principal Investigator was very approachable and the pace m which sbe took us through all the work necessary was v»y good. Although we did not follow the day to day program set out in the briefing she felt we hod done sufficient work and covered areas not previously done by the other Earth watch teams. As a new country I found Madagascar to be really exciting. It was great fun learning and using some Malagasy. The people were so hospitable and the food was very good. It was also an education. I appreciated learning about new cultures and different perceptions Ihe overall experience was excellent and I am grateful to l-arthwatch Europe, the European Union and the East Africa Natural History Society for the opportunity I gained in travelling to another beautiful country, making new friends and achieved .i wealth or new experiences Catherine Ngarachu. Box 44486. Nairobi. Kenya NOTES GULL*BILLED TERNS FEEDING ON DUNG BEETLES (FAMILY SCARABAEIDAE) The food of the Gull-hilled Tern is usually iruteas. taken from the air or near the surface of water, and occasionally fish. Every- year from late January until March the southern short grass plains of the Sercngeti National Hark. Tanzania, arc home to over a million wildebeest plus tens of thousands of other large mammals. At this time of the year there are frequent but scattered rain showers which encourage the growth of grass in the mineral- rich earth. It is here the wildebeest give birth to their young. During this period flocks consisting of several thousand Gull-billed Terns can be seen flying over the herds, while at other times the only Gull-billed Terns that are seen are odd birds, usually along the shores of Lakes Masck and Ndutu or by pools in the Hidden Valley. In February 1986. while driving to Lake Man vara National Park along the Makuyuni to Mto wn Mbu road. I saw a very large flock (estimated to be in the tens of thousands) of Gull-billed Terns flying low over the ground in the area cast of Lake Manyara, apparently feeding on insects ether just above ground level or on the ground. Unfortunately. I did not have time to leave die road to gee a closer look at them. A few days later while driving in the Sercngeti Notional Pari;, which was still very diy at that time, there were very few Gull-billed Terns to be seen. Small groups, all numbering less than twenty, were present at Lake Ndutu and in the Hidden Valley. On die afternoon of 20 February a huge storm hit the Lake Ndutu area, with strong winds followed by very heavy rain. The next morning was fine and it was vety noticeable that there were Gull-billed Terns almost cvciywhere. The terns were spread over 3 very' large area ami again probably numbered in their tens of thousands. They appeared to be feeding on insects just above ground level. Almost eveiy year I visit this area with safari clients to experience the annual wildebeest migration and even year Gull-billed Terns arc present but not necessarily in such large numbers. There appears to be a definite relationship between rainfall and the number of terns. In February 1 996 1 war. fortunate to have clients with me who were interested in birds, so I took the opportunity of making an effort to see just what the icnis were feeding on. Otic morning, after heavy nun during the previous afternoon and evening, we were parked among u large herd of Wildebeest with large numbers orients flying above and around them. It soon became clear that the Terns were feeding on dung beetles ( Family Scarabacidae). They caught the beetles by swooping down on them and then ate them while still in flight The wet ground and the presence of thousands of Wildebeest created ideal conditions for dung beetles. As we watched many freshly hatched beetles were emerging Trom the ground, while other, were busy rolling balls of dung. This was the perfect opportunity' for the Gull-billed Terns to feed on them. Some terns appeared to fly close to the Wildebeest but I was never able to see if they were catching insects disturbed by the animals. What is still a mystery is where are the terns before the rain storms? It would appear from my observations that the terns only arrive at an area after heavy rain. Before that very few are seen but the influx immediately after rain is very' rapid. Dave Richards. P. O. Box 24545. Nairobi. LIFE IN AND AROUND THE HOT SPRINGS AT LITTLE MAGADI I first visited Little Magadi on 29 September 1 984 on an EANHS field trip. I went again on 26 October 1 997 with 32 Bulletin ofthe EANHS 27(2>3) a small parly in two 4WD vehicles. The track 10 the lake is faint, and very rocky. The campsite is flat. with line views, but there is no shade and no water. Little Magodi. also known as Lake Nasikie Engida ( I °43 ’ S: 36“1 V E altitude 627 m). is a small lake on the Figure 1 Map ot Lake Magad < and Little Magadi or Lake Nasikie Engida NW side of Lake Magadi (figure I >. rhe water level is 19 m higher than the main lake (Baker. I 5 8 » Water enters the lake at its NW comer from hut springs that rise at the foot of East-facing cliffs. The springs rise at many different points and discharge into shallow streams flowing over a braided bed of sand and gravel down into the lake. luxuriantly. In flowing water it was attached to the bottom and floated downstream. In pools it formed dense mats producing copious gas bubbles in sunlight. Where it was killed by excess heat it