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Investigating the potential connectivity of Lesser Flamingo populations by satellite-telemetry
... Only circumstantial evidence of changing breeding densities has led to suggestions of movements and interchanges between the populations in East and South Africa ( Borello et al. 1998, McCulloch and Borello 2000, Simmons 2000, as well as between the West African and other African populations (Trolliet and Fouquet 2001). Recent studies, using satellite tracking technologies, have not supported these suggestions, because birds equipped with satellite tags have not moved out of their region, in either Botswana ( McCulloch et al. 2003), Kenya/ Tanzania ( Childress et al. 2007) or Ethiopia ( Salewski et al. 2009). As indicated in the first and preliminary phylogenetic study, based on sequencing of the mitochondrial gene NADH2 ( Zaccara et al. 2008), a scenario of past geographic continuity between South and East African populations, as well as a shared ancestor for the East and southern African populations has been proposed. ...
... Our results support the current conservation recommendations for the Lesser Flamingo as presented in the International Single Species Action Plan for the Conservation of the Lesser Flamingo ( Childress et al. 2008) and the AEWA flyway agreement, both of which consider the metapopulation as a single unit. Continued investigations of the likely movement routes are necessary for future conservation plans, expanding satellite tracking studies ( Salewski et al. 2009) to help elucidate the migration routes among the three African populations, which will also help to identify temporary stop-over areas. ...
The Lesser Flamingo Phoeniconaias minor is a nomadic species, which inhabits shallow alkaline lakes and pans in sub-Saharan Africa and southern Asia. The extent of genetic diversity and the degree of differentiation within and among populations are important factors to determine in order to help manage and conserve the species, categorised as Near Threatened by the IUCN. This study provides an assessment of the population structure of the two largest African populations of P. minor by genotyping six microsatellite loci from 30 individuals sampled on Lake Bogoria (Kenya) and 11 individuals from Makgadikgadi Sua Pan (Botswana). The alleles detected per locus ranged from four to 13. The Lake Bogoria population harboured 15 specific alleles, whereas the Makgadikgadi Sua Pan population only six alleles. Moderate genetic diversity (He = 0.64–0.69) was comparable with populations that have not suffered from demographic bottlenecks or inbreeding. The populations are genetically similar with little differentiation (FST and RST not significantly different from zero). Small but continuous gene flow (the estimated average number of individuals exchanged is 3–4 per generation) was found, probably reflecting the bird's nomadic behaviour and the natural presence of temporary shallow waters between the two sampled populations. The results suggest that inbreeding effects at present are unlikely, and hence that the loss and/or degradation of its specialised habitat remains the primary concern for the species’ continued survival.
... Fortunately, sophisticated methods of so-called reality mining are available nowadays, but they are not yet applied in the flamingo areas. Examples are the use of unmanned aerial aircraft (Sardà-Palomera et al. 2012;Chabot and Bird 2013) or satellite tracking; the latter was already successfully tested for few flamingos (~20) in South Africa (McCulloch et al. 2003) and East Africa (Childress et al. 2006;Salewski et al. 2009). Miniaturisation of animal-tracking devices and affordable running costs will enable tagging larger bird numbers in the very near future, which is the method of choice to study movement of flocks. ...
The East African Rift Valley lakes host an avifauna that is rich in biodiversity and individual numbers. Some of the water bodies are known as ‘flamingo lakes’. They are renowned places even for non-biologists and attract hundreds of thousands of tourists from all over the world. Two flamingo species inhabit these lakes, the Greater and the Lesser Flamingo. The latter is classified as ‘near threatened’ by the IUCN. Flamingos, considered by birdlovers as a reincarnation of the mythic firebird Phoenix, play a key role in the circle of life in the harsh alkaline aquatic environments developed on the volcanic ashes of the African Rift Valley. We focus on the Lesser Flamingo, a flagship species of the East African avifauna, and provide information about the life cycle and phylogeny, feeding behaviour and inter-lake movements. Moreover, threats to the flamingo populations, including possible reasons for infrequent mass mortalities, are discussed.
