Contemporary
Herpetology 2001 Number 4 23 August 2001 |
ISSN 1094-2246 |
|
NATURAL HISTORY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY OF THE AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES OF KIBALE NATIONAL PARK, UGANDAJames Vonesh |
Department of Zoology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611
French
Abstract. Cette étude se propose d'une part, de dresser une liste
des amphibiens et des reptiles du Parc National de Kibale, en Ouganda, et d'autre
part, d'éclairer l'histoire naturelle et la biogéographie de cette unique faune
erpétologique. Cet inventaire des espèces reptiliennes repose sur des
dossiers et collections recueillis pendant dix-sept mois de recherches dans
les années 1995-1997. Il comprend vingt-huit amphibiens anoures, quinze
lézards et trente-deux espèces de serpents. Une comparaison de la faune
de sept autres forêts tropicales africaines indique que l'erpétologie de Kibale
s'apparente à celles de l'Afrique centrale et de l'Afrique de l'Ouest.
Africa's tropical moist
forests extend from Senegal, West Africa, to the montane forests of eastern
Somalia (Collins, 1992) and are home to an estimated 333 amphibian species (Duellman,
1993), 105 snake species (Hughes, 1983), 95 lizard species, 16 turtle species,
and three crocodilian species (Bauer, 1993). While these estimates illustrate
the richness of the African rain forest herpetofaunas, our knowledge of these
faunas is far from complete. Furthermore, the forests of Africa, like those
worldwide, are disappearing at an alarming rate. Deforestation in West Africa
is particularly severe, averaging 90% loss of the original forest cover from
Sierra Leone to Nigeria. The forest of central Africa is also threatened from
all directions, with an estimated 57% of the forest of central Congo lost already
(World Resources Institute, 1994). Other regions of central and East Africa
are experiencing similar loss. For example, an estimated 86% of original forest
cover has been lost in Uganda (World Resources Institute, 1994), and the remaining
forests are primarily isolated fragments, which are vulnerable to encroachment
and exploitation by a rapidly expanding, predominantly rural population. These
threats may limit our opportunities to study the flora and faunas of the remaining
East Africa forests. Relative to other vertebrate groups, amphibians and reptiles
in East Africa have been poorly studied. The need for baseline herpetological
research in tropical Africa has been pointed out by a number of authors (e.g.,
Mittermeier et. al., 1992; Lawson, 1993; Drewes, 1997), who discussed the difficulty
in conserving faunas we know little about.
The forests of East Africa are generally thought to consist of two nonoverlapping
herpetofaunas (Schiøtz, 1976). The first fauna is regarded as an eastern extension
of the Congo forest block stretching from Cameroon to western Kenya. The
second is that of the Eastern Arc Mountains and the East African coastal forests.
Howell (1993) reviewed the Eastern Arc fauna fairly recently, but few studies
have examined the herpetofaunas of the Congolean block associated forests in
East Africa since Loveridge (1935, 1942a, 1942b, 1957). These include the Budongo,
Bwamba, Kibale, Bwindi, Mbira, and Mt. Elgon forests in Uganda and Kakamega
Forest of Kenya. Of these forests, only the herpetofauna of Bwindi in southwestern
Uganda has been inventoried (Drewes and Vindum, 1991, 1997).
Kibale National Park in western Uganda is one of the most thoroughly studied
forests in East Africa. Research at Kibale in the last three decades has resulted
in approximately 160 scientific publications. While most research in Kibale
has focused on primates, a number of studies have focused on other taxa, including
fishes, birds, rodents, ungulates, and elephants. Amphibians and reptiles have
received little attention and are the only vertebrate groups for which there
are no Kibale species lists. Herpetological collecting in Kibale has been limited.
Arthur Loveridge collected 8 species of amphibians during a 10 d visit to Kibale
in 1938 (Loveridge, 1942c), Pitman (1974) includes records for 15 snake species
from Kibale, and Schiøtz (1975) collected 6 hyperoliid frog species from Kibale.