became bleached white. At 44° C and below it was gradually replaced by a yellowish-green encrusting alga Chloro/lexus sp.. which became dominant at about 38° C. When damaged or dead it became orange or bright red, or sometimes black and smelly. In still water at temperatures between 37 n and 59° C a small brine fly (family Ephydiiilue) swiumcd un the surface, and its larvoe and pupae lived in the filamentous mat. Between 44® and 50° C this was the only animal found, but at lower temperatures it overlapped with a large black brine fly Ephvdru mu^mJensis. Vast numbers of adults of the latter swarmed on the surface of water at temperatures between 35° and 38° C. The flies lay salmon-pink eggs that hatch into silvery-grey larvae. The pupae are blackish with thick, leather) skin, and have two curved processes on the back by which they anchor themselves. The young stages ore in constant danger of straying, or being carried by the flow, into water that is too hoc, which results in deposits of dead larvae and pupae stranded on sand banks Probably the juveniles arc also eaten by the many wading birds iirtrnrfrd In thr In samples from temperatures up to 38° C I found larvae and pupae of a fly of the family Ceratopogonidae. Up to 34“ C there were also red larvae of a fly Chironomus sp. (family Chironomidae) living in slime lubes. In pools at about 32" C I found water beetles of the family Hydrophilidae, and many small copcpods Cleiocampius conjlucn* (Schmei!) of the family Clctodidnc (Crustacea). Long-legged spiders with bodies about half a centimetre long ran very fast over exposed sand and gravel, and also seize larvae and pupae at the water surface. A smaller, reddish spider hunted in similar fashion but remained on dry land. In 1 984 many dead insects were seen in the springs, including grasshoppers, a dragonfly, a bug Lethoceros nlloiicus (family Bellostomatidac). water beetles Cy bister sp. (family Dytiscidae) and many large caterpillars of moths ( family Sphingidac). Large numbers of anal I fish Tllapiagrahami were seen in cooler water. None of these were seen on the second visit in 1 997. Ephydra magddensix was described (Wirth. 1 975) from samples collected at Lake Magadi. and it is not known to occur at any other site. The flies swarm on mud in lagoons around the (dry) main lake The small ephydrid fly is a new species, and is about to be described. The ccratopogonid fly, the chironomid fly, the hydrophilid beetle and the copcpod have not yet been identified Temperatures measured directly in the spring outflow’s were between 70" and 82° C. In the streams the water temperature varied over short distances depending mainly on the flow. At temperatures up to 50-55° C the filamentous blue- green “alga" Arthrospira platensis (Cyanophyta) grew .Acknowledgements The cyanophytes. algae and bacteria collected from the springs were kindly identified by Dr Mwatha of the Botany Department, Kenyatta University. Professor J. Green identified the copepods. August/December 1 997 33 References Baker, B. H. (1958). Geology of the Magadi Area. Geological Survey of Kenya Report no. 42. 81 pp. Wirth, W.W. (1 975). A revision of the brine flies of the genus Ephydra of the Old World (Diptera: Ephydridae). Entomologica Scand 6, 1 1-44. Jo Darlington, University Museum of Zoology Cambridge CB23EJ, UK been due to the finding of a new food source, i.e. the young pawpaw leaves. Premating behaviour is very obvious and includes mutual feeding and preening, followed by an amusing display by the male and even, at times, by the female, and ending in copulation. It cannot be confused for anything else. The nests are usually built in bush about l»/ 2 to 3 m off the ground. For a more detailed and extremely interesting description of mousebird behaviour, read the section in Birds of Africa, Vol 111, by C.H. Fry, et al., pp. 251-253 available in the EANHS Library. (The Editor) LETTERS TO THE EDITOR WERE THE MOUSEBIRDS MATING? How and where do speckled mousebirds Colius striatus breed and nest? A while ago on two consecutive days I observed a flock of about 20 birds suspended on the telephone wire with a lot of twittering and general excitement. After a while the scenario seemed to get •lore excited and many of the birds were hanging opposite each other belly to belly. Sometimes a third mrd Would muscle in and push another away from his opposite number. If there was mating, it was too quick to observe but the procedure certainly looked very- “sexy”. Of course, how would a male mount a female if she hangs more or less upside down on the wire? It seemed a logical solution. Every- now and again some of the birds flew across to the nearby pawpaw tree Carica papaya and pecked on the pawpaw leaves which now resemble a fishing net as only the ribs were left. It appears is though the pawpaw leaves gave them strength to -ontinue with their occupation. After about two hours they all flew away. Apart from those two days I have not observed this again and the remaining pawpaw leaves are intact. Can the experts confirm my suspicion that it was a mating orgy? Christa v. Kalckstein PO. box 45161, Nairobi MOUSEBIRD CLUSTERING BEHAVIOUR As appealing as it would be to think the above described mousebird behaviour was an orgy, I fear it isn’t. Mousebirds are extremely gregarious and live in flocks of up to 30 birds (averaging around 8- 1 0 ) and clustering •eems to serve an important social function for them. When the weather is wet or cold (and at night), the whole flock may cluster very- tightly together. Pat Frere (pers. comm.) could get these birds to form extremely large clusters by showering them with the hosepipe. While the purpose of this behaviour often is simply to warm each other, even when it isn’t raining or cold mousebirds will form small clusters which is what was seen by Ms v. Kalckstein. The excitement may have ELEPHANTS IN LIMURU— AGAIN! In September 1989. 