Peter

Drying Mara River threatens wildlife migration

A recent article quotes the Head Ecologist in the Serengeti National Park, Dr. James Wakibara.  I've copied in a quote below.  Click the link for the full article.

http://www.ippmedia.com/frontend/index.php?l=29355

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The Mara River sustains one of the greatest spectacles of the natural world - the annual migration of millions of wildebeests, zebras and antelopes arriving in the Mara Basin during the dry season in search of water and forage.


Since Mara River is not a large river, ever increasing activity will eventually severely degrade the riverine ecosystem and even impinge upon the most basic needs of people, livestock, wildlife and the overall basin’s economy. “If the irregular flow of Mara River becomes more and more extreme, it could, for example, cause a collapse in the wildebeest populations, thus hampering the entire migration cycle that sustains the Maasai Mara - Serengeti ecosystem,” Dr Wakibara said.


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Final Housing Design for our Eureka Manta2

Here is the final design for our Eureka Manta2 data-logger housing.  We'll be installing them within the next few days/weeks and see how they hold up in the Mara River with all the hippos and crocs.

Once we get to the sites, we'll be wrapping portions of the bike lock with silicon tape to try to keep water out of the locking mechanism.  More to come in the next few days...

Almost there...

We arrived back in Narok this weekend, the small town where we used to live and which will be our primary staging/re-supply area for this summer. We're fortunate to be staying in the little house where we lived for 2.5 years, so it feels like coming back home. We have a lot of good friends here, and the dogs and chickens are all still around. This week we're sorting through our gear, getting the Land Rover up and running, re-packing, and buying yet more supplies like chain, pipes and fence posts for securing our data loggers. We hope to head to the Mara by this weekend-- keep your fingers crossed!

As we prepare all of our equipment, I keep feeling like we must be doing something wrong to have all of this gear we have to lug around. The Maasai, who leave home for weeks at a time with bow and arrows, a blanket and a gourd of milk, look utterly amazed one person could need so much!

On our way...

We've got 11 bags with over 460 pounds of gear, including 800 pre-dried and weighed filter papers, 300 acid-washed sample bottles, 250 plastic cups for nutrient studies, 15 data-logging devices, 12 bottles of calibration solution, 2 large plastic tarps and a few clothes. I think we might be ready...

Possibly the best job in the world...

This could be the best job in the world.  If you have ever had an interest to live abroad, learn Kiswahili, and live out of a canvas tent in the middle of a protected area characterized by the largest ungulate migration in the world...this is your job.  Apply by May 31st.

 http://www.maratriangle.org/blog/2011/5/11/job-opening-communications-officer.html

Dams, Dams and more Dams

There has been a great deal of talk lately with "Mara River" and "Dams" being used in the same sentence.  Here is the short round-up of sources:

• Sh2.2 Billion Water Project Set for Bomet And Narok
• Sh2 Billion Bomet Water Project Mooted

The Daily Nation also published an article on it last Friday but I can't locate it online.

The original tender for the consultancy services mentioned in the two articles is here.

Interesting...

Hippo-proof Data Logger for the Mara...First Prototype

Well, probably not actually hippo-proof.  

Amanda and I are headed back to Kenya soon and plan on installing four of these water quality loggers into the Mara and Talek rivers at a few strategic points.  They will collect a ton of great data on the rivers every 15 minutes for the entire summer.  

We have been a bit worried about some of the larger wildlife possibly damaging the data loggers so we've had to come up with a housing that will hopefully protect it.  This is our first attempt.  The housing was designed to also protect the unit from theft...although the different groups hosting these loggers over the summer will be looking over them while we are elsewhere in the basin.  This housing will give us a few different possibilities for mounting them in the river.

Here is a shot of the probes...

Small Update on the Fish Die-off

Dr. Dominic of the Mara Mobile Vet Crew just posted a short update on the fish die-off that occurred last month.

Investigations on the deaths of fish in Mara River

During the month of February 2011, there were reports of fish dying in Mara River; three different fish species were affected, the deaths were concentrated at the ‘Mara Old bridge”, Olonana area, Mara Buffalo area and near Little Governors area. It was a one time mass-die-off of fish that lasted only one day after a heavy down-pour.

Postmortem examinations revealed extensive haemorrhages and congestion of the liver and intestines, blood oozing from anus and mouth. The deaths were suspected to have been caused by pesticide poisoning due to pesticides washed downstream from the nearby wheat farms.

Fish samples, water and soil samples were collected from the different locations of the river and submitted to the Government chemist for toxicological analysis, results are still awaited.

The Mara Crocodiles

Check out this article for some recent pictures of a croc trying to get a wildebeest in the Mara River.  The article states that the late rains delayed the migration which in turn reduced the food availability for the crocs.  We have seen in the Mara that with lower flow levels, the crocs can not hunt as effectively.  Lower average flows and a delay in the migration could have an effect on the reproduction cycle of the Mara population.  Anecdotally, we've noted lower crocodile nesting success following years of lower flow.  During lower flow years, the wildebeest can effortless cross the river and are not subjected to mass drownings - like in 2007.

It is interesting to imagine what else is impacted by low flow levels and how those changes could cascade through a system.