The iconic savannas of Africa have been found to be under greater threat than rainforests, a ground-breaking study has revealed.

White rhinos are a popular sight in Africa’s grasslands

Iconic Africa

Africa’s sprawling savanna ecosystems, defined as areas that receive between 300 and 1,500 millimetres of rain each year, are home to well-known, charismatic species such as giraffes, rhinos and elephants, and are at the heart of Africa’s wildlife tourism. However, a new study published recently in Biodiversity Conservation has found that 75% of the continent’s large-scale, intact grasslands have been lost.

“These savannas conjure up visions of vast open plains. The reality is that from an original area a third larger than the continental United States, only 25 percent remains,” said co-author Stuart Pimm from Duke University.

While routine global assessments are carried out on tropical rainforest ecosystems to determine the rate of habitat loss, with the Brazilian Amazon being assessed every month, similar studies on dry woodlands and savannas are few. This new study has shown that, shockingly, a smaller proportion of grassland habitats are left than tropical rainforests, of which only 30% remain.

Masai giraffes running across the savanna

High-resolution satellite imagery

Exacerbated by a greatly increasing human population across much of the continent, Africa’s vital savanna ecosystem is currently experiencing widespread destruction and loss as a result of ever-expanding agriculture and urbanisation.

Researchers used high-resolution satellite imagery to measure the extent of Africa’s savanna, enabling them to paint a more accurate picture of how much of this critical habitat remains.

“Based on our fieldwork, we knew that most of the information out there from low-resolution satellite-based studies was wrong,” explained lead author Jason Riggio of Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment. “Existing global maps are quite coarse and show large areas of African woodlands as being intact. Only by utilising very high-resolution imagery were we able to identify many of these areas as being riddled with small fields and extensive, if small, human settlements.”

The African lion is classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, but some populations may be facing an even higher level of threat

Lion’s view

The study took a ‘lion’s view’ in order to determine how much intact savanna remains, focusing on habitat that is healthy enough to support the continent’s top predator, the African lion.

“If areas retain lions, the continent’s top predator, they are likely to be reasonably intact ecosystems,” the scientists explained in their paper. “By considering the size of savanna Africa from the lion’s perspective, we can assess how much of it remains in large, relatively intact areas, not yet heavily modified by human influence. Clearly, smaller areas will still support less complete sets of species.”

The results of the study indicate that just 3.3 million square kilometres of savanna capable of containing African lions remains, with this vital habitat vanishing at an alarming rate.

Decline of Africa’s top predator

Lion populations have suffered a dramatic and unprecedented decline in the last few decades, with numbers decreasing from around 100,000 individuals just fifty years ago to as few as 32,000 today, a worrying decline of 68%.

In addition to declines as a result of degradation and loss of its savanna habitat, the African lion, currently listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, faces a whole host of other threats. Legal hunting, poaching and human-wildlife conflict are all taking their toll on this iconic species, and there are concerns that lions are being killed to fuel the Chinese traditional medicine market as an alternative to tiger bones.

Urgent action is needed to safeguard the future of the charismatic African lion

Urgent action

The recent study found that 24,000 African lions, a disconcerting 75% of the total remaining population, are located in just ten separate strongholds. All of these strongholds are in eastern and southern Africa, with Tanzania alone housing 40% of the global population.

Worryingly, researchers found that approximately 6,000 African lions exist in populations which may not be viable in the long term, and the study also produced evidence of local extinctions of lions, even in protected areas.

“There is evidence of strong declines and even extirpation of lions in some range countries. Especially in West and Central Africa, declines have been dramatic and conservation measures are urgent,” said the researchers. “While lions are protected in some of the lion areas, in many they are not, and in others they are hunted.”

A lack of lions in West Africa’s national parks is of particular concern to conservationists, with the region housing just 525 individuals. West African lions are considered by some to be a separate subspecies, Panthera leo senegalensis, and recent genetic studies have indicated that this population may actually be more closely related to the Asiatic lion than to other African lions.