Thus, 14 frog and 15 snake species were known from Kibale prior to this study.
This study provides an overview of the amphibian and reptile diversity and natural
history of Kibale National Park based upon the results of a survey conducted
between 1995 and 1997. I also compare the herpetofaunas from eight tropical
African sites, in order to examine the distribution of tropical forest amphibians
and reptiles in the context of forest refugia theory.
METHODS
Study Site
Kibale National Park is located in western Uganda between lat 0°13’N and
0°41’N and between long 30°19’E and 30° 32’E near the eastern base of the Ruwenzori
Mountains (Figure 1). Kibale was established as a national
park in 1993; prior to that it was managed as a forest reserve with selective
timber extraction and a number of exotic softwood plantations. Currently, approximately
766 km2 are protected. The park is characterized as primarily a moist
evergreen forest, transitional between lowland rain forest and montane rain
forest (Struhsaker, 1997; Skorupa, 1988), but a variety of habitats including
swamp, grassland, woodland thicket, and colonizing scrub are also represented
(Struhsaker, 1997). Rainfall is typically concentrated during two distinct wet
seasons, March through May and September through November. The mean annual maximum
temperature measured at Kanyawara is 23.3 °C, and mean annual minimum temperature
is 16.2 °C (Struhsaker, 1997). The flora, fauna, and management and research
history of Kibale have recently been reviewed (Struhsaker, 1997).
Six sites in or adjacent to Kibale were sampled for amphibians and reptiles
in this study; Lake Nyabikere, Kanyawara, Dura River near Kanyanchu, Mainaro,
Sebatoli, and Ngogo. The Sebatoli and Mainaro sites are approximately 10-15
km apart along a north-south gradient, while Ngogo is 12 km southeast of Kanyawara
(Figure 1).
Lake Nyabikere (Figure 2) is a crater lake outside the
park surrounded by agriculture and a few small forest patches. This site represents
typical "farmbush" habitat outside the park and was sampled on 12-13 January
1997.
Kanyawara is the site of the Makerere University Biological Field Station and
the area of most intensive sampling. It is situated at an elevation of 1500
m and is characterized by the steepest terrain, with an average slope of 8.7º
(Chapman et al., 1997). The most abundant tree species are Uvariopsis congensis,
Markhamia platycalyx, and Bosqueia phoberos. Large emergent
trees include Parinari excelsa and Pseudospondias microcarpa,
which reach heights of 30 m (Chapman et al., 1997). Rainfall at this site averages
approximately 1600 mm per year. Aquatic amphibian breeding habitat surveys focused
on four Kanyawara sites: Lower Camp Well, a permanent artificial pool approximately
15 x 14 m on the forest edge in a swamp forest patch (Figure
3); K30 Forest Pool, a shallow natural pond approximately 20 m in diameter
along the Nykagera stream in unlogged mature forest (Figure
4); Mikana stream and seasonal flooded swamp forest (Figure
5); and Karumbi Road ephemeral pools, tire ruts on an old logging road that
seasonally fill with water (Figure 6). Forest leaf-litter
sampling was also concentrated at Kanyawara, with 100-140 plots measuring 25
m2 in each of 3 types of areas: unlogged forest (Figure
7), selectively logged forest (Figure 8), and exotic
pine plantation (Figure 9).
The Dura River site near the Kanyanchu tourist center was the second most intensively
sampled area. This riparian forest at 1250 m elevation along the Dura River
is characterized by the lowest relief (mean slope 5.9º) and is dominated by
the trees Celtis durandii, Uvariopsis congensis, and Bequaertiodendron
oblanceolatum (Chapman et al., 1997). Several habitats were sampled at Dura
River (Figure 10), including 8 leaf litter plots of
25 m2 on the north bank of the river; dip net sampling of seasonal
pools along the river; and visual searches of several stream tributaries of
the Dura River and a grassy forest gap (the elephant wallow) at the Kanyanchu
tourist center (Figure 11). Approximately 14 d were
spent sampling at this site during 1996-1997.
