Mount Moco: its importance to the conservation of Swierstra’s Francolin Pternistis swierstrai and the Afromontane avifauna of Angola

Abstract

SummaryThe forests of the Angolan highlands are the smallest and most isolated of the Afromontane centres of endemism. Despite their high biodiversity value and small, fragmented extent of less than 200 ha, they remain entirely unprotected. Here we draw attention to their uniqueness and the threats to their conservation. We specifically highlight the importance of Mt Moco to bird conservation and describe current forest cover and condition. Sixty-four endemic/near-endemic species/subspecies and taxa with isolated populations are associated with the highlands of western Angola. All 19 forest-dependent taxa are among the 233 species recorded at Mt Moco, which include a rich diversity of montane specialists. Swierstra's Francolin Pternistis swierstrai is the only threatened endemic. In 2009, 10 of 30 forest patches at Mt Moco larger than 0.5 ha were surveyed for this species. It occurred in seven of these surveyed patches, at a mean minimum density of 0.95 pair ha À1 in forest patches . 1 ha. Based on extrapolations of this figure, we estimate a minimum of 75 pairs of Swierstra's Francolin at Mt Moco, and 185-420 pairs worldwide. Due to both limited range and small population size, we propose the species be up-listed from 'Vulnerable' to 'Endangered'. Total forest cover at Mount Moco in forest patches . 0.5 ha in size is currently 85 ha. This is c.40% of the total cover of Afromontane forest estimated for Angola in 1974. Remaining forest cover at Mt Moco is being eroded by bush fires, removal of wood for fire and construction material, and clearance for subsistence agriculture by the c.330 inhabitants of Kanjonde village. In order to preserve the forest of Mt Moco, we propose the implementation of a protected area and define its boundaries. A similar proposal was made in 1974 for the creation of the Mount Moco Special Reserve. ResumoAs florestas das terras altas de Angola formam o menor e mais isolado dos centros de endemismo de montanha de Á frica. Estas florestas abrigam uma biodiversidade ú nica. No entanto, em Angola, apesar deste habitat encontrar-se muito fragmentado e ocupar uma área total inferior a 200 ha, nenhuma parcela está protegida. Aqui destacamos a singularidade destas florestas e as ameaças que enfrentam. Em particular, destacamos a importância do Monte Moco para a conservação das aves e descrevemos a posição actual, área e qualidade da floresta que aqui permanece. Sessenta e quatro espécies/sub-espécies endémicas/quase-endémicas e espécies com populaçõ es isoladas estão associadas às terras altas de Angola ocidental. Destas, 19 dependem de floresta de montanha e todas elas estão presentes no Monte Moco, onde um total de 233 espécies foram registadas. O Francolim de Swierstra Pternistis swierstrai é a ú nica espécie endémica ameaçada. Em 2009, um censo desta espécie foi efectuado em 10 dos 30 fragmentos de floresta do Monte Moco com uma área superior a 0.5 ha. Esta espécie estava presente em sete dos fragmentos visitados, ocorrendo a uma densidade mínima média de 0.95 pares ha À1 nos fragmentos com...

Tapping into technology and the biodiversity informatics revolution: updated terrestrial mammal list of Angola, with new records from the Okavango Basin

“…For example, during the course of just a few weeks of fieldwork we were able to add a new species of bat to the country list, as well as additional (possible) new records of a further three species, based on echolocation calls, which would bring the total up to 71 species (making it the most diverse country in the region). We suspect that there are numerous species of bat that still await discovery in Angola, and we further predict that a number of new (and possibly endemic) species will be eventually recorded from the western escarpment region that is high in bird endemism (Mills et al 2011, 2013). To the best of our knowledge, no recent bat (or other small mammal) surveys have been conducted in any of the remaining Afromontane forests and adjacent grasslands along this escarpment, and this must remain a critical zone for future surveys.…”

A new species of the rodent genus Hylomyscus from Angola, with a distributional summary of the H. anselli species group (Muridae: Murinae: Praomyini)

“…8). Mills et al (2011) documented the condition of Afromontane forest on Mt Moco as part of their ongoing studies of the endangered Swierstra's Francolin (Francolinus swierstrai Roberts), a partridge-like bird endemic to Angola. High forest persists as small patches, the largest about 25 hectares, restricted to narrow ravines and steep valleys in the remotest parts of the mountain; these isolated fragments are distributed over an elevation of 2000 to 2400 m, a range that falls within the 1400 mm annual rainfall isohyet.…”

“…High forest persists as small patches, the largest about 25 hectares, restricted to narrow ravines and steep valleys in the remotest parts of the mountain; these isolated fragments are distributed over an elevation of 2000 to 2400 m, a range that falls within the 1400 mm annual rainfall isohyet. Characteristic genera include the Gondwanan conifer Podocarpus along with other evergreen, flowering trees and shrubs (species of Apodytes, Ficus, Halleria, Ilex, Olea, Pittosporum, Polyscias, and Syzygium- Huntley & Matos, 1994;Mills et al, 2011). Canopy height tends to be irregular, conforming to the steep slopes and rugged valleys that retain forest coverage.…”

“…To our knowledge, specimens of Hylomyscus heinrichorum have not been collected since the 1954 Heinrich expedition. Until new field assessments are conducted, the conservation status of H. heinrichorum is plausibly considered Near Threatened, if not Vulnerable, in view of the continuing decline in extent and quality of Afromontane forest in Angola (Huntley & Matos, 1994;Mills et al, 2011). Unlike the Endangered classification of Swiestra's Francolin (IUCN Red List, accessed Jul 2014), a comestible, partridge-sized bird subjected to hunting pressure compounded by disappearance of its preferred habitat, populations of a small murid rodent like H. heinrichorum should remain resilient to habitat loss so long as even minimal forest cover, primary or secondary, persists.…”

“…Mt Moco and/or Mt Soque, the localities where the Heinrichs obtained the samples of Hylomyscus herein described as a new species, have been specifically mentioned in many avifaunal studies as Angolan mountains that harbor vestiges of moist montane forest (Moreau, 1966;Dean, 2000;Mills et al, 2011). Angolan highlands were not initially included among the seven "islands" of Afromontane forest delineated by White, a phytogeographer who opined (1978: 480), "In Angola well-developed Afromontane vegetation is apparently absent."…”