“This research is a major step in helping prioritise funding strategies for saving big cats,” said co-author Luke Dollar of National Geographic’s Big Cats Initiative (BCI), which helped fund the study. “The research will help us better identify areas in which we can make a difference.”

“Giving these lions something of a fighting chance will require substantial increases in effort,” added co-author Andrew Jackson from Duke University. “The next 10 years are decisive for [West Africa], not just for lions but for biodiversity, since lions are indicators of ecosystem health.”

Read more on these stories at Mongabay.com – Africa’s great savannahs may be more endangered than the world’s rainforests and Lion population falls 68 percent in 50 years.

Learn more about lions on ARKive.

Find out about species found in Africa on ARKive.

Kathryn Pintus, ARKive Text Author

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The observance of Thanksgiving Day is primarily associated with the United States, and is a tradition which is thought to date back to colonial times following the safe arrival of the first European settlers to the untamed shores of North America. Nowadays, families and friends congregate to give thanks for what they have, so to celebrate Thanksgiving in our own wild way, we’ve gathered together a few of nature’s special inhabitants that we think owe each other thanks: symbiotic species!

Exclusive residence

Common clownfish are able to live among the tentacles of stinging sea anemones

Simply speaking, symbiotic species are those that interact in some way, to the benefit of one or both of the critters in question. A classic example, and one that many Disney fans will be familiar with, is the relationship that exists between clownfish and sea anemones.

Sea anemones usually sting fish that come into contact with their tentacles, but clownfish have developed a clever, yet rather gross, method of disguise. By covering its skin in mucus, the clownfish can trick the anemone into thinking it is touching itself, and so does not get stung. In return for a safe place to live and food in the form of debris and parasites found amongst the anemone’s tentacles, the clownfish is thought to scare away fish that may prey upon the anemone, and even lure fish in for its tentacled home to eat – a classic win-win situation! The clownfish is also believed to provide the anemone with good water circulation through fanning its fins as it swims around.

Did you know?

There are different kinds of symbiotic relationships. Some benefit both species involved, and are known as ‘mutualistic’ symbioses, whereas ‘parasitic’ relationships are those in which one species profits at the expense of the other. In some cases, one species benefits but the other is affected neither positively nor negatively, and these are known as ‘commensalistic’ symbioses.

Nutritious nectar and pollen parcels

Bees, such as this small garden bumblebee, play an important role in plant pollination

Bees feed on pollen and nectar sourced from a variety of flowering plants, with honey bees using the nectar to make their sticky, sugary treat. Although flowers appear to lose out by ‘donating’ nectar, they actually benefit from these flying visits. As a bee rummages around the flower head for food, some pollen gets stuck to its hairy body and legs, and this accidental cargo is then transferred to the next flower the insect visits, pollinating it and enabling the plant to reproduce.

Did you know?

The traditional origin of the modern Thanksgiving Day is commonly thought to be the festivities that occurred at the Plymouth Plantation in Massachusetts in 1621, when the European settlers celebrated their safe voyage, peace and good harvest. However, there is some evidence to suggest that Spaniards in Florida were the first to truly celebrate Thanksgiving back in 1565.

Getting a little peckish…

Oxpeckers help remove parasites from large mammals such as this roan antelope

In the wilds of the African savanna, large mammals such as this roan antelope can quickly become covered in ticks and all sorts of other creepy crawlies, which doesn’t sound entirely pleasant! Luckily, help is at hand in the form of winged wonders known as oxpeckers. Oxpeckers are known to hitch a ride on the backs of a range of iconic species including hippos, buffalos, giraffe and various antelopes, gorging themselves on ticks, botfly larvae and other parasites – the mammals get cleaned, and the birds get fed, and so this has often been classified as a mutualistic relationship. However, more recent studies have shown that oxpeckers often pick at scabs and cuts to keep them open to get more food, subjecting the wounds to possible infection and potentially harming the host mammal, making this symbiotic relationship more of a parasitic one.