1 sent a report to you about 2 elephants (mother and half-grown son) who visited the tea estates in Limuru and spent some time on the late Tiny Kingsford’s estate there. I mentioned at the time that, although I have lived in Limuru since 1 925, 1 had never seen, or heard of, elephants visiting the settled areas here. The press reported a second visitation of elephants in September 1 997— this time it was a larger herd of 1 6, which had evidently come in from the Uplands or Aberdare Forests. I was unfortunately absent at the time, but returned a day or two later, to see their footmarks in the cultivated tea and tracks near our house. The herd appeared on Kiawaroga tea estates and this time they were seen by a number of workers and their children. Once again the elephants did little, if any, damage, to crops, and allowed themselves to be escorted away peacefully by rangers from Kenya Wildlife Service. Unfortunately, however, there was a report later in the local press that a child had been killed by a lone elephant in the Limuru area, who may, or may not, have been part of the same herd on its way back to the forest. The elephant was shot by the KWS— a sad ending to what had been at first another friendly visit. H.S. Morton, Mabrouke Estate, Box 1 , Limuru, Kenya REQUEST FROM THE EDITOR URBAN WILDLIFE Over the years, we have had a number of articles about urban wildlife. These have been extremely popular. For instance, the article on jumping spiders had a very positive response from readers. In the future, I would like to start a section in the Bulletin which features writers observations in their “own backyards”. These observations can be on anything that strikes your interest, from things like the jumping spider which the author observed while working on his computer to road kills such as those reported some years ago by Adrian Lewis. And please don’t think you have to concentrate only on birds and 34 Bulletin of the EANHS 27(2/3) mammals. Other vertebrates, arthropods, the life found in ponds or streams in the city, or interesting plants or fungi, or whatever strikes your fancy will be welcome. SOCIETY NEWS EANHS MEMBERSHIP QUESTIONNAIRE- RESULTS FROM 96 QUESTIONNAIRES RETURNED AS OF 15 NOVEMBER. 1997 Student 9 9.8 Other 3 3.2 Total 92 100 3. Which age bracket do you fall Into? No % under 25 10 11.8 25-55 41 482 over 55 34 40 Total 85 100 In August of 1 997. with assistance of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). the Executive Committee members, representatives from the sub- 4. Do you work professionally in the field of biodiversity? committees and several observers from the Society's No % Uganda Branch. BirdLife International secretariat and Yes 30 35.3 the RSPB. attended a workshop in Naivasha to plan for No 55 64.7 the future of the EANHS. Total 85 100 In order to have some idea about how the members of the Society feel about the present stale of the Society, and what suggestions they have for improving it. a questionnaire was sent out earlier in the year. We received 96 questionnaires back altogether, which was an excellent response, and we would like to thank everyone who took the time to put down their thoughts. The responses clearly show the real interest and concern that members have for their Society and were very useful in guiding our discussions. Below is a condensed analysis of the results. There were many detailed and specific responses which could not be categorised and are too numerous to be listed here. Rest assured that these were not ignored by the Executive during the planning workshop The report below is as detailed a summary as could be reasonably fitted into the Bulletin. For anyone who wants to sec the full set of responses, the collated information is in the EANHS office. Results from 96 questionnaires returned as of 1 5 November 1 997: 6. Why did you join the society? No. Interest in nature and conservation 74 Acquiring information (including publications) 42 Social activities (meetings, field trips, etc ) 26 Library 1 2 Birds (all related activities) 5 Recruited 4 Access to museums and collections 2 TotBl 165 6. What do you think are the Society's most important activities? Social activities (meetings, trips, etc ) No. 35 Conservation action and advocacy 27 1. Approximately how long have you been a Education/training 23 member of the society? Awareness raising 18 Birds (all related activities) 16 No % Publications 16 <1 yr 12 12.6 Creating forums/networks 5 1-5 yr 33 34.7 Library 3 6-10 yr 9 95 Total 143 >10yr 37 38 9 No ans 4 43 7. What else should we be doing? Total 95 100 No 2. What is your present membership category? More education 17 More and better public relations No % and fund-raising 8 Life 19 20.7 More conservation advocacy 8 Sponsor 6 6.5 More activities 6 Full 42 45 7 More activities to attract and interest Family 13 14 1 young members 6 August/December 1 997 35 More bird related activities 6 Other (some of these were specific detailed suggestions) 6 Creating branches outside Nairobi 5 Create links with other like-minded organisations 4 Satisfied with what you are doing 4 Broaden target community 3 Create a wider range of sub- committees with specific interests 3 Promote conservation ethic in local communities 3 Support and participate in research 2 Total 81 8. What if anything, should we stop doing? No Nothing 20 Competing with other NGOs 4 Other 18 Total 42 The many and varied responses to this question defied simple categorisation. We particularly appreciated one member's comment: “Stop asking silly questions! You’re doing a very good job all around." 