Centre for African Wetlands
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Item Protected but not from Contamination: Antimicrobial Resistance Profiles of Bacteria from Birds in a Ghanaian Forest Protected Area(SAGE, 2021) Modupe, S.L.; Ntiamoa-Baidu, Y.; Henaku, O.E.; Ohya, K.; Masato, S.; Opare, O.J.; Baboreka, K.B.Resistance to antimicrobial agents is a growing concern in public health. It has been reported in wildlife from several places in the world though wild animals are not normally exposed to clinically used antimicrobial agents. Despite this, very little research has been done in Ghana to determine antimicrobial resistance in wild animals, particularly those in protected areas. In this study, the presence of colistin resistant and multidrug resistant (MDR) gram-negative bacteria in cloacal swabs of wild birds captured in a Ghanaian forest protected area were evalu ated. A total of 195 isolates from 138 individual birds were obtained, identified and tested for resistance to colistin. The colistin-resistant isolates were subsequently tested for multidrug resistance to 4 other antimicrobial agents (Oxytetracycline, Streptomycin, Ampicillin and Ciprofloxacin). Colistin resistance was observed in 6.5% (9/138) of the birds and this was seen in only birds that were sampled close to the reception area of the protected area. About 50% of the colistin-resistant isolates were multidrug resistant. AMR isolates were obtained from birds that have been documented to show an insectivorous or omnivorous feeding preference. Data obtained from the study suggests that AMR and MDR occurred in wild birds from the Conservation Area and supports the claim that proximity to human impacted habitats (settlements/farmlands) increased the likelihood of carriage of AMR. Though the routes of transmission remain unclear, there is potential for spread from the wild birds to other wild/ domestic animals and possibly back to humans.Item Low fitness at low latitudes: Wintering in the tropics increases migratory delays and mortality rates in an Arctic breeding shorebird(Journal of Animal Ecology, 2019-10-04) Ntiamoa‐Baidu, Y.; Reneerkens, J.; Versluijs, T.S.L.; Piersma, T.; Alves, J.A.; Boorman, M.; Corse, C.; Gilg, O.; Hallgrimsson, G.T.; Lang, J.; Loos, B.; Nuoh, A.A.; Potts, P.M.; ten Horn, J.; Lok, T.1. Evolutionary theories of seasonal migration generally assume that the costs of longer migrations are balanced by benefits at the non‐breeding destinations. 2. We tested, and rejected, the null hypothesis of equal survival and timing of spring migration for High Arctic breeding sanderling Calidris alba using six and eight winter destinations between 55°N and 25°S, respectively. 3. Annual apparent survival was considerably lower for adult birds wintering in tropical West Africa (Mauritania: 0.74 and Ghana: 0.75) than in three European sites (0.84, 0.84 and 0.87) and in subtropical Namibia (0.85). Moreover, compared with adults, second calendar‐year sanderlings in the tropics, but not in Europe, often refrained from migrating north during the first possible breeding season. During northward migration, tropical‐wintering sanderlings occurred at their final staging site in Iceland 5–15 days later than birds wintering further north or south. Namibia‐wintering sanderlings tracked with solar geolocators only staged in West Africa during southward migration. 4. The low annual survival, the later age of first northward migration and the later passage through Iceland during northward migration of tropical‐wintering sanderlings, in addition to the skipping of this area during northward but not southward migration by Namibia‐wintering sanderlings, all suggest they face issues during the late non‐breeding season in West Africa. 5. Migrating sanderlings defy long distances but may end up in winter areas with poor fitness prospects. We suggest that ecological conditions in tropical West Africa make the fuelling prior to northward departure problematic.Item Understanding drivers of urban bushmeat demand in a Ghanaian market(Biological Conservation, 2019-11-01) Ntiamoa-Baidu, Y.; McNamara, J.; Fa, J.E.Wild meat (or bushmeat) is consumed as a luxury item in many African cities. By contrast, bushmeat is an important source of food and income for many poor households in rural areas. To curb the flow of bushmeat from rural to urban areas, understanding drivers of demand in city markets, and their impact on hunter revenues remains fundamental. Here, we present a simple econometric model for the trade of a commercially important bushmeat species in Ghana, the grasscutter (Thryonomys swinderianus). We explore own-price and cross-price elasticity of demand of grasscutter meat relative to commonly consumed alternative meats (goat, beef, poultry and fish) in the Atwemonom market in Kumasi city, Ghana. We show that: 1) grasscutter demand is elastic to its own price, 2) beef has an elastic cross-price