Helpful houseguests

Reef-building corals rely on tiny blue-green algae to survive

Reef-building corals provide homes for single-celled blue-green algae known as zooxanthellae, and in return these microscopic plants provide energy-containing compounds for the coral through the process of photosynthesis. The coral uses these vital compounds to build its calcium carbonate skeleton. In a way, these tiny blue-green algae are like live-in coral chefs…and they even clean up after themselves by removing any waste products! Brilliant!

Nature’s six-legged gardeners

Leaf-cutter ants tend to their fungus garden by creating 'mulch' from leaf fragments

Leaf-cutter ants are known as nature’s gardeners, as they spend their time foraging for leaves and cutting them into suitably sized fragments before transporting them back to their huge underground nests where the leaves are used to cultivate a fungus garden. While the ant colony is entirely dependent upon this fungus supply for food and so greatly benefits from this situation, the fungus benefits by being cultivated by the ants but also loses out by being eaten, and so this relationship could be classified as a more commensalistic one.

Did you know?

Most of us think of the US in relation to Thanksgiving, but did you know that several other countries observe similar days, too? These include Canada, Puerto Rico and Liberia. Additionally, the city of Leiden in South Holland celebrates the traditional US Thanksgiving Day, making the Netherlands the only non English-speaking country to formally celebrate this particular occasion.

Food on the go…

Dugong

Loggerhead turtle

Leopard shark

Giant manta ray

Scientists are somewhat divided over whether the relationship that exists between specialised fish known as remoras and a variety of larger ocean species is a mutualistic or commensalistic one. Also known as suckerfish, remoras have a specially adapted first dorsal fin which has been modified into a sucker-like organ. Remoras use this to attach themselves to other marine animals such as sharks, rays, sea turtles and dugongs, feeding on material dropped by the host species while also getting a free ride and protection from potential predators. This seems rather one-sided, but some scientists believe that the remoras may also feed upon certain parasites on the host’s body or gills, therefore providing a great cleaning service to their marine meal providers.

If these beholden bovids, indebted invertebrates and contented chondrichthyans haven’t quenched your thirst for wild Thanksgiving-related information, why not check out last year’s blog, which features a whole host of awesome animals that the first European settlers might have seen upon arriving in North America.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Kathryn Pintus, ARKive Text Author

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With support from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Government of the Cook Islands is set to establish the world’s largest Marine Protected Area (MPA) – the Cook Islands Marine Park.

Majestic manta rays are among the species found in the waters surrounding the Cook Islands

A landmark decision

Plans to create the new marine park were announced back in August of this year, with the aim of contributing to the conservation of the region’s rich marine biodiversity as well as to the health of oceans on a global scale, while boosting local economic growth.

Encompassing approximately 1.07 million square kilometres of marine habitat – an area more than twice the size of Papua New Guinea – the Cook Islands Marine Park will become the largest marine park ever declared by a single country for integrated ocean conservation and management, and has been hailed as a great achievement.

“This is a landmark decision and should be treated as an example to follow by countries around the world,” said Carl Gustaf Lundin, Director of IUCN’s Global Marine and Polar Programme. “With just over 2% of the world’s ocean currently protected, this is a major step towards safeguarding our planet’s marine realm and the priceless services it provides us, including oxygen, food and water.”

Pacific protection

With support from IUCN, the Cook Islands Marine Park will serve to protect a wide variety of marine habitats, from remote atolls and reefs to high volcanic islands and underwater mountains. These important ecosystems are home to a whole host of marine species, including rare seabirds, blue whales, manta rays and several shark species, many of which are listed as threatened on The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Longfin bannerfish in coral habitat

Conservation measures

Different levels of protection will be applied to a variety of zones within the Cook Islands Marine Park, with the establishment of areas where all fishing will be banned, and buffer areas where tourism and carefully monitored fishing will be allowed. The designation of such zones will depend upon the identification of several key factors, including what natural resources and habitats the marine park hosts and how they are being used, and how such resources can be used sustainably.

