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EFFECTS OF DEFORESTATION AND FOREST DEGRADATION ON THE ENDEMISM-RICH BIRD COMMUNITIES OF THE ANGOLAN SCARP FOREST

12 May 2016 - Aimy Cáceres (CIBIO-InBIO/UP) | May 27, 2016 | 14h30 | CIBIO-InBIO’s Auditorium, Campus de Vairão
EFFECTS OF DEFORESTATION AND FOREST DEGRADATION ON THE ENDEMISM-RICH BIRD COMMUNITIES OF THE ANGOLAN SCARP FOREST

STUDENT SEMINAR IN BIODIVERSITY AND EVOLUTION

 

 

The Escarpment (or “Scarp”) Forest is one of Angola’s most interesting regions in terms of biodiversity. It presents affinities with all three adjacent biomes: the South-West Arid, the Brachystegia Biome and the Congo-Guinean Forest, but also acts as a barrier between them. It is particularly important for the bird communities it holds – the best documented taxa in the country – and especially for its endemic species. However, as most of the country, knowledge of this biodiversity is limited or non-existent because of the succession of armed conflicts that lasted for over 40 years. Moreover, these forests are being destroyed by the local population at an alarming pace. It is therefore crucial to understand the impacts of human activities on this unique biodiversity and identify adequate strategies for its conservation. Consequently during this study we (i) assess the historical land-use changes and their effect in bird communities; (ii) identify habitat characteristics driving bird diversity; evaluate home-range size and habitat preferences of the endemic species and finally; (iv) propose a conservation strategies such as REDD+ (reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation) to assure the existence of these forests and its biodiversity.


Aimy Cáceres is a Peruvian biologist and holds a MSc in Environmental Science and Technology from the University of Porto. Currently, Aimy is a fourth year PhD student attending the BIODIV program and she is working under the supervision of Dr. Martim Melo (CIBIO-InBIO) and Prof. Jos Barlow (Lancaster University) as part of the APPLECOL and TROPBIO groups. Aimy is interested on the effects of human activities in tropical biodiversity, especially threatened species, and in proposing guidelines that can assure the conservation of this biodiversity.


Image credits: Aimy Cáceres

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