Mainaro, the lowest site at 1200 m, is characterized by Cynometra alexandri
forest (Figure 12) along the Dura River (Chapman et
al., 1997). Here, the river seasonally inundates adjacent forest, forming pools
that become isolated from the river. Three collecting trips were made to this
site during July-August 1997.
Sebatoli, at an elevation of approximately 1600 m (Struhsaker, 1997), is characterized
by riparian forest along the Mpanga River (Figure 13).
During heavy rains the forest is inundated. Three collecting trips were made
to this site during 13-15January 1997.
The Ngogo field station, at an elevation of 1350 m (Chapman et al., 1997) was
visited during 3-5 December 1997. Nocturnal and diurnal searches were conducted
along the Kanyanchu stream and surrounding forest. Ngogo receives less rain
than Kanyawara, approximately 1490 mm per year. The forest is characterized
by moderate topographical relief (mean slope 6.0º) and is dominated by three
species (Figure 14): Uvariopsis congensis,
Diospyros abyssinica, and Chrysophyllum albidum (Chapman et al.,
1997).
Sampling
Fieldwork was conducted between May and August 1995 and from November 1996
through December 1997. Collections of amphibians and reptiles were made using
a variety of techniques. At Kanyawara, the four amphibian breeding sites were
surveyed twice weekly (nocturnal and diurnal) between 15 November 1996 and 1
December 1997, resulting in approximately 625 total hours of active searching
in these habitats (Vonesh, unpubl. data). In addition, 340 leaf litter plots
measuring 5 x 5 m were sampled between March and November 1997 (Vonesh
in press). Each plot was searched for at least 1 person-hr. Locations
of the plots were randomly assigned within the forest using the Kanyawara trail
grid map. At Kanyawara, these methods were supplemented by opportunistic searching,
which was the primary sampling method at the other sites, unless otherwise noted
above.
Snakes and lizards occurred at lower densities than most amphibians and were
less frequently observed in the West African tropics than in comparable Neotropical
forest habitats (Lawson, 1993). This is also true in Kibale, and opportunistic
road cruising was the most reliable method for obtaining snake specimens. Most
snakes collected in this manner were found between Kanyawara and Fort Portal
or between Kanyawara and the Dura River site (Figure 1).
The first route runs through tea plantation and farmbush habitats and the second
runs through tea plantations, farmbush and forest.
In addition to specimens collected during this study, specimens were also collected
by Drs. Colin and Lauren Chapman from 1990 to 1995. In total, approximately
500 specimens were collected from Kibale and neighboring areas. Collection of
vouchers was limited by permit to three specimens per gender per locality within
the national park boundaries; thus, many more individuals were observed than
were collected. Specimens were preserved in the field with 10% buffered formalin
and were subsequently transferred to 70% ethanol. Specimens are shared between
the Makerere University Zoological Collection, Kampala, Uganda, and the California
Academy of Sciences, San Francisco (Appendix A).
Faunal Comparisons
Herpetofaunal lists for
the eight equatorial African sites compared in this study were compiled primarily
from published lists (Table 1): Korup National Park,
Cameroon (Lawson, 1993); Parc National des Virunga, DRC (Amphibians - Laurent,
1972; Reptiles - De Witte, 1941); Parc National de la Garamba, DRC (Amphibians-
Inger, 1968; Reptiles - De Witte, 1966); Kibale National Park, Uganda (this
study); Bwindi-Impenetrable National Park (Amphibians - Drewes and Vindum, 1991;
Reptiles - Drewes and Vindum, 1997); forest reserves in the eastern and western
Usambara Mountains, northeastern Tanzania (Howell, 1993); Udzungwa National
Park, Tanzania (Howell, 1993); and the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest Reserve of coastal
Kenya (KIFCON, 1995).
