Mpanga/Kipengere Game Reserve - Frontier-publications.co.uk

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Mpanga / Kipengere Game Reserve; A Biodiversity Survey 4. RESULTS 1,878 researcher-days were spent conducting a survey of floral and faunal diversity and human resourceuse of the Mpanga/Kipengere Game Reserve. Survey work was conducted during the dry season between 26 th June and 4 th September 2002, and during the wet season between 5 th April and 9 th June 2003. Please refer to Appendix 2 for a detailed account of survey effort for each of the following research areas; flora, fauna and human resource-use. Two major habitats were found to dominate the reserve; mid-altitude miombo woodland and afro-montane forest-grassland mosaic. This variation in habitat reflects greater differences in altitude and geology and the results presented below are given according to these two habitats, as the species found within them differ greatly. 4.1 Mid-altitude miombo woodland In order to survey the mid-altitude miombo woodland, two basecamps were located in the northern area of the Mpanga/Kipengere Game Reserve during the dry season fieldwork phase and one during the wet season phase. 4.1.1 Flora The mid-altitude miombo woodlands in the gently undulating north of the Mpanga/Kipengere Game Reserve were found to be interspersed with areas of riverine woodland along water courses and open grasslands, presumably as a result of clearance for cultivation. • Miombo woodlands At least 101 species of trees and shrubs representing 31 families and 31 species of herbs and grasses representing 15 families (Appendix 7) were recorded in the areas of miombo woodland in the reserve. One near-endemic shrub species was found in the miombo woodland, Barleria nyasensis. This is restricted to the mountains of Tanzania at the north and north eastern end of Lake Nyasa and the adjoining Nyika plateau of Malawi / Zambia. Some species were identified as being targeted for timber extraction, in particular Pterocarpus angolensis and Afzelia quanzensis. In addition, charcoal production also threatened woodland tree species, especially Brachystegia boehmii, Brachystegia spiciformis, Combretum spp. and Terminalia sericea. Temporary settlements have been built within miombo woodland areas, thus damaging various tree species, such as Brachystegia spp., Acacia drepanolobium, Acacia nilotica, Acacia nigrescens and Acacia polyacantha. • Riverine woodlands At least 32 species of trees and shrubs representing 19 families and 2 species of herbs and grasses representing 2 families (Appendix 7) were recorded in the areas of riverine woodland in the reserve. Two species of liane and two species of fern were also recorded in the riverine habitat, representing one and two families respectively. Frontier Tanzania Environmental Research Report 99 7
Mpanga / Kipengere Game Reserve; A Biodiversity Survey 4.1.2. Fauna The mid-altitude miombo woodlands of the Mpanga/Kipengere Game Reserve were found to contain a number of larger game animals, as well as a high diversity of birds and butterflies and many interesting herpetofauna. Table 2 A summary of fauna recorded in mid-altitude miombo woodlands of the Mpanga/Kipengere Game Reserve (Appendix 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12) Taxa Number of families Number of species Mammals 24 51 Birds* 54 199 Reptiles 10 24 Amphibians 4 13 Butterflies 5 128 Total 97 415 *Bird numbers presented are for the mid-altitude miombo woodland and the Afromontane forest-grassland mosaic together, as birds are a taxa that move easily between habitats and are thus not easy to segregate into habitat types. • Mammals At least 51 species of native mammal representing 24 families were recorded in the areas of mid-altitude miombo woodland in the reserve (Appendix 8). Although the identification of most species is certain, those of species that were captured remains tentative whilst awaiting taxonomic verifications (i.e. all small mammals, including bats) and some of the dung found could only be identified to genus. All taxonomy and nomenclature follows that of Kingdon (1997). Remains of an elephant (Loxodonta africana) were found in miombo woodland, on the northern end of the Lugala ridge. The bones were thought to be around 15 years old and local knowledge suggests that elephants have not been found within the reserve for at least 10 years. Old hippopotamus tracks were found at Kimani river, again suggesting the presence of larger mammals in the area. Despite not being recorded during the present survey, local knowledge would suggest that the following species are currently, although often seasonally, present in wooded areas of the reserve; Lion (Panthera leo), Spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta), Striped weasel (Poecilogale albinucha), Slender mongoose (Herpestes sanguinea), Buffalo (Syncerus caffer), Eland (Taurotragus oryx), Harvey’s duiker (Cephalophus harveyi) and Rock hyrax (Procavia johnstoni). Interestingly, despite low to no previous records of leopard in this area evidence from this survey points to the presence of this large cat within the game reserve. Tracks near the Kimani waterfalls and a Tanzanian field assistant’s observation that a dead calf was killed by a leopard suggest the possibility of the presence of this species. The Mpanga/Kipengere Game Reserve provides many suitable habitats, such as rocky outcrops and open woodland, and the presence of Greater Kuku, bushbuck and duiker provide a viable food source for leopard to survive in this area. Dung from several smaller carnivores, both felids and canids, were found reflecting the diversity and abundance of small mammal and antelope populations. These included: Serval (Felis serval), Caracal (Felis caracal), Wild cat (Felis sylvestris), Fox (Vulpes sp.), Bat-earred fox (Otocyon megalotis) and the African civet (Civettictis civetta). Two species of bushbabies were observed during nightwalks, the Greater galago (Otolemur crassicaudatus) and the Senegal dwarf galago (Galago senegalensis), as well as an interesting sighting of the Lord Derby’s Anomalure (Anomalurus derbianus), a gliding rodent. Domestic cows and goats were seen grazing throughout the area of miombo woodland surveyed, although particularly near to the northern reserve borders (Section 4.1.3). Frontier Tanzania Environmental Research Report 99 8
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