Avifauna community in a threatened conservation landscape, western Tanzania: a baseline
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Date
2023
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Tanzania Journal of Forestry and Nature Conservation
Abstract
Conservation of avian biodiversity in
landscapes under immense anthropogenic
pressures is dependent on sound population
data that could guide informed conservation
strategies. Using point count surveys, field
observations and interviews, we assessed
bird communities in Lake Rukwa, an
anthropogenically threatened ecosystem in
western Tanzania, to establish some vital
parameters on this taxon. A total of 5840 bird
individuals belonging to 85 species, 17
orders and 39 families were recorded. Of
these, five were globally threatened and 19
were migrant species. Avian Shannon’s (H’)
and Simpson’s (D) diversity indices were
2.936 and 0.8655, respectively. Bird species
richness was different across foraging and
habitat guilds (both p = 0.0001). Insectivores
were the most species-rich foraging guild,
while nectarivores were the least; similarly,
non-forest birds were the most species-rich
habitat guild, while forest generalists were
the least. Grazing, bushfires, tree cutting,
unsustainable fishing and bird harvesting are
the major anthropogenic threats to bird
biodiversity in the area. Regular provision of conservation-related education programs to
local residents is a highly recommended
conservation measure. This study serves as a
baseline for avifaunal monitoring in Lake
Rukwa and provides useful insights into the
avifauna
conservation
planning
in
anthropogenically disturbed landscapes.
Description
Journal article
Keywords
Lake Rukwa, Avian community parameters, Anthropogenic-related, Pressures, Conservation measures, Disturbed landscapes