Ronald MulwaNational Museums of Kenya · Ornithology
Ronald Mulwa
About
31
Publications
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Introduction
Ronald Mulwa currently works at the Ornithology, National Museums of Kenya. Ronald does research in Ecology and Biodiversity Conservation
Skills and Expertise
Publications
Publications (31)
The success of nature conservation strongly depends on the attitudes and awareness of people, as well as on the level of poverty, land scarcity, communication gaps, and governance structures. In this commentary we elaborate potential effects of inter-community differences on peoples´ attitudes towards nature conservation and the role of land manage...
The criteria for species delimitation in birds have long been debated, and several recent studies have proposed new methods for such delimitation. On one side, there is a large consensus of investigators who believe that the only evidence that can be used to delimit species is molecular phylogenetics, and with increasing numbers of markers to gain...
The Arabuko Sokoke dryland coastal forest along the East African coastline provides a unique habitat for many endangered endemic animal and plant species. High demographic pressure with subsequent land-splitting, soil depletion in combination with erratic rainfalls and the collapse of the tourism industry are negatively affecting food security and...
Most studies on tropical conservation questions are conducted by researchers of developed countries from the north. This geographic disconnection was recently criticised by Mammides et al. Here, we reflect on their findings and add further views from scientist’s and journal editor’s perspectives. We argue that journals are, a priori, most strongly...
Currently, there is an increasing need for evidence-based strategies in nature conservation, for example when designing and establishing nature reserves. In this contribution, we critically assess the ecological relevance of recent nature conservation practices in Kenya (East Africa), a region of global biodiversity hotspots. More specifically, we...
The global Blue Swallow Hirundo atrocaerulea was classified as Vulnerable in 2010 on account of its small and rapidly declining population estimated at less than 1 500 pairs. We undertook this study to gain a better understanding of the current status and threats facing this migratory species. Three previously unknown areas that might be part of th...
Feeding the booming human population and at the same time conserving biodiversity is a global challenge. Yet, it is particularly acute in developing countries where biodiversity is high and food-security low. There is an ongoing debate whether land for nature and for agriculture should be segregated (land sparing) or integrated (land sharing). Whil...
Thickets along rivers in Eastern Kenya are important habitats for many endangered species. These habitats also provide fundamental ecosystem services for humans. Intense anthropogenic activities during the past decades have caused a severe reduction of this vegetation and resulted in fragmentation of the remaining thicket patches. We assessed the o...
Parrot populations in Africa and Madagascar are declining and the need for conservation actions to address threats is increasingly recognised. Effective conservation requires a robust knowledge base on which decisions over appropriate actions can be made, yet at present there is no current and readily accessible synthesis of the status of populatio...
Research collaboration between developed countries from the northern hemisphere and developing countries in the southern hemisphere is essential for the understanding and protection of the major proportion of biodiversity located in the tropics. Focusing on the case of sub-Saharan Africa, we here assess the real involvement of northern versus south...
The Eastern Afromontane cloud forests occur as geographically distinct mountain exclaves. The conditions of these forests range from large to small and from fairly intact to strongly degraded. For this study, we sampled individuals of the forest bird species, the Montane White-eye Zosterops poliogaster from 16 sites and four mountain archipelagos....
The Eastern Afromontane biodiversity hotspot consists of isolated mountain massifs embedded within the dry lowland savannas of East Africa and of which the peaks and ridges are covered by cloud forest remnants. These cloud forests are home to the Mountain White-eye (Zosterops poliogaster), while three congeneric species (Abyssinian White-eye, Zoste...
Tropical ecosystems are globally important for bird diversity. In many tropical regions, land-use intensification has caused conversion of natural forests into human-modified habitats, such as secondary forests and heterogeneous agricultural landscapes. Despite previous research, the distribution of bird communities in these forest-farmland mosaics...
Seasonal fluctuations in climatic factors are expected to increase in future decades. However, little is known about the response of tropical species communities to seasonal fluctuations in climate and resource availability, particularly across different habitat types. We examined the relationship between spatio-temporal fluctuations in the abundan...
Important Bird Areas (IBAs) form a network of priority sites that are critical for the conservation of birds and biodiversity. A standard framework for monitoring IBAs is being implemented by the BirdLife Partnership globally. Scores are assigned on a simple ranked scale for state (condition), pressure (threats) and response (conservation action) a...
The Lower Tana River forests in coastal Kenya represent lowland evergreen riverine tropical forest types that are rare in Kenya and probably in Africa. We assessed the bird species composition and forest conditions of 14 forest patches within the Lower Tana River valley each February and October between 1999 and 2004. Vegetation structures showed v...
Our study focused on the Taita White-eye Zosterops silvanus, one of three bird species endemic to the Taita Hill forests, south-east Kenya. Formerly considered Critically Endangered, Taita White-eye has been down-listed to Endangered following the findings of this study. Between November 1998 and September 1999 we counted this species along line tr...
The current study was conducted to generate an inventory of the plants, amphibians, reptiles, birds and selected invertebrates species in the dryland hilltops of Kitui and Mwingi Districts. The survey covered five dryland hilltop masses, namely Mutha, Endau, Nuu, Mutito and Mumoni, in Kitui and Mwingi districts.
Various methods were used to sampl...
The need for effective global monitoring of biodiversity is clearer than ever, but our measurements remain patchy and inadequate.
In the biodiversity-rich tropics, a central problem is the sustainability of monitoring schemes. Locally-based, participatory
approaches show promise in overcoming this problem, but may not contribute effectively to moni...
Between 16 and 24 September 2001, we assessed the extent, distribution and condition of the remaining grassland habitat, and estimated the distribution and density of two globally threatened, restricted-range species at the Mau Narok/Molo Grasslands, Kenya. Cultivation covered the largest proportion (48%), whereas grasslands constituted only 33% of...
The main focus of the second half of this project was to assess the involvement, attitudes and awareness levels of the local community on the Grey Parrot trade as well as developing a monitoring protocol for the Grey Parrot population trends and habitat quality. Market surveys were done in the communities living in the Busia border town and its env...
Projects
Projects (2)
Determine the ecological requirements of the Blue Swallow and advocate for the inclusion of the Blue Swallow’s requirements in, where appropriate, conservation plans and decision making processes regarding land and resource uses (e.g. Environmental Impact Assessments).
Determine where all the Blue Swallow populations are located, as well as their sizes, within Africa.
Determine and monitor Blue Swallow population demographics throughout its range in Africa.
Implement monitoring programmes for all the Blue Swallow populations in Africa.
Determine the threats, and propose mitigation measures, to the Blue Swallow and its grassland and wetland habitats in Africa
Help provide objective and independent thoughts and ideas on national issues that threaten to polarize the country, especially along party or tribal lines