9. How much do you participate In Society activities? No % Atot 7 7.9 Some 22 24.7 v/ery little 37 41.6 Not at all 23 25.8 Total 89 100 10. If you participate very little or not at all, is this because you are content to support the EANHS and its work, and No. % receive Society publications? 22 282 you do not have the time? 26 334 you live outside Nairobi? you have transportation 22 28 2 problems? 4 5 1 of another reason? 4 5.1 Total 78 100 11 What three words best describe how the Society appears to you. No 54 21 vibrant/dynamic 17 old-fashioned/rustic 16 dusty 13 boring/stuffy 10 'invisible* 5 conscientious/efficient/hardworking 5 enthusiastic/motivated 4 informative 4 productive/useful 4 entertaining 3 mtelllgent/lntellectual/scientlfic 3 professional 3 badly organised/unfocused 2 charming 2 concerned 2 conservative 2 diversified 2 interesting 2 knowledgeable 2 empowering (for birdwatchers) 1 few active members 1 good value for money 1 increases awareness 1 local 1 Total 181 The questionnaire authors slipped up a little here! They gave examples of possible answers C vibrant, energetic, educational’ and ‘dusty, old-fashioned, boring’ ). which many respondents interpreted as alternatives. Despite this, a trend still shows itself. The Society is seen strongly to have an educational, information giving role. 12. Do you think this image needs to be changed or improved? No. Yes 47 No 25 No response 2 Total 74 If yes In what ways? No More PR n Modernise/restructure 7 More information/educational activities 7 More and varied activities 6 More youth onentation 4 Detach from/clarify relationship with Museum 3 Try to reach local/rural community 3 Improve transport for members 2 Less birds 2 Make links with other organisations (schools. NGOs. efc.) 2 More scientific content 2 Lessen cost to members 1 Total 50 •vocational energetic 36 Bulletin of the EANHS 27(2/3) 13. How would you feel If the Society decided to change its name? No % Support in pnnople 18 21.7 Object 23 27 7 No strong feelings 39 47.0 Depending on name 3 36 Total 83 100 14. Are there any other points you would like to make? No More indigenous mvolvemenl 6 You’re doing a good job 5 Activities on weekends 2 Get publications out on time 2 Solve transport problem 2 Better PR 1 Total 18 The responses to this last question and question 1 2 were similar. Iherc was a lot of emphasis on better PR— we are working hard on this. Another concern was the perennial problem of transport, especially for younger members. References to it came up throughout the questionnaire. There are solutions being looked for for this perennial problem. This isn't an easy one. but we must try to solve it if we are to involve more young people, and the need to involve and encourage young naturalists/conscrvationists is very dear Several members emphasised (lull we should mil lose the Regional outlook of the Society This was an important concern of those attending the workshop as well, and is being kept firmly in mind Several members expressed concern about the Society getting involved in the 'political quagmire' of active advocacy. On the other hand, mans members expressed the wish to sec the Society more involved in this. In recent years we have moved in the direction of advocacy, because our mandate of promoting conservation makes this unavoidable Caring ubout the environment implies action as well as words. A subject that has come up many times in the Executive Committee meetings appeared in the questionnaire also: the liming of talks and trips. There were several suggestions that the talks he moved to the weekend which has. in fact, already been considered. There was also one suggestion that trips be sometimes held on Saturdays for those who worship on Sundays. Several members expressed (tmldj frustration that activities were Urn much centred on Nairobi. Evidently there is plenty of scope for regional members' groups. As there are lots of active and interested members outside Ndiiubi. we hope dial a number uf these groups will take off soon. The Executive Committee is looking into the best ways of encouraging and supporting a process of regionalisation. In response to the last question, one member asked “Why the questionnaire— is there a crisis??" No. there is no crisis. With assistance from the RSPB, we have an opportunity to modernise and invigorate the Society, but wc want to be sure that wc act as true representatives of the members. In order to do so, we needed some feed back from you — hence, the questionnaire. LA. Dcpcw. Editor. Box 57. Kilifi. Kenya 87TH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING The 87th annual general meeting of the Society