East African Forests Research Articles

A Note on Small Mammals in East African Forests

A Note on Small Mammals in East African Forests

A Suggested Function of the Ornamentation of East African Forest Chameleons

tain characters in the genus Chamaeleo are without selective value. Among these he lists ventral, dorsal, cranial crests, tarsal spurs, body squamation, etc. Many species of Chamaeleo do indeed have structures whose functional significance is difficult to interpret in terms of the way these animals make their living. These structures or ornaments are frequently conspicuous and add to the bizarre appearance of these lizards.

The East African Camphor Forests of Mount Kenya

The East African Camphor Forests of Mount Kenya

DISTRIBUTION OF THE AFRICAN SPECIES OF « DIOSPYROS »

SUMMARY This note consists of an outline of the types of distribution shown by African species of Diospyros. Reasons are given for sinking Maba under Diospyros. Wheo this is done, 71 species of Diospyros are known from the mainland of Africa. Taxonomically the genus consists of 28 isolated species, 8 species which are imperfectly known, and 15 more or less isolated « groups » of 2 to 5 very closely related species. It is suggested that MAYR'S term of « superspecies » can be applied with advantage to the latter. Ecologically the greatest concentration (43) of species is in the rainforest. 17 species are known from other forest types, with most species (15) in the East African coastal forests. The East African montane forests are very poor in Diospyros (2 species). 11. species occur in non-forest types. The evidence which suggests that these non-forest species had their origins in the rain forest is discussed in some detail.

Breeding Seasons of Birds in East African Evergreen Forest

Summary.It has been stated that no general breeding season can be discerned in the birds of evergreen forest in West Africa. No previous study in East African forest is available, but my information, derived from gonad state, moult, and song volume, as well as the number of occupied nests found, gives a different impression at Amani. With a few specific exceptions the forest birds there nest between the beginning of October and the end of February and then moult. Simultaneous wing‐moult and considerable gonad enlargement are rare in forest birds, and actually rarer than in birds from less equable environments also in Northern Tanganyika.My data indicate that at Amani on the average (all forest species) the gonads of the individual male remain much enlarged for about four months in the year, of the female for less than two. It also appears that the individual bird of both sexes takes at least two months to get through wing‐moult.Data from occasional collections in other forests in Northern Tanganyika make it probable that with local modifications a periodicity similar to that at Amani exists there also. Information, both published and unpublished, for other forests, from Chirinda (S. Rhodesia) to Mt. Elgon, suggests that a single well‐marked breeding season is the rule throughout the East African mountain forests.These results are discussed in relation to Beebe's at Kartabo and to the variables in the environment. I do not find any acceptable single‐factor hypothesis.