These sites ranged from Korup in coastal West Africa at long 8°4'E to Arabuko
in coastal Kenya at long 39°30'E, and from Korup at lat 5°N to Udzungwa
at lat 7°50'S (Figure 15). Several broad habitat categories
are found among these sites. Korup and Virunga are composed primarily of Guinea-Congolean
rain forest. Korup is mostly lowland rain forest (97% of the area is located
below 850 m elevation) whereas the elevational range in Virunga extends from
710 m to over 5000 m in the Ruwenzori Mountains (Table
1). Garamba primarily consists of moist mixed woodlands and savanna, with
gallery forests along larger streams and in deeply entrenched ravines (Inger,
1968). Both Kibale and Bwindi in western Uganda are situated upon the central
African plateau between the western and eastern rift valleys. Both Tanzanian
localities, the Usambara and the Udzungwa mountains, are characterized by mid-elevation
to montane rain forest. Arabuko-Sokoke is comprised of relatively dry coastal
forest. The combined species list of these sites includes 191 amphibian species
(Appendix B), 10 turtle species , 98 lizard species
, and 134 snake species (Appendix C). This represents
roughly 55% of the total estimated amphibian fauna of African rain forests,
and a higher proportion of African forest reptiles (Duellman, 1993).
The herpetofaunal inventory of each site was based on at least 3 mo of sampling,
and most were sampled for considerably longer. Attempts were made to update
genera and species names, particularly for older studies. Frost (1985) was followed
for most amphibians; however, I followed Drewes (e.g., Drewes and Vindum 1991)
in regarding arthroleptid frogs as a subfamily of Ranidae. I also retained the
genus Hylarana in keeping with other African workers (e.g., Perret, 1977; Drewes
and Vindum, 1991; Lawson, 1993). Reptile nomenclature follows Broadley and Howell
(1993), Meirte (1992), Pitman (1974), and Hughes (1983, 1985).
Hierarchical cluster analysis was performed on the combined species lists for
all eight sites to determine nearest-neighbor groupings based on the Bray-Curtis
measure of similarity (Bray and Curtis, 1957). The Bray-Curtis index (BCI) has
been shown to reflect true similarity more accurately than other measures (Bloom,
1981) and is commonly used in cluster analyses in biogeographical studies (e.g.,
Turpie et al., 2000; Mahon et al., 1998).
RESULTS
Herpetofaunal Inventory and Natural History
Fourteen amphibian species,
13 lizard species, and 15 snake species previously unknown from Kibale were
collected and/or observed during this study. The resulting herpetofauna list
consists of 29 amphibian species (Table 2), 15 lizard
species , and 32 snake species (Table 3). In addition,
one amphibian and six snakes are listed as expected for the park based on their
presence in other nearby Ugandan forests.
All amphibians observed belonged to the order Anura (Table
2). Salamanders (Caudata) are not known from sub-Saharan Africa, and caecilians
(Gymnophiona) have not been collected from Uganda. Among anurans, three aquatic
species (11% Kibale's amphibian fauna) were collected all belonging to the genus
Xenopus; Xenopus wittei and
Xenopus laevis victorianus were often found in sympatry. Xenopus
vestitus is known from only one specimen, collected from the Dura River.
The terrestrial leaf litter frog assemblage consists of nine species (32% of
Kibale's amphibian fauna) from three genera, Bufo, Phrynobatrachus,
and Schoutedenella. The bufonids, Bufo
funereus and Bufo kisoloensis
were forest-dwelling, whereas Bufo maculatus was abundant in farmbush
habitat. Five species of Phrynobatrachus are known from Kibale, but
two are very rare. Phrynobatrachus dendrobates was collected in 1938
(Loveridge 1942b), but has not been collected since; and only one specimen of
Phrynobatrachus versicolor has been
collected from Kibale. Of the remaining three Phrynobatrachus,
P. graueri was the most commonly observed frog at most sites and was
often found breeding syntopically with the smaller
P. parvulus. Phrynobatrachus auritus
was uncommon at Kanyawara but frequently observed at the Dura site.
