The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of blending ratio of malted barley, maize, and roasted pea flour on complementary food quality and sensory acceptability. D‐ Optimal mixture design was used to generate 14 formulations. Each ingredient had 55–90% maize, 20–35% pea and 4–12% malted barley. Pretreatments like debranning of maize, roasting of pea and dehusking of malted barley were done. The three component‐constrained mixture design was conducted using Design‐Expert® 6 (Stat‐Ease). Ash, protein, fat, fiber, moisture, and carbohydrate contents were found in between range of 1.5–2.5%, 13.0–18.5%, 1.8–2.5%, 3.06–4.45%, 5.0–6.5%, and 68.9–74.1%, respectively. Significant difference (P < 0.05) among the treatments was observed for protein, moisture, odor, flavor and sensory overall acceptability. Lack‐of‐fit was significantly different only for fat (R 2 = 0.90). Thus, the model generated can predict all attributes except for fat. The optimum values of high nutrient content and sensory acceptability were observed in the range of 55.0–68.5%, 27.5–35.0%, and 4.0–10.0% for maize, pea, and malted barley respectively.

Human-wildlife conflict is one of the major challenges in conservation biology. Here, we investigated the human-wildlife conflicts and their impacts in and around Chebera-Churchura National Park (CCNP), Ethiopia. We conducted semi-structured interview for 300 people and five focus group discussions from November 2010 through January 2011. Additionally, scats of sixty spotted hyenas were collected and analyzed. Totally, 12 carnivores, 6 herbivores and 2 primate species posing a significant problem were identified. Intensive human-conflict was observed in Churchura, Sere and Chebera villages which were very close to the park. The carnivore's attacks during 2007 to 2011 had caused about 30.49% of livestock losses. The overall economic loss by wildlife attacks was estimated to be US$ 75,234 (US$ 83/household/ year). Scat analysis confirmed a substantial contribution (59%) of livestock to spotted hyena's diet. Thus, combined strategies like improving livestock husbandries and strengthen the capacity of managers are imperative to mitigate the problems.

No abstract

This study aimed to investigate the natural feeding behavior of Nile tilapia in Lake Langeno, Ethiopia, with emphasis on potential spatial, size and seasonal effects on ingested food items. This study of the food and feeding biology of O. niloticus in Lake Langeno, Ethiopia, was conducted from March 2016to February 2017. Fish samples were collected monthly from six different sampling sites using different mesh sizes of gillnets. A total of 610 fish specimens with full stomachs were considered for the assessment of feeding biology. In total, seven food items, namely phytoplankton, zooplankton, insects, detritus, macrophytes, fish parts and nematodes, were identified from the fish stomach contents. Phytoplankton was the most commonly consumed food prey, followed by detritus, zooplankton and macrophytes. The other food items were occasionally and randomly consumed. Phytoplankton and detritus were the dominant food prey in the dry season, with zooplankton and macrophytes the main prey during the wet months. The contribution of phytoplankton, zooplankton and insects were slightly highest in small-sized groups (<10 cm), whereas detritus, macrophytes and fish parts were highest in larger-size groups (>20 cm) (p < 0.05). The present results point to a concurrence of the relative importance of dietary items at the individual level, species level and among the study sites. Phytoplankton was the primary consumed food item, which indicates the specialist feeding strategy of Nile tilapia in the lake. Generally, food items of plant origin, typically associated with less protein content than animal origin food items, dominated the stomach contents of Nile tilapia. The dietary pattern of Nile tilapia in Lake Langeno shifts with size and season, aspects that might warrant further study in view of aquaculture applications as well as climate change.

This study examined the diversity, distribution and abundance of fish species in Upper Awash River, Ethiopia was assessed. Five sampling sites were selected along the gradient of the river. Fish sampling was carried out using Frame net of 3-mm stretched mesh size from February through April, 2018. There was a considerable variation in river depth and width at all sites. A total of 3018 fish categorized under three species belonging to the Family Cyprinidae, namely, Garra quadrimaculata, Garra dembeensis and Labeobarbus beso were identified. Garra quadrimaculata was numerically the most dominant species in all sampling sites. Perhaps, there was no fish specimen caught from S-I. Similarly, the highest and lowest number of G. dembeensis was collected from S-V (42.73%) and S-II (2.51%), respectively. The composition of L. beso was higher at S-IV (49.1%), but no L. beso collected from S-I and S-II. High number of fish was caught from the pool parts at all sites. Shannon diversity index (H') varied between 0.14 and 0.80, and evenness index (J') varied from 0.2 to 1.7, but H' and J' of S-I were zero due to the absence of species in the area. Based on Shannon index, the upper Awash River was categorized as an impacted river. Therefore, effective management of the river is very imperative for sustainable utilization of fish resources.