elasticity, and 3) grasscutter is a luxury good, highly sensitive to consumer income. The elastic nature of the market suggests that price control policies e.g. “wild meat” tax, could reduce demand. Given that beef is the best substitute in our study area, we suggest that investment in Ghana’s underdeveloped cattle industry may reduce wildlife demand while also supporting herding economies. Critically, our results demonstrated that policies that aim to reduce bushmeat demand are likely to impact hunter revenues. This finding underscores the need for complimentary investments in the rural economy to drive incomes and offset any revenue losses as a result of a decline in bushmeat demand.Item Seasonal variation in food availability and relative importance of dietary items in the Gambian epauletted fruit bat (Epomophorus gambianus)(Ecology and Evolution, 2019-03-19) Amponsah‐Mensah, K.; Cunningham, A.A.; Wood, J.L.N.; Ntiamoa‐Baidu, Y.1. The Gambian epauletted fruit bat (Epomophorus gambianus) is very common across a variety of West African habitats, but very little information is available on its feeding ecology or its contribution to ecosystem function. 2. We investigated seasonal variation in food availability and the relative importance of dietary items used by this species in a forest‐savannah transitional ecosystem. Dietary items were identified from 1,470 samples of fecal and ejecta pellets which had been collected under day roosts or from captured bats over a 2‐year period (2014–2015). 3. Plant phenology studies illustrated strong seasonal correlations between fruiting and flowering and rainfall patterns: Fruits were available throughout the year but with peaks of abundance during the rainy season, while flowers were mostly abundant during the dry season. Epomophorus gambianus bats utilized fruit and flower resources from 30 plant species. Although the plant species used depended on seasonal availability, there were clear preferences for certain species. 4. Flowers were an important food source for this fruit bat species especially during the dry season, contributing up to 79% of dietary items when fruit abundance was low. Ficus fruits were also important food item for E. gambianus, constituting over 40% of all dietary samples identified. 5. Policy implications. Our results show the importance of flowers in the diet of E. gambianus and highlight this species as an important pollinator and seed disperser, including for economically and ecologically important plant species. These findings contribute to an improved understanding of the ecological importance and potential role of this species in the forest‐savannah transition ecosystem for the development of fruit bat conservation management strategies.Item Adaptive Capacity of Farmers to Climate Change in the Kassena Nankana Municipality of Ghana: Implications for climate adaptation strategies(West African Journal of Applied Ecology, 2018) Kabobah, L.; Nukpezah, D.; Ntiamoa-Baidu, Y.This study analyzed factors that contribute to the adaptive capacity of farmers based on their settlement types and use/access to five forms of capital assets (natural, social, financial, physical and human). The use/access to assets were estimated and categorized into high, moderate and low adaptive capacities. The data was based on a survey of 155 farmers from three communities in the Kassena Nankana Municipality of the Upper East Region of Ghana. From the findings, Manyoro, the urban community, recorded the highest adaptive score although their illiteracy level was highest. Low adaptive farmers had low access to credits and alternative livelihoods compared to farmers with high adaptive capacity. Access to irrigation had a positive significant influence on adaptive capacity. In general, the more accessible a resource was to a farmer, the more adaptable that farmer was to climate change. Following the findings of this study, it is important that policy interventions in the area prioritize creation and encouragement in alternative livelihoods sources as a means of increasing the adaptive capacity of famers in the rural and semi-urban areas. Also, private and government institutions should invest in irrigation and credits facilities as measures for economic growth and adaptation to the effects of climate change on agriculture. Farmers should be empowered through better extension and agroclimatic information and other affordable modern technologies.Item The Gambian epauletted fruit bat shows increased genetic divergence in the Ethiopian highlands and in an area of rapid urbanization(Ecology and Evolution, 2018-12) Riesle-Sbarbaro, S.A.; Amponsah-Mensah, K.; de Vries, S.; Nicolas, V.; Lalis, A.; Suu-Ire, R.; Cunningham, A.A.; Wood, J.L.N.; Sargan, D.R.The Gambian epauletted fruit bat (Epomophorus gambianus) is an abundant species that roosts in both urban and rural settings. The possible role of E. gambianus as a reservoir host of