“Protecting the Pacific, one of the last pristine marine ecosystems, is the Cooks’ major contribution to the well-being of not only our people but of humanity in general,” said Henry Puna, Prime Minister of the Cook Islands. “The marine park will provide the necessary framework to promote sustainable development by balancing economic growth interests such as tourism, fishing and deep sea mining with conserving biodiversity in the ocean.”

The IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas will be on hand to provide assistance with regards to the rights of local people, ensuring that traditional methods of management and use of natural resources are taken into consideration when developing new, innovative, large-scale conservation initiatives for the region. IUCN believes that this will ‘foster community ownership of marine conservation areas and support scientific and policy research by national and regional institutions’.

The world’s largest living animal, the blue whale

A step forward

“Thanks to initiatives like this one, small island nations such as the Cook Islands and Kiribati are beginning to confidently act as ‘large ocean developing states’, leading the way to conserve large areas of national Exclusive Economic Zones in the Pacific Ocean – places where the state has special rights over the exploration and use of marine resources,” said Jan Steffen, IUCN Oceania Regional Marine Programme Coordinator.

IUCN’s involvement in the establishment of the Cook Islands Marine Park will be financially supported by Global Blue – a traveller service-related company headquartered in Switzerland. Other conservation partners that signed the memorandum of understanding with the Government of the Cook Islands include the Secretariat of the Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Conservation International and the Marine Science Institute of the University of California Santa Barbara.

Read more on this story at IUCN.org – IUCN supports Cook Islands to create the world’s largest marine park.

Find out more about the world’s protected areas.

Kathryn Pintus, ARKive Text Author

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Last week, the Government of Mozambique announced the creation of the biggest Marine Protected Area in Africa, covering 10,411 square kilometres of coastal marine waters.

Green turtles are among the five species of marine turtle found off Mozambique's coast

Primeiras and Segundas Archipelago

Located in the northern part of Mozambique, off the coasts of the Zambezia and Nampula provinces, the area will be known as the Primeiras and Segundas Archipelago, which literally means ‘first’ and ‘second’ archipelago. The newly protected marine zone encompasses ten islands as well as rich coral reefs, seagrass ecosystems and mangrove forests, and it is the second major conservation area in the country to be declared within the last two years.

The Primeiras and Segundas Archipelago is home to five of the world’s seven marine turtle species, and benefits from cold, nutrient-rich upwelling, making its robust and diverse coral reefs some of the most important and globally productive on the planet. In addition, the area provides essential breeding grounds for a variety of seabirds, as well as for the strange-looking dugong, a unique species of marine mammal classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.

Sadly, unauthorised tourism and overfishing, by both commercial and artisanal fisheries, have negatively affected the marine life off the coast of Mozambique, and WWF has worked tirelessly for years to secure this particular segment as a protected area.

“The stunning reefs, islands and marine life will now be protected. We won a victory today with the declaration of Primeiras and Segundas – a great triumph for protecting the world’s marine environment,” said Caroline Simmonds, Deputy Director for WWF-US’s Coastal East Africa Program.

The enigmatic dugong breeds in Mozambique's coastal waters

Economic incentive

As well as being a place of natural beauty, the Primeiras and Segundas Archipelago is also an area of great economic and social importance, with Mozambique’s coast providing food for hundreds of thousands of people. With artisanal, semi-industrial and industrial fishermen all carrying out fishery activities within the same area, fish stocks have become overexploited, and some are even verging on the brink of collapse.

While the Mozambique government is still working on a management plan for the region, which will include the regulation of tourism, it has stated that new protection measures in the Primeiras and Segundas Archipelago would include safeguarding key fish nesting sites, to allow population numbers to return to sustainable levels.