... The aim of the study was to establish whether there are interchanges between the populations of the birds in eastern, western and southern regions of the African continent as suggested by Tuite (1981), Simmons (2000) and other naturalists. Using satellite transmitters installed on five Lesser Flamingos in southern Africa and 19 in eastern Africa, the active inter-lake flights on the subcontinents were confirmed, however, no birds were reported to have flown out of their core area (McCulloch et al., 2003;Childress et al., 2006;Salewski et al., 2009). The record holder was a flamingo that started its journey at Lake Bogoria and flew for a total of 7870 km in 70 stages, visiting 11 different lakes in East Africa. ...
Lesser Flamingo, the flagship species of saline wetlands of Africa and India, is a specialised feeder subsisting on microscopic cyanobacteria and algae. To establish the relationship between flamingo occurrence and food algal abundance and quality, an extensive microphyte survey in more than 150 sampling trips to seven countries over a 15-years period (2001–2015) was carried out. The 44 habitat sites included the core soda lakes in eastern Africa (Bogoria, Nakuru, Elmentaita, Oloidien), where the highest numbers of flamingos were observed, and five breeding sites in eastern and southern Africa as well as in north-western India. A reference describing the diversity of microphytes was established including members of three orders of cyanobacteria and nine orders of eukaryotic algae that potentially could act as food source for Lesser Flamingos. Preferred food organisms consisted of filamentous cyanobacteria, mainly Arthrospira, as well as benthic diatoms. Further investigation on the suitability of other microphytes as alternative flamingo diet revealed the food potential of chlorophytes and euglenophytes. This paper discusses a phycological perspective in the feeding ecology of Lesser Flamingos. The survey findings can assist scientists and conservationists in evaluating the potential of wetlands to support flocks of this endangered bird.
Parasharya B. M. and Anika Tere 2006. Lesser Flamingos in India: A Knowledge Update. Anand Agricultural University, Anand, Gujarat, India
This document contains updates on the status and ecology of the Lesser Flamingos (Phoeniconaias minor) - NT in India till 2006. Brief information is provided on its Distribution, Breeding, Relations with man, Conservation issues and Management options with relevant References. In India, Lesser Flamingos are mainly restricted to western region with majority in Gujarat with a small numbers in Rajasthan and Maharashtra. They prefer to feed on coastal wetlands (mudflats, saltpans, etc) and some numbers explore inland wetlands in summer. Past and current population estimates are given. Chapter on Breeding includes nesting history in India, Past and new nesting sites, nesting patterns, nest & egg dimensions. Various threats and conservation issues are discussed. The document has seven colour plats depicting various life events and relevant maps.
Key Words: Lesser Flamingos, Phoeniconaias minor, India, Gujarat, Distribution, Population estimate, Breeding ecology, Threats & Conservation.
A preliminary analysis of the phylogeographic pattern of the two main African populations of Lesser Flamingo Phoenicopterus minor from East and southern Africa was carried out to evaluate possible gene flow. A fragment of mitochondrial DNA encoding the NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 gene (ND2) was sequenced in 27 specimens from these two populations and 11 haplotypes were identified. The phylogenetic analyses, based both on distance and parsimonious methods (neighbour joining and maximum parsimony), showed a homogeneous clade with a low level of genetic distance (0.26% ± 0.12 SD), which was also evidenced by the minimum spanning network method. The mismatch distribution analysis suggested a sudden demographic expansion from a single ancestral population. This latter result is also reinforced by the presence of few ancestral haplotypes, by the high level of haplotype diversity (0.83) and the low level of nucleotide diversity (0.0015-0.0017). These data support the belief of field ornithologists for restricted interchange between the two populations determined by the geographical distance between the two populations and lack of any observations of movement between them, but with evidence of changes in each population's numbers, giving the concept of a permeable geographic barrier.
The Makgadikgadi Salt Pans in Botswana are one of the most important breeding sites in southern Africa for lesser flamingos Phoeniconaias
minor and greater flamingos Phoenicopterus
ruber
roseus. Much of flamingo migration behaviour is unknown and there has been speculation on the pattern of flamingo movements to and from Makgadikgadi and their dispersal throughout southern Africa. We carried out the first satellite tracking of flamingos in southern Africa to find out where lesser and greater flamingos go after leaving Makgadikgadi. In July 2001 five lesser and three greater flamingos were tagged. Following migration from the pans, one of the greater flamingos flew west to the coast of Namibia, the other south to a small wetland in South Africa. The lesser flamingos moved south-east from Makgadikgadi to South Africa and Mozambique. Movement by both species was nocturnal. This work shows that flamingos migrate from all over southern Africa to Makgadikgadi to breed. It also shows that, during the non-breeding season, movement is widely dispersed and nomadic among a network of wetlands around the subcontinent. Small wetlands, often unrecognized as important for conservation, provide valuable feeding sites and migration staging posts along flamingo migration routes. This highlights the need for the conservation of the network of small wetlands around southern Africa, which are often under threat from anthropogenic activities, to protect two high profile bird species in decline.
