Daniele Dendi

Rivers State University of Science and Technology | RSUST

Rainbow lizards (Agama agama) are common in suburban areas throughout Africa, and have an opportunistic foraging strategy, with arthropods being the main prey source. In a coastal resort in southern Togo, West Africa, several individuals in a population were observed while feeding regularly upon non-natural human-made food (pizza) and showing a cle...

Goliath beetles (genus Goliathus) are among the largest and most charismatic insects in the world. In West African forests, two species (G. cacicus and G. regius) and natural hybrids are found. These beetles are widely collected for the entomological trade. We carried out standardized interview campaigns in Liberia and Ivory Coast to explore local...

The Dahomey Gap is a human-derived savannah zone, interspersed by patches of moist tropical forest, that separates the forest zone into two blocks, the Upper Guinean and the Lower Guinean forests. Community ecology aspects of amphibians and reptiles are still relatively unexplored in this ecological zone of West Africa. Here, the overall species ri...

The Dahomey Gap” is a human-derived mostly savannah region that separates the Guinea-Congolian rainforest block into two major units: the Upper Guinean and the Lower Guinean Forest blocks. In this savannah dominated habitat, several forest patches are distributed throughout. The mammal communities in the Dahomey gap region have been poorly studied....

Nile Crocodiles, Crocodylus niloticus, are widespread along the riverine systems and wetlands of East Africa, and may locally be involved into serious conflicts with local human communities. A research study was conducted to investigate Human-Crocodiles Conflicts (HCC) and its impacts on lives and livelihoods of local communities in the Sudd Wetlan...

Nile Crocodiles, Crocodylus niloticus, are widespread along the riverine systems and wetlands of East Africa, and may locally be involved into serious conflicts with local human communities. A research study was conducted to investigate Human-Crocodiles Conflicts (HCC) and its impacts on lives and livelihoods of local communities in the Sudd Wetlan...

Beach-nesting birds (plovers; Aves; Charadridae) are impacted by many natural and human-induced threats (e.g., people trampling, dogs, and natural predators). In this regard, the use of anti-predator cages on their nests is effective in order to mitigate some of these pressures (i.e., predation). To evaluate the efficacy of anti-predator cages and...

Polyphylla ragusae (Coleoptera Scarabaeidae) is an endemic beetle restricted to the island of Sicily (Italy). This species is among the most threatened invertebrates in Italy. Currently, scientific knowledge of the distribution and habitat selection of P. ragusae is scarce, though anecdotal observations suggest that the species is primarily found i...

Studies of animal communities along habitat gradients are useful in understanding the ecologicsl factors affecting species diversity and richness. Almost no investigations have been carried out on the community structure of vertebrate groups along habitat gradients modified by humans in historical or prehistoric times. Here, we analyze the communit...

The Sudd in South Sudan, formed by the White Nile's Baḥr al-Jabal section, is one of the largest and most important wetlands in the world. Communities in the region almost exclusively depend on fisheries for food and livelihoods. Although threatened by over-exploitation and habitat changes, fish populations are also affected by climate change. Usin...

Anoxia (Protanoxia) orientalis is a beetle of the family Melolonthidae for which Italy represents the western limit of its distribution. The ecology of this species is little known from the quantitative point of view. The ecological correlates of A. orientalis presence in the whole European range and, more specifically, at its western border in Sic...

We assessed numbers and biomass of species hunted and sold for wild meat in 12 park-adjacent settlements in the Fazao Malfakassa National Park (FMNP), Togo. From hunter interviews and market carcass counts 33 species, 28 from hunter interviews and 26 from market surveys were taken, respectively. A total of 2605 animals were recorded in the study, 1...

The sexually dimorphic dynastine centaurus beetle, genus Augosoma (Coleoptera: Scarabeidae), is endemic to tropical Africa where two species are found (A. centaurus and A. hippocrates). These beetles are consumed by rural populations, cause damage in plantations and are targets of insect collectors and traders. We present information on size differ...