took place on Monday, 9 June. 1 997, in the Louis Leakey Memorial Auditorium of the National Museums of Kenya. The agenda items were: approval of the minutes of the 86th AGM, matters arising from these minutes. Chairman’s report. Honorary Treasurer's report for 1996 and election of the executive committee and several sub- committees. Below are the chairman and treasurer's reports. It was encouraging to hear the optimism expressed in both reports. The elected officers and members of the Executive Commmcc and sub-committees are listed on the back cover. The meeting was followed by an extremely interesting and ut times amusing video entitled Flying for Gold, about the flying feats of birds. F.ANHS Chairman’s Report 1996/7 Ladies and gentlemen I am delighted to welcome you all to the Society's 87th Annual General Meeting. You may have noticed that the Chairman is limping and the Honorary Secretary is on crutches! Rest assured that there is no symbolic significance attached to this. The Chairman's speech on these occasions serves as a record of our activities, our successes and our failures as a Society over die past year. This time, though. I am going to treat the events of the year rather briefly, for the good reasons that I want to talk to you also about die future, and that I would otherwise end up speaking for half the night. It has once again been a busy year, especially for our proliferating sub-committees and projects. A few examples: the Kenya Wetlands Working Group successfully brought to a close important bibliographic and inventory projects, as well as hosting an almost confusing profusion of seminars and workshops. Among other activities. Birdl.ife Kenya held a productive meeting on Birds and People', and continued to work with the Museum to produce ‘Kenya Birds'. Our newest sub committee, which dcaU with mammals, has made an active and enthusiastic start, and is currently compiling information on who is doing what mammal research in the region Succulcnta EA kept up a lively programme of events and outings, and August/Dceember 1 997 37 the journal of xcrophytic plants. Ballya, appeared promptly and contained much interesting material. Unfortunately, prompt publication was not a characteristic of some of our other publications — the Journal of East African Natural History, the Bulletin and Scopus. This reflects the increasing difficulties of producing such periodicals on a shoestring, rather than any lock of effort by the Editors. All those who are involved continue to work extremely hard for the Society, and on a voluntary basis. There are encouraging signs that we may catch up with our publication schedules over the next year. I hope this may happen, and I do urge all EANHS members to continue their support, by subscribing and contributing material These publications till important niches in the region, and wc must strive to keep them going through this difficult patch. The Friends of Nairobi Arboretum, a special project of the Society, had a mixed year Its activities in the Arboretum came to a halt lor around seven months because of a procedural hitch involving the Forestry Department. Fortunately this has now been resolved with the signing of a formal Memorandum of Agreement, and FONA can continue with their excellent work on the ground. The Friends of City Park, fanned to help restore the Park to its previous gloiy. at once found that they were in danger of losing the entire site to dubious land allocations. The Friends have had great success in putting this issue on the political agenda, and the prospects for saving the Park look much bnghter than they did a year ago (though we arc not out of the woods ''el). All the residents of Nairobi (at least, all those who are not land-grabbers) must owe this energetic and determined group a debt of gratitude. The Society has continued to co-ordinate the Important Bird Areas Programme in Kenya. umJ there have been several useful meetings of its Advisory Council. Most of the technical work on the IBAs has been done by the National Museums of Kenya, a good --sample of productive NOO-Ouvcmmcm collaboration We have spoken out strongly again on the issue ol degaz-ettement ui Arabuko-Sokoke. and remain active participants in the Forests Working Group that is hosted by our colleagues in the East African Wildlife Society. Through Bird Life Kenya, the Society has continued to sponsor vital research work on threatened species, this year including the East Coast Akalat and Sharpe's tongclavv. The office has generally functioned efficiently this •ear I would like to thank Catherine Ngarnehu. who took over as our honorary Office Manager at very short -•oticc. and Vincent Owuor. for all their hard work, us -ell as saying thanks to the volunteers who have put in T-any hours helping out — in particular Narinder I Icyer Pauline. Appealing for more volunteer? is part of ritual of this report: in order not to disappoint you. me make this appeal and say how much help a regular -ommitment to a few hours in the office can be. I would also like to thank three people who have * «Je immense contributions to the EANHS in various ways, and who are now stepping down from their posts. Loma Depew. our Honorary Secretary for no fewer than ten years, lias put more time, energy and dedication into the Society than most people can probably imagine. I am delighted that, subject to the