Habitat rehabilitation or intervention to prevent species declines are rarely employed in Africa. I argue that despite protection in national parks, active intervention is necessary to halt declines in southern Africa's Greater (Phoenicopterus ruber) and Lesser (Phoeniconaias minor) Flamingo populations. Flamingos are long-lived species that breed sporadically at only two localities in southern Africa: the Makgadikgadi Pans in Botswana and Etosha National Park in Namibia. Despite well-publicized breeding on Etosha Pan, flamingos have experienced only three major breeding events in 40 years. Breeding failure occurs when high evaporation rates rapidly dry the pan, and up to 100,000 flightless chicks may starve. Consequently, pairs breeding in Etosha exhibit extraordinarily low recruitment (0.040 young pair/year) and extrapolations indicate that adults can replace themselves only if they breed for 38 to 50 years and all offspring survive. Because survival of offspring from fledging to adulthood (5 years) is about 46%, this breeding lifespan rises to an unrealistic 83 years, making Etosha a nonviable breeding site. Alternative, suitable flamingo habitats in Africa are being mined for soda-ash, are damaged by pollution, or are unprotected. Accordingly, continent-wide estimates and those from southern Africa alone suggest a population decline of about 40% in both species over the last 15 years. Because Namibia regularly supports 84% of the Greater and 93% of the Lesser Flamingos in southern Africa, conservation strategies are best focused there. Simple but effective management methods, based on those employed in western Europe, could reverse these downward trends. In Etosha a small island surrounded by a water-filled depression would allow up to 4000 pairs to breed annually. The benefits of enhancing the breeding of flamingos in Etosha include research opportunities, tourism revenue, and a safe haven for two Red Data species.
(1) Four aerial photographic censuses of lesser flamingoes on lakes in the Eastern Rift Valley of Kenya and northern Tanzania were made during 1974-76. (2) The distribution pattern was more dispersed than had been recorded during earlier surveys in 1969 and from 1972 to March 1974. (3) About 0.5 million birds were recorded in the study range with no significant differences (P < 0.05) between the four censuses. This is significantly less (P < 0.05) than earlier comparable estimates of 1.0-1.5 million. It is suggested that the decline was due to emigration from the Eastern Rift Valley, particularly to southern Africa, and to mortality. (4) The `standing' biomass density was generally in the range 10-30 g/m$^2$.
This paper presents the results of research conducted from 1974 to 1976 to examine the distribution of Lesser Flamingos (Phoeniconaias minor) on the lakes of the East African Rift Valley. I used aerial photographic censuses to collect data on flamingo distribution, and I also collected data on the availability of the 2 primary food resources: the planktonic blue-green algae Spirulina, and benthic diatoms. Two distinct patterns of population distribution were observed, clumped and dispersed. The clumped distribution occurred when a high density bloom of Spirulina was available at 1 or more of the larger lakes. Productivity models showed that the carrying capacity of Spirulina when present at 1 of these larger lakes was sufficient to support more than the entire population of Lesser Flamingos at 1 site. However, the standing crop density of Spirulina could fluctuate significantly over short time periods. When Spirulina density fell below a certain threshold, Lesser Flamingos could not obtain enough food to meet their energy requirements. Spirulina blooms were not widely available, however, and Lesser Flamingos were forced to change their diet to benthic diatoms when none of the larger lakes supported a high standing crop density of Spirulina. The productivity of diatoms was 1-2 orders of magnitude less than Spirulina, but it was a resource that was much more predictable and widely available. As a result, the flamingo population became much more dispersed when it was dependent on benthic diatoms, because no single lake could support a high proportion of the population.