Wild meat markets play a crucial role for food security and cash income for subsistence hunters in the tropics and subtropics. In Nigeria, the amount of meat sold from most species crashed dramatically after the Ebola virus outbreak in 2014. Sales further diminished after arrival of COVID-19, likely because of restrictions to commerce and of change...

Natural history observations were made, during August–September 2021, on a population of the ecologically poorly known Vesperus luridus (Cerambycidae) at a hilly locality of Latium, Central Italy. These beetles were searched for by night along a 170 m long transect, with the help of hand torches. During the field surveys, we recorded a total of 130...

A body plan (= bauplan) is a suite of morphological characters shared by phylogenetically related animals at some point during their development. Despite its value, the bauplan concept is still rarely employed to characterize functional groups in community ecology. Here, we examine habitat use and spatio-temporal activity correlates of an entire se...

Suitable habitats for anurans can be found in the ever-growing tropical urban environments but anurans’ adaptations to urban conditions, including their trophic ecology remain largely unknown. We studied the food habits of two generalist, widespread West African Sclerophrys adult toads: African common (S. regularis) and Hallowell's toad (S. maculat...

A survey conducted in Terekeka, Mangalla and Gemeiza, payams of Central Equatoria in South Sudan using face-to-face interviews, structured questionnaire and focused group discussion provided information on income generating strategies of fishing communities. These included: full time or part time fishing, small-scale farming, cattle breeding and fi...

The Cát Bà gecko Goniurosaurus catbaensis is endemic to Cát Bà and Ha Long islands of Vietnam. The ecology of this species is still scarcely studied but previous reports have suggested that the species is Endangered due to small population size and low ecological plasticity. We studied aspects of the ecology of this species between May 2019 and Jun...

en In Togo, the illegal trade of African elephant (Loxodonta africana ) ivory is widespread despite efforts made by the government to curtail these activities. By using data gathered from CITES institutions and natural resource management authorities in the country, we investigated the extent of ivory trafficking in Togo. We also conducted surveys...

Several Hinge-back tortoise (Kinixys) species are threatened for a plethora of reasons, including the international pet trade. From an economical point of view, they represent real economic goods. The economic correlates exert a strong pull on the wild trade and affect population dynamics of Kinixys belliana, Kinixys erosa and Kinixys homeana. The...

The Goliath beetle (Goliathus goliatus) is one of the largest and most commercially valuable (for collection exports) beetle species worldwide, and occurs in West and Central Africa, with polymorphic populations being found in Benin, Eastern Nigeria, and Western Cameroun. The white morph is the most commercially valuable, and therefore is actively...

South Sudan's biodiversity is threatened because of a plethora of reasons ranging from weak environmental regulation, poor development planning, overexploitation of wildlife, livestock and agricultural land expansion, climate change, political and armed con ict [1]. Climate change has already caused substantial ecological issues in the country. For...

Due to a prolonged civil war (1983-2005 and 2013-2020), the republic of South Sudan in East Africa, which was officially born in 2011, has been one of the least investigated nations of the continent in terms of chelonian diversity, distribution, ecology, and conservation. Since 2017, this nation has been subjected to careful chelonian field investi...

Despite increasing pressures on freshwater resources worldwide, and the threatened status of most freshwater turtles, there is still limited knowledge of habitat use and niche partitioning in Afrotropical freshwater turtle communities. In this study, we describe habitat associations, community diversity, and temporal patterns of occurrence of fresh...

The Nubian flapshell turtle (Cyclanorbis elegans; Trionychidae) is one of the most threatened species of turtles in the world and it has been recently rediscovered (year 2017) in a restricted area of South Sudan. Previous studies showed that fishing bycatch and collection of eggs and nesting females for domestic subsistence are the main threats for...