approval of this meeting, she will be able to remain involved and to put her biological training to good use in future as our new Honorary Editor. Our retiring Hon. Editor. Dr Edward Vanden Berghe. may have kept a lower profile, but he has put many, many long and largely thankless hours into the production of our Journal and Bulletin, as well as involving himself with other Society work- Edward has succeeded in raising the scientific and production standards of our publications to a high level that forms an excellent foundation for the future. We are sorry that he no longer has the time to be involved with this work, but hope he will continue his active interest in the Society’s affairs. Last but not least. I would like to say ‘thank you' to our I lonorury Librarian. Mury Rigby, who unfortunately is leaving us soon Mary has brought her professional knowledge, tact and organisational skills to bear not just in the library but many other areas too. and has been nn indefatigable snurcc of support for the Society’s activities Wc shall miss her greatly. We have had a strong Executive Committee this > ear. that has with rare exceptions functioned effectively and constructively. 1 would like personally to thank all its members for their work, not least in sitting through and contributing to some marathon Committee meetings, Hie Society is in better financial health this year than it lias been foi some lime, and you will hear more about this from our Hon. Treasurer. Andrew Brass — appropriately, since he is the person largely responsible for this happy situation. Indeed. Andrew deserves very special thanks not just for his sound financial planning bul for the patience with which he has disentangled and reconstructed our accounts, an exercise which I hope will cease to be necessary in future as we move to more modem systems of financial management. A point that I expect Andrew will make is that our membership subscription receipts still lag well behind the costs ol looking alter members, and this is something that is of concern for the future And with this coming year we arc certainly looking to the future. For a number of reasons. 1 997. two years short of our 90th birthday, seems an appropriate time to do some serious soul-searching and to map out the •Society’s future. We have plans to begin this in August with a so-called Strategic Planning Workshop. Let me outline u few of the issues that wc will be needing to address, trying to avoid any additional jargon as much as possible: • Ilic Society is a venerable institution. We have a long and illustrious history of activity in the field of what is now known as biodiversity* Our impetus has always been scientific, and our work voluntary These are vitally important traditions that must be sustained. Yet equally it is becoming dear that, if wc want to be able to study and enjoy nature in another 90 years, we must focus our Bulletin of the EANHS 27(2/3) 38 efforts increasingly on conservation. It is also evident that our expanding activities, and the near impossibility of sustaining volunteer involvement on the levels of past years, make it essential to professionalise ourselves to some extent. How can we best meet these new challenges while still maintaining our diversity of activities, the involvement of our members in what we do. and our scienitific underpinning? • A frequent regret of mine as Chairman is that 1 interact with only a small proportion of the membership. Yet I obtain a distinct feeling that many members are confused and dissatisfied. This is showing up on our membership lists, despite the strength and diversity of the Society’s activities, our membership is static at best, perhaps declining. Evidently those who you have given the task of running the Sociery are. in some ways, missing the point. Late Bullletins. cancelled outings, lacklustre functions — all problems we have experienced at times — do not help this is what the membership perceives, rather than our successes in advocating conservation. We must find out what members want — and ensure that this can be delivered We must also build up our membership base to the point where membership services become cost-effective — which they are not at the moment. • The Society’s present structure, with a Uganda branclu numerous sub-committees, uud a clutch of semi-autonomous projects, is elaborate, at times creates administrative strains, and prevents us establishing a clear and positive image — ot ‘brand* for those who prefer the marketing term lliere is strength in diversity; there in also confusiou. Mow do we make the Society overall stronger, mure recognisable and mere effective, while allowing Society action groups to fiounsh? Do we need to consider a change of name as pan of updating our image? • Where and how does the Society fit in to the increasingly complex and fragmented conservation structure in Kenya? Who! should be our role, and how can we play it most effectively? • How do we build a secure financial basis for our operations in the future, and ensure that our finances are handled competently and securely? A group of about 1 5 persons from the Executive and the sub-committees will be meeting at Elsamcre Field Studies Centre from 22-26 August to discu.vs these and other issues, and to come up with the outline of a strategic plan for the EANHS. Before then. I would like to hear the views of as