Rufford Small Grants News and New Projects

Final Report

Lisa — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:39:37 +0000

Read more about the activities undertaken and findings of this project in the final report below.

Main Project Page

Lake Simbi Nyaima Eco-Cultural Conservation Project

Carlos A. Mancina

Lisa — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:35:10 +0000

Integrating Research and Education for the Conservation of Cuban Bats and their Habitats

Poey’s flower bat (Phyllonycteris poeyi) feeding on a flower of blue mahogany (Talipariti elatum), this charismatic bat is common in our study area.

Town/Region	Country	Categories	Date
Sierra del Rosario Biosphere Reserve	Cuba	Bats, Central and Latin America, habitats	9 Feb 2012

Bats represent 75% of native mammalian fauna of Cuba; however, many bat species or populations are highly susceptible to the habitat and roost site loss, depredation by exotic mammals, and stochastic events such as hurricanes. Since mid 90’ we began long-term monitoring of bat populations in the “Sierra del Rosario” Biosphere Reserve.

2nd RSG Grant Awarded

Lisa — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:08:51 +0000

Congratulations to Carlos for his second RSG, to read about this project http://www.ruffordsmallgrants.org/rsg/projects/carlos_mancina_0

Main Project Page

Effects of Hurricanes on Bat Populations in the “Sierra del Rosario” Biosphere Reserve, Cuba: A Long-Term Monitoring Study

Caleb Ofori

Lisa — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:59:28 +0000

Conservation of the Togo Slippery Frog (Conraua Derooi) in the Togo-Volta Hills

Town/Region	Country	Categories	Date
Amedzofe	Ghana	Africa, Amphibians	9 Feb 2012

The Togo slippery frog (Conraua derooi) is an evolutionary distinct and Critically Endangered frog known from only two localities; the Atewa Mountains and the Togo-Volta hills in Ghana and along the Ghana-Togo border respectively. This frog faces imminent extinction threat due to human consumption, habitat loss and the pet trade.

2nd RSG Grant Awarded

Lisa — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:55:50 +0000

Congratulations to Caleb for his second RSG, to read about this project http://www.ruffordsmallgrants.org/rsg/projects/caleb_ofori_0

Main Project Page

Conservation of Two Critically Endangered Frog Species in the Forest Zone of South Western Ghana

Stephen Taranto

Lisa — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:52:50 +0000

Tarapari Biodiversity Garden Butterfly Education and Conservation Resource Center

Town/Region	Country	Categories	Date
Chulumani	Bolivia	Biodiversity, Central and Latin America, Plants	9 Feb 2012

The Cloud Forests of the eastern slopes of the Bolivian Andes (see map) are habitat for more than 1500species of butterflies, many of them endemic to the region.

Booster Grant Awarded

Lisa — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:48:07 +0000

Congratulations to Stephen for his Booster award, to read about this project http://www.ruffordsmallgrants.org/rsg/projects/stephen_taranto_1

Main Project Page

Chulumani Conservation Garden

Lucien Mabwe

Lisa — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:46:18 +0000

Sustainable Management Actions for the Lake Tanganyika Biodiversity Conservation in the Fizi Territory, in DR Congo

Town/Region	Country	Categories	Date
Fizi	Congo, the Democratic Republic of the	Africa, Wetlands	9 Feb 2012

The Lake Tanganyika, lying in the Rift valley, is a hotspot of aquatic biodiversity. The Congolese coast, boarding the Fizi territory, is 350 km long from Makobola to Kabanga passing by Nemba and Kibanga. In DR Congo, the Lake undergoes mainly three threats:
- Destruction of species habitat
- Non-viable fishing
- Excessive sedimentation

Guler Isayeva

Lisa — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:33:58 +0000

Conservation of Egyptian Vulture in Lesser Caucasus Within the Territory of Azerbaijan

Town/Region	Country	Categories	Date
Gadabay Samukh Dashkesen	Azerbaijan	Asia, Birds	9 Feb 2012

Caucasus is one of two hotspots in Europe for biodiversity and Azerbaijan is situated on very important flyway and it hosts an important number of globally threatened raptors. During previous years several species of raptors has been studied but it is still not covering the whole territory of the country. Project will focuses on the population of Egyptian Vulture in Lesser Caucasus.

Divya Panicker

Lisa — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:27:49 +0000

Developing with Dolphins: Ecological and Anthropogenic Factors Influencing Estuary Use in Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphins Along Southwest Coast of India

Town/Region	Country	Categories	Date
Kochi Munambam	India	Dolphins, Indian Sub-continent, Marine	9 Feb 2012

Coastal ecosystems such as estuaries support multiple human needs (food production, tourism and defense). With nearly 50% of the world’s population living in coastal areas, activities such as alteration of coastline, building of ports, high vessel traffic and unsustainable fishing result in modification of coastal ecosystems, habitat degradation and prey depletion.

Cheryl D. Nath

Lisa — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:23:14 +0000

Farming Native Timber on Private Fallow Lands: A Potential Conservation Strategy for the Western Ghats, India

Town/Region	Country	Categories	Date
Kodagu	India	Farming, Forests, Indian Sub-continent	9 Feb 2012

It is well-recognised that efforts by the Government and conservation NGOs have been insufficient to reduce many existing threats to biodiversity. The need to broaden the conservation platform and include the stakes of local communities is now apparent.

Final Report

Lisa — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:08:28 +0000

Read more about the activities undertaken and findings of this project in the final report below.

Main Project Page

Survey and Conservation of Bird Diversity in Bangka Island, Sumatra, Indonesia

Project Update: January 2012

Lisa — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:54:08 +0000

From November 2011 to January 2012 we have conducted camera trap surveys in our evergreen forest site (Tikong) and also live trapped focal small carnivores. We caught and radio-tagged three masked palm civets in December 2011 and radio collared them to determine their range and sleeping sites. We are also following a female binturong we radio-tagged from last year.

Main Project Page

Distribution, Abundance and Conservation of Small Mammalian Carnivores in a Threatened Dry Forest Landscape of Thailand

Project Updates

Lisa — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:52:28 +0000

I've uploaded a number of research videos to YouTube & I am maintaining a research blog at the following address: http://elephantsabout.wordpress.com/

Posts related to this year's RSG funded research are the following:

http://elephantsabout.wordpress.com/2012/01/10/taking-a-good-idea-and-ma...

http://elephantsabout.wordpress.com/how-this-works/

Main Project Page

Experimental Mitigation of Crop-Raiding by Asian Elephants (Elephas Maximus) Using Low Cost Predator-Mimicking Sound Playback Devices

Project Update: January 2012

Lisa — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:45:57 +0000

Read about the latest progress of this project in the report below.

Main Project Page

Risk Assessment of Human-Wildlife Conflicts in Western Ghats Protected Areas