The composition and structure of antelope assemblages were analyzed by using data from wild meat markets in three distinct study stations in the southern Niger Delta, Nigeria. The relative abundance of the different species coming into the markets was analyzed, and various diversity metrics were used to describe the different antelope communities....

Citation: Luiselli, L.; Demaya, G.S.; Benansio, J.S.; Petrozzi, F.; Akani, G.C.; Eniang, E.A.; Ajong, S.N.; Di Vittorio, M.; Amadi, N.; Dendi, D. A Comparative Analysis of the Diets of a Genus of Freshwater Turtles across Africa. Diversity 2021, 13, 165.

Pelusios is an Afrotropical endemic genus of freshwater turtles that have adapted to a variety of habitats, with savannahs and forests being their two main habitat types. Although considered generally carnivorous, these turtles have rarely been subjected to detailed field surveys for determining their quantitative diet. In this paper, by using both...

Ebola virus disease, EVD, which has severely affected Western African countries has been linked with wild meat. In Nigeria, strict restrictions on the sale of wild meat were applied after the first case in the country, July 2014. We quantified wild meat trade in nine markets in southern Nigeria, during Oct. 2010 – Dec. 2019. We also undertook inter...

Studies on habitat gradients are particularly interesting for the community ecology theory, but almost no investigation has been carried out on community structure of any vertebrate groups along gradients of habitat that were modified by humans in historical or prehistorical times, such as for instance the Dahomey Gap in West Africa. Here, we analy...

Despite increasing pressures on freshwater resources worldwide, and the threatened status of most freshwater turtles, there is still limited knowledge of habitat use and niche partitioning in Afrotropical freshwater turtle communities. In this study, we describe habitat associations, community diversity, and temporal patterns of occurrence of fresh...

Resource partitioning, the division of limited resources by species to help avoid competition , has been observed in freshwater turtle assemblages in several natural systems but has rarely been studied in tropical African ecosystems. Here, we investigate habitat preferences of two conge-neric species in the family Pelomedusidae, Pelusios castaneus...

Abstract: Habitat modification is a major factor in the decline of reptile populations. The degree of the decline has been shown to be directly related to the intensity of habitat modification. Farming practices and urbanization are just two of the factors involved indicating that the development of practices that minimize or cancel anthropogenic i...

Face-to-face interviews with local populations are often used to determine the distribution and population trends of elusive threatened species. Although interviewee responses may suffer from some bias, historical trends in the status of a species can be investigated from age-structured questionnaires. In this paper, we tested this idea by analysin...

Long-term ecological studies are important for understanding wild populations' dynamics and processes and the actual factors that can determine their decline. Here, we report the results of a 28-years-long (1992-2019) monitoring of three distinct populations of a tortoise, Testudo hermanni, in Central Italy, with an emphasis on their population abu...

The rapid expansion of urban environments invariably presents a novel series of pressures on wildlife due to changes in external environmental factors. In reptiles, any such changes in temperature are critical since thermoregulation is the key driver in the function of many physiological processes. How reptiles adapt to such changes may vary from t...

Tortoise ecology is poorly studied in East Africa. Here, using two terrestrial Testudinidae (Stigmochelys pardalis and Kinixys belliana) as study models, we (i) present basic demographic characteristics (sex-ratio, and density), (ii) describe correlates of their presence at two spatial scales (micro-habitat and macro-habitat), (iii) evaluate the ef...

We studied ontogenetic changes in habitat use and seasonal activity patterns in a population of Nile crocodiles (Crocodylus niloticus) inhabiting the Lake Albert Delta Wetland System, a Ramsar Site of international importance in Murchison Falls National Park of western Uganda. From monthly surveys of five transects during October 2017 to September...

1. The area of the Murchison Falls-Albert Delta is among the most important for conservation in East Africa due to the high species richness, and the presence of several endemic species of conservation concern. 2. Here, we report a study on the diversity patterns and community structure of the herpetofauna of this area. 3. Field studies were conduc...