many member* as possible on the Society: what we do well, what wc do badly and wtiat we should be doing at all. Subject to Ihc Executive’s approval. I shall be circulating a short questionnaire on these topics with the next newsletter, but I would be very pleased to hear the views of nn> members, on any subject, at any stage before our August meeting. This will be the first fundamental review of the Society in its long history, and nothing is off-limits for discussion. That said, my personal expectation is that we shall avoid radical changes in our overall approach and philosophy, which I believe give us a unique nnd tremendously valuable niche in the region. Should any major decisions be reached, these will be referred back to another General Meeting, perhaps in September or October. Some members may be bonified at the thought of scarce EANHS funds being spent on what may sound like a junket to Naivasha for the Executive (though I can assure you that such events are in fact very hard work for all involved!). Do not be alarmed. The meeting will be supported entirely by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the BirdLife International Partner in the United Kingdom. This is part of the RSPB's very welcome support for the development of the BirdLife Partnership in East Africa. Die EANHS has been the Parmer designate in Kenya nnd Uganda since 1994. and during the year both the Kenya and Uganda committees, sifter some debate, decided to sign up as full Partners. The Ethiopian Wildlife and Natural History Society and the Wildlife Conservation Society’ of Tanzania are the other Partner organisations in eastern Africa. Whul docs being a BirdLife Partner entail? Die two most commonly asked questions are. docs this mean that we will only be concentrating on birds'*, and. does this mean that we will lose our independence? The answer to these questions is no. and no. The aims of die BirdLife Partnership are to conserve all wild bird species and their habitats, and. through this, to protect the world's biological diversity and support sustainable use of resources. Die wide-ranging activities of the EANHS. combined with our traditional strong interest in birds, ideally fit these aims. No-one interested in \eiophy tes. dragonflies, liverworts, fairy shrimp or elephant shrews needs to feel in the least constrained by our joining the Partnership. Neither are we constrained from setting, ond working towards, our own national priorities for conservation. At the international level. BirdLife Partners collectively agree on policy, discussed in Africa once a year at a regional Partnership meeting. 1 attended the first of Ihcse. in Accra. Ghana late last year, and was Impressed by the real spirit of seriousness and co-operation in setting this agenda among the African Partnership (outside eastern Africa, there are presently Partners in Ghana. Sierra Leone, Egypt. Tunisia and South Africa) The BirdLife secretariat have requested us to host the next African Partnership meeting here in Kenya in November this year. Support to help us grow into a strong and effective BirdLife Parmer will be coming from die RSPB. Over the course of the next several years they will provide finance and (where appropriate) advice to liclp enhance our administration, our capabilities in fund-raising and projecl-managemeni. and our serv ices to members. Our conservation activities will also be given a big boost by a grant awarded to the BirdLife Partnership in Africa by the Global Environment Facility (an international fund run by die World Bank. UNDP and UNEP, that provides resources for biodiversity conservation). Wc can expect a modest level of funding over five years to follow up August/Dccembcr 1997 39 ihc Important Bird Areas work with some innovative conservation action on the ground. Our hope is that this can be a central point around which our other conscrvaton projects can be built. If we remain determined and clear-headed, we have even- prospect of becoming a much more dynamic and effective Society, one that has u real focus on the diversity of life and that makes use of the tremendous skills and energies of its members. I stress that last point, because our membership is an integral pan of the Society and its workings, in a way that is highly unusual in other organisations. Your support, and the support of the many potential members who have not yet joined us. will be vital for the Society's success in the exciting years ahead. The challenges arc great; the tasks arc enormously important. I am certain that the Society can count on you all. EANHS Treasurer’s Report 1996/7 Mr Chairman, I have pleasure in presenting the Financial Accounts for the year ended 3 1 December. 1 996, particularly as they show a total surplus for the year of Shs 454.479/-. compared with Shs 57,663/ for the previous year, even thuugh declining membership showed lower iubscription Income of Shs 298.244/-. down from Shs 318,674/- in die ptevious year. All funds surplus to cash t!ow needs are held on interest-hearing deposits at the tet prevailing rates. Two significant changes contributed to this most satisfactory result. Firstly, sales of books etc. Shs 689,982/- was significantly higher than lost year's total ••f Shs 109.385/- and resulted in a surplus for 1996 of *>hs 224 $92/-, up from Shs 23.968/- in the previous year, i hen contributions to overhead from administration of .Tuiect funds increased by Shs 5 1 7,733/- to Shs 868.0 1 4/ - for 1996. which more than offset the increased Administration Costs of Shs 2 1 1 .987/-. the 1 996 figure reaching Shs 1.1 1 1.916/-. The Balance Sheet has been re- arranged to show "'designated Funds and Donor Funds separately as these are held in custody. The Society negotiates a o.ctribuiion to overhead for administration of donor had* and agrees with project managers cash flow Orangemen is to service their budgets. You will note ** increase in the Net Assets of the Society to Shs Vt. v, .399/-. of which Shs 646,444/- is due to various -a*'!