Hylarana albolabris and Rana angolensis
were common both in and outside the forest in association with water bodies,
and could best be classified as semiaquatic species (7% of Kibale's amphibian
fauna). Both Ptychadena species were associated with forest gaps, though
P. mascareniensis appeared to be more
strictly limited to the forest. Twelve arboreal or semi-arboreal frogs (43%
of Kibale's amphibian fauna) of the genera Afrixalus, Leptopelis,
Hyperolius, Phlyctimantis, and Chiromantis were collected
or observed in the park. Schiøtz (1975) reported that 4 Hyperolius species,
Leptopelis christyi, and
Phlyctimantis verrucosus occur in Kibale. The new additions to the Kibale
treefrog list include: Afrixalus laevis, known from a single specimen
collected at Sebatoli; Hyperolius kuligae;
Leptopelis kivuensis; and the rhacophorid,
foam-nesting treefrog Chiromantis rufescens (M. Cherry, pers. com.).
This is the second Ugandan record for C. rufescens, a central and West
African species that reaches its eastern limit in both Budongo Forest Reserve
and Kibale National Park in western Uganda.
Little is known about the feeding ecology of most of these frog species. Frogs
typically prey upon invertebrates, but other taxa are sometimes taken (Table
2). Xenopus wittei preys primarily
upon insects while the larger X. l. victorianus
has been observed to feed on insects, other frog larvae, and small fish (pers.
obs.). The two forest bufonids and the Schoutedenella are active foragers
that feed primarily on ants, Phrynobatrachus
graueri primarily feeds on collembolans, and the treefrogs
Leptopelis kivuensis and Hyperolius lateralis
appear to be sit-and-wait predators on larger, soft-bodied insects (Vonesh 1998).
Five anuran reproductive modes occur in Kibale (Table 2).
Most species (61% of Kibale's amphibian fauna) deposit their eggs in water,
and eggs hatch into aquatic larvae. Seven species (25% of Kibale's amphibian
fauna) from three genera (one Phrynobatrachus, two Afrixalus,
four Hyperolius) deposit their eggs on vegetation above water, which
subsequently hatch and drop into the water as aquatic larvae. The two Leptopelis
(7% of Kibale's amphibian fauna) species bury their eggs in the moist soil of
depressions that later fill with water, and Chiromantis rufescens (4%
of Kibale's amphibian fauna) deposits eggs in arboreal foam nests from which
aquatic larvae hatch. Only the arthroleptine
Schoutedenella schubotzi has direct development (4% of Kibale's amphibian
fauna).
Lizards were uncommon within the forest (Table 3).
The most abundant species were those associated with the forest edge or disturbed
farmbush habitats (e.g., Hemidactylus mabouia,
Agama (Stellio) atricollis,
Mabuya straita,
Chamaeleo ellioti). Within the forest,
two the lacertids Adolfus africanus
and Adolfus vauereselli were most conspicuous,
actively foraging in the litter and basking in sun flecks. Of these two species,
A. africanus appeared to be more arboreal.
The highly arboreal lacertid Holaspis guentheri
guentheri was captured once. Of the forest chameleons,
Rhampholeon boulengeri was the most common species, and was usually
observed in low shrubs. The other two forest chameleons,
Chamaeleo adolfifriederici and Chamaeleo
ituriensis, were uncommon to rare and appear to be more arboreal in
their habits.
Of the 37 species of snakes that occur or are likely to occur in Kibale, 11%
are fossorial or burrowing, 38% are primarily terrestrial, 51% are primarily
arboreal, and less than 3% are primarily aquatic (Table
3). Most species are probably either nocturnal or active during both day
and night. The general feeding ecology of Kibale's snakes can be determined
from Pitman (1974), the stomach contents of specimens from the present study,
and field observations. Of the 37 snake species, 8% feed on invertebrate prey,
8% feed on fish, 24% prey on lizards or other snakes, 51% prey on frogs, 37%
feed on small mammals such as rodents, 14% feed on birds, and 5% (Bitis gabonica,
Python sebae) are capable of taking larger mammals as prey (categories
add to more than 100% because many species prey on several taxa). Among the
more specialized in diet are Dasypeltis atra, which feeds on bird eggs;
Duberria lutrix, which preys on slugs;
Causus lichtensteinii, which feeds on forest toads; and Thelotornis
kirtlandii and Lycophidion ornatum, which feed on lizards.