Pelagic fish, including sardines and anchovies (Order Clupeiformes), are the most common species taken by artisanal marine fisheries along the Togolese coast. We investigated fisher involvement as well as fish captures over a period of 10 years, particularly of the European anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus). Our results indicate that 60% of fishers...

Understanding large- and small-scale patterns as well as the determinants of species richness is central for the study of evolutionary mechanisms. The extent to which species richness in local communities is related to larger scale processes is a pre-eminent topic in ecological and evolutionary research. To investigate how local and regional specie...

The status of most vertebrates in the African Sahel is not well known. Among these, the African spurred tortoise (Centrochelys sulcata), a charismatic but also one of most threatened vertebrates in the Sahel, is still poorly studied. We investigated the status of this species, its potential distribution, habitat selection (at multiple spatial scale...

Reports of global declines in animal populations are now numerous and also include snakes, a group of animals now widely regarded as bio-indicators. A prerequisite for any conservation management plan to protect or restore snake population requires a data base that provides insight into population composition and changes. However snakes are well kn...

Throughout Africa, feelings towards crocodiles vary according to the danger or fear experienced by communities living alongside them. Crocodile conservation programs must therefore be based on reliable assessments of cultural attitudes towards these reptiles. In this study, we interviewed a random sample of 300 persons in six states in southern Nig...

1. The spatial and trophic ecology of Afrotropical gecko populations are poorly known. Here, we report ecological observations on Brook’s House Gecko (Hemidactylus angulatus), a widespread gekkonid species, in the Rivers State University of Science and Technology campus, Port Harcourt, Nigeria. 2. A total of 488 gecko individuals were recorded dur...

In sub-Saharan Africa, the management of buffer zones around protected areas do not often take into serious account the needs of resource exploitation by the local populations or the conservation needs of these areas. We described the ecological characteristics and management issues affecting the buffer zone around the Fazao-Malfakassa National Par...

Community ecology patterns are poorly understood in Uganda, as well as in the rest of East Africa. Therefore, the aim of the study was to determine the patterns of diversity and distribution of reptiles and amphibians in selected wetland sites in the greater Nabugabo–Ramsar area, Uganda with contributions to the understanding of their ecology and c...

The structure of amphibian communities in South Sudan (East Africa) has never been studied so far. In this paper, the community composition and the diversity patterns of amphibians in nine study sites and in four different habitat types in Jubek area of South Sudan, are analyzed. In addition, the effects of habitat types on the abundance patterns o...

The Nubian Flapshell Turtle, Cyclanorbis elegans is one of the rarest turtle species in the world, and was even considered as possibly extinct since no free-ranging individuals has been recorded in the last years. Here, we report the record of two large adults (> 60 cm total carapace length) of this species along the White Nile river course, betwee...

Actuarial senescence appears to be a common process, and senescence patterns are highly variable across the tree of life. To date, studies on animal senescence have largely focused on model species, such as as fruit flies, humans and a few other endotherms. In contrast, our knowledge about ageing remains fragmentary in ectotherm vertebrates, such a...

All animals subject to legal and illegal trade are to be considered from an economical point of view as real economic goods. This preliminary study shows how the economic correlates of the wild trade may influence the elasticity of the demand curve. The elasticity of the demand curve should become a driver in the conservation policy focused to prot...

1. A survey of eight local earthen hand-dug ponds located within the freshwater swamps of a Niger Delta area (southern Nigeria) was conducted over a period of 3 months. A total of 4,313 fishes representing 19 species from 12 families were recorded. 2. The most abundant species was Xenomystus nigri (905 individuals), whereas the least common was Pro...

All animals subject to legal and illegal trade are to be considered from an economical point of view as real economic goods. This preliminary study shows how the economic correlates of the wild trade may influence the elasticity of the demand curve. The elasticity of the demand curve should become a driver in the conservation policy focused to prot...