In October 2002, four adult Lesser Flamingos were tagged at Lake Bogoria, Kenya: two with solar-powered platform transmitter terminals (PTTs) and two with battery-powered PTTs, one of which stopped transmitting after 38d. In July 2003, an additional four birds were tagged with solar-powered PTTs. During the first two years (November 2003–October 2004), flight patterns of the tagged birds were independent. Interlake flight distances ranged from 16–441km (mean: 111.5km, n = 243), 68.3% being less than 100km and 96% less than 300km. There was no significant difference among the birds in the median length of their interlake flights. The number of days spent at each stopover ranged from 0 (less than 1d) to 153d (mean: 14.4d, n = 250). There was a significant difference among the birds in the number of days spent at each stopover. This difference was due to one very active bird that made 133 interlake flights during the period, visiting 12 different sites, spending a mean 5.2d at each site and travelling 12 600km. There was no significant difference among the other six birds. The seven birds' flights were confined to a 940km north-south range within the Great Rift Valley between Lake Logipi in northern Kenya and Bahi Swamp in central Tanzania. Their key site network consisted of eight alkaline lakes (Logipi, Bogoria, Elmenteita, Nakuru, Natron, Empakai Crater Lake, Manyara and Eyasi), and Lake Bahi, a seasonal lake in central Tanzania. The conservation status of these nine sites varies from well-protected to completely unprotected. None of the birds appears to have bred during either the 2002–2003 or the 2003–2004 breeding seasons (October–January), although other Lesser Flamingos bred at Lake Natron during both seasons, Lake Natron being the only East African site where the Lesser Flamingo has bred successfully during the past 45 years.
Aerial surveys of flamingo breeding colonies were conducted during three consecutive breeding seasons between October 1998 and July 2001, in the south of Sua Pan, Makgadikgadi, Botswana. Rainfall during the rainy seasons of 1998–1999, 1999–2000 and 2000–2001 was 442mm, 851mm and 348mm, respectively, and had a major effect on breeding success of both Lesser and Greater Flamingos. In January 1999, 16 430 pairs of Lesser Flamingos were recorded breeding, but the number of chicks that survived to fledging was unknown owing to the rapid drying of the pan in late March 1999. No Greater Flamingo breeding was seen that season. Exceptional flooding during 1999–2000 produced highly favourable breeding conditions, with numbers of Greater and Lesser Flamingos breeding estimated to be 23 869 and 64 287 pairs, respectively, the highest ever recorded on Sua Pan. Chick survival rate was high and an estimated 18 498 Greater Flamingo chicks and 30 646 Lesser Flamingo chicks fledged. Reduced rainfall in the 2000–2001 wet season resulted in poor breeding conditions, with the total number of adults on the colonies estimated to be 651 pairs of Greater Flamingos and 19 340 pairs of Lesser Flamingos. Rapid drying of the pan in 2000–2001 forced many chicks to walk for over 50km to the last remaining water in the north of the pan, with an estimated 3 000 Lesser Flamingo chicks surviving.
Aerial photographic sample censuses of the flamingoes and pelicans on Lakes Nakuru and Hannington were carried out on four occasions between October 1968 and March 1969. On Lake Nakuru the estimated numbers of flamingoes varied between 172 000 and 401 000, and the pelicans between 6800 and 27 900. There were no pelicans on Lake Hannington, but the number of flamingoes varied between 507 000 and 634 000. It was not possible to distinguish between greater and lesser flamingoes, or between white and pink-backed pelicans on the aerial photographs.
On 28–30 March 1969 a census was carried out on twenty-four lakes, between Lake Hannington in the north and the Singida lakes in the south. The total number of flamingoes seen was just over one million, with 22 000 pelicans.
About 100 000 lesser flamingo nests were counted from aerial photographs taken over Lake Natron in November 1969.
A hitherto unreported breeding site of the Lesser Flamingo Phoeniconaias minor is recorded in the Mweru Wantipa or Mweru Marsh, Northern Rhodesia. The site of the nesting colony, its structure, nest construction and behaviour of the birds is described. The importance of flooding in determining the site of the nesting colony is noted; adverse conditions caused by a rise in the water-level of Lake Mweru Wantipa appear to have completely destroyed the nests. The instability of such environments does not offer much chance of regular and permanent breeding, and may influence local movements on the part of the birds.
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