Regional Comparisons
Total species richness among
the eight sites ranged from 167 species in Korup to 33 species in Udzungwa (Appendix
B and Appendix C). The Kibale, Bwindi, and Virunga
sites exhibit the greatest similarity among the eight sites (Figure
16 and Table 4). Kibale and Bwindi are separated
by about 200 km along a north-south gradient in western Uganda. They share
20 species of amphibians and reptiles. Both sites show strong similarity to
the Virunga site (23 and 24 shared species respectively), from which they are
separated by less than 100 km (Table 4).
The herpetofauna of Korup in Cameroon is most similar to that of Virunga, 2300
km to the east, and least similar to the montane forests of Tanzania and the
coastal forests of Kenya, over 3300 km distant (Figure 16
and Table 4). The Usambaras and Udzungwas are most
similar to each other, and show very little similarity to any other sites (Figure
16). Among the 8 areas (Table 4), reptile faunas
were slightly more similar (mean BCI = 0.19) than amphibian faunas (mean BCI
= 0.14).
A comparison of mid-elevation and montane tropical rain forests from Africa,
central America, and southeast Asia show that forest-dependent herpetofaunas
of higher elevation sites comprise between 20 and 67 species (Table
5). Virunga National Park and Monteverde, Costa Rica (Timmerman 1981)
supported the richest herpetofaunas among higher elevation sites; Kibale and
Bwindi support an intermediate number of species; and Cuernos de Negros, Philippines
(Brown and Alcala 1961) and the Tanzanian Udzungwa Mountains had the lowest
species richness. Reptiles outnumbered amphibians at all sites except the Udzungwas
and Korup (at Korup this is likely due to low sampling effort at higher elevations).
Amphibian richness was greatest in Korup, and reptile richness was highest in
Virunga.
DISCUSSION
The Kibale herpetofauna
consists of two main assemblages: species that seem to be forest-dependent and
those that do well in a variety of habitats, both inside and outside the forest.
Because of the lack of ecological, physiological, and behavioral studies for
African forest amphibians and reptiles, it is often difficult and somewhat subjective
to decide which species are truly dependent upon forest habitat. This difficulty
has been discussed with respect to a variety of amphibian and reptile taxa (e.g.,
Howell, 1993; Schiøtz, 1975; Hughes, 1983).
In Kibale, the herpetofaunal component not dependent on forest habitat, the
farmbush component, is characterized by the frogs
Xenopus laevis victorianus, Bufo maculatus,
Schoutedenella schubotzi, Hylarana
albolabris, Phrynobatrachus parvulus,
Phrynobatrachus chrysogaster,
Ptycadena mascareniensis, Rana angolensis,
Afrixalus quadravittatus,
Hyperolius cinnamomeoventris, Hyperolius
kivuensis, Hyperolius nasutus,
and Hyperolius viridiflavus, which comprise roughly 46% of the frog
fauna. Five lizards, Hemidactylus mabouia,
Chamaeleo ellioti,
Mabuya striata, Mabuya maculilabris, and Mabuya megalura
are found primarily outside the forest, and two,
Agama atricollis and Lygosoma fernandi,
are edge species that were never observed in the forest interior. Of the remaining
eight species, two were collected only from exotic pine plantations adjacent
to the forest. Locality records for these, plus Cnemaspis
quattuorseriata from Bwindi (Drewes and Vindum, 1997) and
Leptosiaphos aloysiisabaudiae from Garamba (De Witte, 1966) and Uganda
(Peracca, 1907), suggest that these species are not forest-dependent. Thus,
approximately 60% of Kibale's lizard fauna should be considered part of the
farmbush assemblage. Hughes (1983) reviewed the forest, farmbush, and savanna
snake faunas of tropical Africa, and I follow his classification. Accordingly,
of the 37 known and expected snakes in Kibale, 32% (12) are common in both forest
and savanna habitats. These are Atractaspis irregularis, Bitis
gabonica, Crotaphopeltis hotamboeia, Duberria lutrix,
Lycophidion ornatum, Lamprophis lineatus, Naja melanoleuca,
Philothamnus angolensis, Psammophis phillipsii, Python sebae,
Typhlops angolensis, and Typhlops
punctatus. Philothamnus semivarigatus is considered a savanna form
by Hughes (1983).