“Protecting the rich natural resources of this magnificent area will make a major contribution to the long term food security and livelihoods of the people of the region,” said John Tanzer, Director of WWF’s Global Marine Programme. “It is also a significant contribution by Mozambique to safeguarding the future of the world’s marine environment more generally and deserves recognition and congratulations to all concerned who worked together to make it possible.”

“This is a great response to the appeal by local communities to help them protect their resources,” added Florêncio Marerua, WWF-Mozambique’s Country Director. “It is particularly exciting that both the government authorities and local communities recognise the benefits of conserving these resources.”

Green turtle hatchlings heading towards the sea

CARE-WWF Alliance projects

As part of the push towards achieving enhanced livelihoods through the sustainable management of both terrestrial and marine resources in Mozambique, the Coastal Communities initiative of the CARE-WWF Alliance has implemented several projects. The alliance aims to address the root causes of poverty and environmental degradation, and is working with communities and various partners to instigate change and secure a healthy marine ecosystem along the country’s coast.

Since 2008, the CARE-WWF Alliance has engaged with more than 10,000 coastal households in the Primeiras and Segundas region. It has already made progress in introducing new conservation agriculture techniques to increase productivity and ecosystem services, and has helped develop marine sanctuaries to support and facilitate rebounding fish stocks. WWF and CARE are also working together with ocean community guards to rescue green turtles and build awareness about these wonderful marine creatures.

Read more on this story at Mongabay.com – Mozambique creates Africa’s biggest marine protected area.

Find out more about the world’s protected areas.

Discover species found in Mozambique on ARKive.

Kathryn Pintus, ARKive Text Author

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Good things come in small packages - the pygmy hippopotamus

Last night the Natural History Museum in London hosted the launch of the Pygmy Hippo Foundation in a spectacularly glamorous fashion – a charity champagne reception, dinner and auction. Richard Edwards, Chief Executive, Wildscreen, was there to dine in style in the great hall under the watchful eye of ‘Dippy’ the museum’s famous replica Diplodocus skeleton. During the launch evening guest speakers gave talks to raise awareness of the plight of the Endangered pygmy hippopotamus and its rainforest and swamp habitats in western Africa. ARKive supplied footage of this elusive species on behalf of Marco Polo Productions, helping to bring the talks to life.

Pygmy hippopotamus and calf

The Foundation’s Work

The Pygmy Hippo Foundation aims to preserve and protect the remaining wild pygmy hippopotami (Choeropsis liberiensis) population which is thought to be as low as 2000 individuals. One of the main projects of the foundation is the development of Sapo National Park in south east Liberia, where the majority of the wild population of pygmy hippopotami live. The foundation also engages with the local community through education programmes and conservation initiatives as well as petitioning the Liberian government on the importance of conservation.

Deforestation in west Africa

(Not So) Mini Hippos

The pygmy hippopotamus is reclusive and is mainly active at night when it ventures out of the water to feed in the forest. Though not dissimilar in appearance to the common hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) it comes as no shock that the pygmy hippopotamus is significantly smaller and unfortunately is at an even higher risk of extinction.  Wide-scale deforestation of the pygmy hippopotami’s forest habitat poses a major threat for this species. The pygmy hippopotamus depends on the rainforest for its diet of leaves, roots and grasses as well as swamps and rivers for a water source.

There's nothing mini about those teeth!

A Brighter Future …

It’s not all doom and gloom though: fortunately the pygmy hippopotamus breeds well in captivity and the captive population has increased greatly in recent years. Couple that with the fact that  the Pygmy Hippo Foundation are taking an active role in preserving the wild population by sponsoring direct research and ranger training for Sapo National Park, the pygmy hippo has a good chance at pulling through.

Looks like the pygmy hippopotamus will just about keep its head above the water for now!

Find out more about the pygmy hippopotamus and its conservation on the Pygmy Hippo Foundation website.

George Bradford, ARKive Researcher

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