Journal of East African Natural History 

About: Journal of East African Natural History is an academic journal published by BioOne (East African Natural History Society). The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Biodiversity & Population. It has an ISSN identifier of 1026-1613. Over the lifetime, 316 publications have been published receiving 3590 citations.

The Forest Birds of Kenya and Uganda

Abstract: Robust and rapid ways of assessing and monitoring forest biodiversity are increasingly necessary. To this end, we present a classification of forest birds in Kenya and Uganda into three simple categories: forest-specialists (FF species), forest generalists (F species) and forest visitors (f species). FF and F species, but not f species, are dependent on forests. Out of 479 forest birds in the two countries, 214 are FF, 156 F and 109 f species. Forest-dependent birds, and particularly forest specialists, are less widespread than forest visitors. Uganda has 420 forest birds compared to Kenya's 335, and a higher proportion of forest specialists: this reflects differences in forest structure and biogeography, rather than the area of natural forest. Using this classification allows species lists and densities to be interpreted more meaningfully. The number of FF species is an initial measure of a forest's relative conservation importance, while the proportion of FF, F and f species and their relative ...

Forest area, fragmentation, and loss in the eastern arc mountains: implications for the conservation of biological diversity

Abstract: An understanding of forest area, fragmentation and loss is central to developing strategies to conserve biological diversity in the Eastern Arc Mountains. Using recent 1:250,000 land cover and use maps (Tanzanian Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, 1996) and 1:250,000 and 1:500,000 topographic maps, I examine natural forest area, fragmentation, and loss in the Eastern Arc Mountains. I estimate the maximum total area of natural forest, open as well as closed forest, in the Eastern Arc Mountains is 5,340 km2. The remaining natural forest in the Eastern Arc Mountains is highly fragmented. The median patch size is 10.2 km2, and the mean patch size is 58.0 km2. Based upon the estimates of various workers, approximately 1,447 km2 of closed forest remains in the Eastern Arc Mountains or 27 % of the remaining natural forest. Comparisons of the current to prehistoric forest cover suggest that 77 % of the original forest has been lost over the last approximately 2,000 years.

Annotated Checklist of the Freshwater Fishes of Kenya (excluding the lacustrine haplochromines from Lake Victoria)

Abstract: A checklist of the freshwater fishes of Kenya is presented. Pending more accurate information on their status, the lacustrine Lake Victoria haplochromines have been omitted from the list. Currently 206 species belonging to 38 families are known from Kenyan fresh waters. With at least 50 species, Cyprinidae are by far the largest fish family in the country followed by Cichlidae, Mochokidae, Mormyridae and Characidae, respectively represented by 28, 15, 15 and 12 species. At least 18 fish species were introduced, deliberately or after escaping from fish farms or breeding stations. The list includes the distribution of each species in Kenya, common English names and local names in various African indigenous languages as well as annotations referring to introductions, distribution, taxonomic status of the species and older records from literature.

Faunal Importance of the Eastern Arc Mountains of Kenya and Tanzania

Abstract: Published and unpublished data are used to assess the faunal (animal) values of the Eastern Arc Mountains in terms of the numbers of endemic species, and number of species shared with the adjacent lowland Coastal Forests and with the Tanganyika-Nyasa Mountain Forest Group. Emphasis is placed on vertebrates, although some data for invertebrate groups are also provided. At least 74 vertebrate species are strictly endemic to the Eastern Arc Mountains, split as follows: birds 10 species, mammals 11 species, reptiles 23 species and amphibians 30 species. A further 40 species are near-endemics, but range slightly more widely than the strict definition of the Arc. Eastern Arc Mountain blocks that possess endemic vertebrates are the Taita Hills (two species), the East and West Usambaras (12 species), the Ngurus (one species), the Ulugurus (13 species) and eastern Udzungwas (13 species). A minimum estimate of 265 invertebrate species confined to single Eastern Arc Mountain blocks was obtained, although in...

Importance of the Eastern Arc Mountains for vascular plants

Abstract: The term ‘Eastern Arc’ was introduced in 1985 to describe an exceptionally rich area of restricted range plant species on the crystalline mountains of eastern Tanzania and south-east Kenya. About a third of the Eastern Arc flora is composed of restricted-range species. Qualitative and quantitative data are used to demonstrate that the endemics are spread throughout the elevation and moisture gradients of the Eastern Arc. Because of the high number of endemic plant species, all of the Eastern Arc forests are of importance to conservation. However, ridge-tops, heaths, limestone forests and dry forest types are vegetation formations occupying a small area and so are conservation priorities.