The transitional nature of Kibale between lowland and montane forest is evident
in the herpetofauna. Among the forest-dependent species in Kibale there are
elements of both a montane fauna, consisting primarily of species endemic to
central Africa, and a lowland forest fauna that often ranges to West Africa.
Wide-ranging species, characteristic of the lowland rain forest of the Guinea-Congolean
forest include 14% of the frogs (Bufo funereus,
Phrynobatrachus auritus, Afrixalus
laevis and Chiromantis rufescens), 20% of the lizards (Lygosoma
fernandi, Adolfus africanus,
and Holoaspis guentheri guentheri) and
46% of the snakes (17 species, Table 3). The montane
forest-dependent species characteristic of central Africa (Laurent, 1974) make
up 28% of the Kibale frog fauna (Xenopus wittei,
Xenopus vestitus, Bufo kisoloensis,
Phrynobatrachus dendrobates, Phrynobatrachus
graueri, Phrynobatrachus versicolor,
Phlyctimantis. verrucosus and
Leptopelis kivuensis), 13% of the Kibale lizard fauna (Adolfus
vauereselli, Chamaeleo adolfifriederici)
and 9% of the Kibale snake fauna (Philothamnus heterodermus ruandae,
Atheris nitchei, and Dasypeltis atra). The remaining species
represent mid- and low-elevation forest forms that have distributions limited
to central Africa. This category includes four frogs (Hyperolius
lateralis, Hyperolius kuligae,
Hyperolius kivuensis, and
Leptopelis christyi) the Ituri chameleon,
Chamaeleo ituriensis, and four snakes (Polemon christyi,
Geodipsas depressiceps, Thrasops jacksonii, Dendroaspis jamesoni).
Clearly, the farmbush assemblage represents a significant proportion of the
Kibale herpetofauna. In contrast, Bwindi, the site most similar to Kibale, is
characterized by a higher proportion of forest-dependent species. At Bwindi,
70% of the frog species (versus 54% at Kibale) are forest-dependent. This is
largely due to the presence of five montane forest treefrog species and the
montane endemic Rana ruwenzorica which do not occur in Kibale. The lizards
show the same pattern: 50% of the species at Bwindi are forest-dependent (compared
to 40% at Kibale), and again this is largely due to the presence of two endemic
montane chameleons and two endemic montane skinks. Hamilton (1976, 1981) and
Struhsaker (1981) hypothesized that Bwindi functioned as a forest refugium during
the arid conditions of the last glacial maximum. Thus, the larger proportion
of Albertine Rift endemic frogs and reptiles at Bwindi relative to Kibale is
probably a function of its greater age and range in elevation.
The zoogeography of tropical African forests is thought to be influenced by
periods of forest expansion, associated with wet interglacial periods, and forest
retraction, associated with colder drier conditions during periods of glaciation.
Much attention has focused on the last glacial maximum, 18,000 years ago, when
the extent of tropical forest was greatly reduced, creating the hypothesized
isolated forest refugia (Hamilton, 1976; Moreau, 1966,1969). This vicariance
promoted allopatric speciation in these refugia. Warmer, wetter conditions of
the past 12,000 years have been associated with expansion of rain forests, which
reached their maximum extent approximately 7,000 years ago and allowed mixing
of previously isolated forest faunas. A number of authors have used modern patterns
of distribution of forest species to elucidate past forest history, and have
argued that patterns of richness and endemism suggest two principle core refugia,
one in Cameroon and Gabon, and another in eastern Zaire, with smaller refugia
in West Africa and coastal East Africa (Hamilton, 1976, 1992; Moreau, 1969).