*, leaving a net increase in the assets of the Society ^ 460.955/-. I am sure you will agree that the finances * Society arc extremely healthy indeed A? a matter of interest the total cash flow for the 0t= * mounted to Shs 6.23 1 .469/-. Of this amount some 1.453,791/- is aitributed to the Society, an increase * Sk» 512,100/- over the previous year, all of which •^fleets the substantial volume of flow through the j offices. So. in addition to the plans for and restaffing outlined by the Chairman, tn the accounting function include computer- ize books of account. I propose the adoption of the Balance Sheet and Financial Accounts for the year ended 31 December. 1996, as presented, and will attempt to answer any questions members may have. EANHS MEMBERSHIP RATES PER ANNUM laical USJ UK Life 10000 200 130 Corporate «00 200 130 Sponsor 1000 35 Instuturional* 500 30 2D Full 350 15 10 Family 500 . . Pensioner 100 _ Student* 100 10 7 •Schools and Librari ••Only children under 18 and full lime University uiidergraguatcs. Graduate students register as full members. Membership offers you free enuy to the National Museums; free lecturer., films or slide shows every month in Nairobi; field trips and camps led by experienced naturalists; free use of the joint Society-National Museum Library (postal borrowing is possible) and a copy of the EANHS Bulletin every four months. The Society Is the BirdLife Parmer for Kenya. It organises the ringing of birds in eastern Africa and welcomes new ringers. It also runs an active Nest Record Scheme. Subscriptions arc due on 1 January. From ! July you may join for half the yearly subscription and receive publications from that date. Application forms may be obtained from the Hon. Secretary, Box 44486. Nairobi, Kenya. AO Bulletin of the EANHS 27(2/3) THF. FAST AFRICA NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY EXECUm'FCOMMnTF.I I Chairman: Dr LA. Bcumin Vice-Chairman: Dr R. Engine Hon. Secretary: Vacant Hon. TVeasurer: Mr A. Brass lion. Editor: Dr E. Vnndcn Berghe Hon. Librarian: Ms M. Rigby Executive Committee: Dr T. Butynski. Dr B. Bvtcbdr. Dr M Dc Meyer. Mr E. Kanga, Mr O. Nasinvn, MsF.NgNveno, Mr J. Silvester Co-opted members: Ms D. Mazolillo. Mrs J. Rudnai Patron: Mr John Karmali Journal Editorial Snb-committcc: Dr E. V'anden Berghe (Editor), Dr M. De Meyer, Ms LA. Depew Joint library Subcommittee: Ms M. Rigby. Dr T. Butynski, Dr M. De Meyer Ornithological Sub-committee: Mr G.C. Backhunl (Chariman), Mr DA. Thrncr (Sec- retary, Treasurer) Bird Lire Kenya: Dr N. Cichaki (Convenor). Dr L Ucnnun (Secretary), Ms J. Hartley (Treasurer) Kenya Wetlands Working Group: MnC Gichuki (Convenor), Mr O. Nasirwa (Secretary). Mrs D. Rotieb (Treasurer) Succulenta Sub-committer: Prof. L Newton (Cluiirman) Mantmab Sub-commitlcc: Mr F. Kanga (Convenor) Nest Records Scheme Organisor: Mr J.O. Ovugi Ringing Organison Mr G.C. Backburst EAHNS Projects: Friends ofNairohi Arboretum. Kipcpeo Project. Friends of City Park UGANDA BRANCH Executive Committee: Chariman Vice-Chairman Hon. Secretary Hon. Treasurer Publicity Secretary DrP.M.B. Kasomu MrRKityo DrD. Baranga Mr P.Mafabi Mr. Il.Tushabc Executive Committee: Dr R. Bukcnyu Mr A. Katcnde, Prof. D. Pomeroy BirdLife Uganda: Mr P. Mafabi (Convenor), A. Mubvvcczi (Secretary) Uganda Wetlands Working Group: Mr J. Arinaitwe (Convenor). Mrs N. Mutckanga (Secretary) Herpetological Group: Mr M. Behangana The Bulletin of the EANHS is a printed magazine Issued three times a year, which cxixts for the rapid publication of short notes, articles, letters, and reviews. Contribotions may be in clear bandwriting, printed or on disk. Black and white photographs and line drawings ore most welcome. Please send tD the Editor (EANHS) Box 57, Kilin. Kenya. The Journal of East African Natural Hlsotry is published in collaboration w ith the National Museums of Kenya. It is published two tiroes a year. Contributions, typed In double spacing on one side of the paper, with wide margins, should he sent to the Editor (EANHS). Box 57, KiiiO, Kenya. Authors receive 25 copies of their article Tree of charge. Scopus is the publication of (he Ornithological Sub-commitlcc or the EANHS. If b published two times per year. All correspondence should be sent to D A. Turner. Box 484119, Nairobi, Kenya. Kenya Birds tv n publication of Bird Life, Kenya. It b published tw o times per year and contains popular and informative articles un birds and birding in Kenya. Correspondence should be scrit to Dr Leon Bcnnun, Box 44486. Nairobi. Kenya. Ballya Is published three times a year by Succulenta EA, a division of the EANHS. Members of the EANHS can join Succulenta EA, and receive Ballya. Contributions to Ballya can be sent to Professor LE. Newton. Box 38995. Nairobi. Kenya.