the economic valuation of the proposed ... - Nature Uganda

Wattled Starling(Creatophora cinerea), Red-chested
Sunbird(Cinnyris erythrocerca)
2.5. MAMMALS
A total of fifty (50) large and small mammal species
are known to occur in Mabira Forest Reserve. A high
proportion of the species list are forest-dependent,
and includes Deomys ferrugineus and Scutisorex
somereni, closed forest-dependent specalists often
regarded as two of the most sensitive indicators of forest
disturbance. The Ugandan endemic shrew Crocidura
selina, only previously recorded from Mabira Forest
(Nicoll and Rathbun, 1990) has not been recorded since
but has been recorded in other forests. Species with high
conservation value include Crocidura maurisca and
Casinycteris argynnis – a new record for Mabira forest.
Others protected under the CITES include Red-tailed
Monkey (Cercopithecus ascanius), Potto (Perodictictus
potto), Galago (Galago senegalensis), Leopard (Panthera
pardus), Grey Cheeked Mangabey (Cercocebus abigena)
and Baboons (Papio anubis).
2.6. AMPHIBIANS
Some of the common amphibian species are associated
with permanent wetlands, rivers or water points. Species
of genera Afrana, Hyperolius, Xenopus, Hoplobatrachus
and Afrixalus seem to select habitats with water all year
round. The commonest species were members of family
Hyperoliidae. Members of family Ranidae were also
found to be common.
The most common species of family Hyperoliidae
are generally associated with permanent water
sources. Members of genera Xenopus, Afrana and
Hoplobatrachus were also quite common. Members of
these genera are commonly found near water, more so
for the bullfrog, which only gets out of the water to feed.
Afrana angolensis is a riverine species found mainly
along rivers and this was encountered along rivers in
Mabira Forest Reserve (Table A4). One member of family
Arthroleptidae, Artholeptis adolfifriederici is a new
record for Mabira Forest Reserve.
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2.7. REPTILES
Mabira Central Forest Reserve has a variety of reptiles.
More than 23 species of reptiles have been identified in
the reserve. Reptiles are highly mobile and live in a range
of habitats. They may be encountered in aquatic, bush,
forest, rocky or riverine terrain. The tolerance of reptiles
to a range of habitat types explains the large diversity
of reptile species in the forest reserve.The key reptiles
in the reserve however, include chameleons, geckos,
forest and nile monitor lizards, skinks, snakes including
tree and house snakes, pythons, cobras, mambas, puff
adders and vipers. A list of the key reptile species in
the forest reserve together with an indication of their
respective conservation status is included in Table A5 in
the annex.
2.8. BUTTERFLIES
A total of 199 species of butterflies is known to occur
in Mabira forest. Nine (9) Papilioidae, twenty four (24)
Pieridae, twenty five (25) Lycaenidae, one hundred
and twenty eight (128) Nymphalidae aud thirteen (13)
Hesperiidae. A relatively high proportion (73 percent) of
the total were forest-dependent butterflies. Details of
the number of species taken from each family, and each
subfamily in the case of the Papilionidae, Pieridae and
Nymphalidae, are provided in Table 2.
It can be seen that the reserve supports at least 16 percent
of Uganda’s Rhopaloceran fauna, including 24 percent
of the country’s Pieridae, 29 percent of the Nymphalidae
and 38 percent of the subfamily Charaxinae (Howard
& Davenport, 1996). Of the species registered, those
of particular interest included Sallya natalensis a new
record for Uganda (Howard & Davenport, 1996). This
butterfly is a migratory insect so unusual distribution
records are not too surprising, however, its previous
known range was from Natal to parts of Kenya (Larsen,
1991). Charaxes boueti, meanwhile, a member of one of
the more commonly studied subfamilies, represents a
new record for this forest (Howard & Davenport, 1996):
one of the few areas in the country which have been
comparatively well investigated for their Rhopaloceran
fauna.
The Economic Valuation of the Proposed Degazettement of Mabira CFR | 2011