Faunal comparisons among the eight sites examined here are generally consistent
with forest refugia theory. The high richness of Korup National Park and Virunga
National Park is consistent with hypothesized core refugia (Hamilton, 1988),
though lack of distribution data from intervening areas precludes finer scale
examination of potential gradients of declining diversity between these areas
(Hamilton, 1988). Kibale, Bwindi, and Virunga are more similar to each other
than to the fauna of West Africa, represented by Korup (Figure
16). This is consistent with the hypothesis that these areas have been connected
more frequently or over a longer time period. Schiøtz (1976) suggested that
the forests of Uganda and western Kenya are depauperate outliers of Virunga,
the eastern Congo core area. The lower total richness observed in Kibale and
Bwindi is probably a function of both their smaller size and their higher elevation
with corresponding loss of many lowland rain forest forms present on the Congo
side of the Albertine Rift. However, when the number of species per area is
considered, both Kibale and Bwindi exhibit higher values then Virunga National
Park In fact, the smaller parks consistently exhibited higher species per area
values. This may be correlated with habitat degradation and illustrates the
importance of conserving these remaining forests. These forests are now small
"islands," but they may have maintained many of the species that were
present when they were part of larger, continuous forest.
The montane forests of Tanzania are believed to represent a minor refugium that
has been isolated from the Congo forest block for millions of years, a conclusion
supported by the high endemism of many taxa in these forests. In the Usambara
Mountains, 87% of the amphibians and 55% of the reptiles are endemic to Tanzanian
montane rain forest (Howell, 1993). Faunal comparisons with Kibale also suggest
a long isolation period. The Kibale herpetofauna is much more similar to Korup,
2420 km distant, than to the Usambaras, 1050 km away; and there is no overlap
between the Udzungwa fauna and any site except Usambara. These results also
demonstrate the uniqueness of the coastal dry forest fauna, represented by the
Arabuko-Sokoke site. Coastal forest is one of the most imperiled African habitats
and is home to a distinctive herpetofauna unlike that of the wetter tropical
forest.
Conclusions
Kibale forest supports a
rich herpetofauna of more than 70 species, belonging to two primary faunal elements:
farmbush species and the forest-dependent species. The relatively high number
of species observed is probably related to the heterogeneous habitat of forest,
swamp, grassland, and agricultural areas characteristic of Kibale. Despite the
large number of farmbush species, the number of forest-dependent species in
Kibale is comparable to that of other mid-elevation forests in Africa, Central
America, and the Philippines. None of these species is endemic to Kibale, and
only a few are restricted to the Albertine Rift. Most of the endemic amphibian
and reptile species of the Albertine Rift are characteristic of higher elevation
montane forest, which is not present at Kibale. Previous researchers have noted
that the forest herpetofaunas of East Africa consist of two nonoverlapping groups.
One group represents the extension of the Guinea-Congolean rain forest fauna,
and the second is largely endemic to the coastal mountains of Tanzania. The
Kibale herpetofauna is clearly an example of the first group, as suggested by
the high species overlap with both the Parc National des Virunga in eastern
Congo-Zaire and secondarily to Korup National Park in Cameroon. The high similarity
among Virunga, Bwindi, and Kibale relative to the similarity of these forests
to the forests of West and East Africa is consistent with the hypothesized existence
of core forest refugia in eastern Zaire.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks to L. J. Chapman,
C. A. Chapman, H. B. Lillywhite, and S. R. Balcomb for their support during
the field work, R. C. Drewes, and Jens Vindum for assistance in species identification,
and N. Seavy, and S. R. Balcomb who provided comments on an early draft. I would
also like to thank the staff at MUBFS, Uganda Wildlife Authority and the Department
of Herpetology at the California Academy of Sciences. This research was supported
in part by the Chicago Zoological Society, Brooksfield Zoo and the Charles Stearns
Grant of the California Academy of Sciences. This study was conducted with the
permission of the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology (Permit
#EC308).
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