zoonotic diseases underlines the need to better understand the species movement patterns. So far, neither observational nor phylogenetic studies have identified the dispersal range or behavior of this species. Comparative analyses of mitochondrial and nuclear markers from 20 localities across the known distribution of E. gambianus showed population panmixia, except for the populations in Ethiopia and southern Ghana (Accra and Ve‐Golokwati). The Ethiopian population may be ancestral and is highly divergent to the species across the rest of its range, possibly reflecting isolation of an ancient colonization along an east–west axis. Mitochondrial haplotypes in the Accra population display a strong signature of a past bottleneck event; evidence of either an ancient or recent bottleneck using microsatellite data, however, was not detected. Demographic analyses identified population expansion in most of the colonies, except in the female line of descent in the Accra population. The molecular analyses of the colonies from Ethiopia and southern Ghana show gender dispersal bias, with the mitochondrial DNA fixation values over ten times those of the nuclear markers. These findings indicate free mixing of the species across great distances, which should inform future epidemiological studies.Item Why do some Sanderlings Calidris alba winter in the Wadden Sea while others prefer tropical beaches?(Limosa, 2009-12) Reneerkens, J.; Grond, K.; Koomson, E.; Ntiamoa-Baidu, Y.; Piersma, T.Sanderlings Calidris alba occur worldwide along sandy beaches and have a wide range of non-breeding locations in different climate zones. Previous studies clearly indicated that ambient temperatures have profound effects on daily energy expenditures of Sanderlings. In this study we investigated the foraging ecology of Sanderlings on beaches near Esiama, Ghana and on the Wadden Sea island of Vlieland, The Netherlands. The diet was very different at the two locations. In Vlieland the birds fed predominantly on the polychaete Scolelepis squamata whereas a small shellfish Donax rugosus was taken in Esiama (Fig. 4,5). The latter prey item was very abundant in Esiama where a band of 2-14 m width containing densities of 5,700-14,300 individuals per m2 occurred. This resulted in caloric energy intake rates of 8 kJ/h foraging time in Vlieland and 130 kJ/h in Ghana. On Vlieland the birds spent on average 79% of their time foraging and in Esiama this was only 36% and most time (58 %) was spent resting (Fig. 2). We argue, however, that during the long resting breaks on roosts, Sanderlings in Ghana were in fact digesting and emptying their gut and intestines from indigestable shell remains. During future studies we plan to study annual and seasonal survival of sanderlings wintering at different latitudes in relation to disease risk and prédation probability.Item Ebola, Bats and Evidence-Based Policy(EcoHealth, 2015-08) Wood, J.L.N.; Cunningham, A.A.; Suu-Ire, R.D.; Jephcott, F.L.; Ntiamoa-Baidu, Y.At the time of writing, West Africa is still dealing with the worst known Ebola epidemic . Quite rightly, the international focus has been on reducing the transmission rate of this dise a se until it is eradicated from the human population. Once the epidemic curve has declined to this point, scientific attention should be re - directed to the prevention of future zoonotic outbreaks. There already has been much written on how the West African epidemic might have been sparked, but speculation often has been presented as fact and in some cases has been contrary to available evidence. Such inaccurate reporting on the drivers of the emergence of this epidemic is unfortunate , as this can influence p olicy decisions while failing to identify how Ebola and other serious zoonoses should be controlledItem Characterising wildlife trade market supply-demand dynamics(Public Library of Science, 2016) McNamara, J.; Rowcliffe, M.; Cowlishaw, G.; Alexander, J.S.; Ntiamoa-Baidu, Y.; Brenya, A.; Milner-Gulland, E.J.The trade in wildlife products can represent an important source of income for poor people, but also threaten wildlife locally, regionally and internationally. Bushmeat provides livelihoods for hunters, traders and sellers, protein to rural and urban consumers, and has depleted the populations of many tropical forest species. Management interventions can be targeted towards the consumers or suppliers of wildlife products. There has been a general assumption in the bushmeat literature that the urban trade is driven by consumer demand with hunters simply fulfilling this demand. Using the urban bushmeat trade in the city of Kumasi, Ghana, as a case study, we use a range of datasets to explore the processes driving the urban bushmeat trade.We characterise the nature of supply and demand by explicitly considering three market attributes: resource condition, hunter behaviour, and consumer behaviour. Our results suggest that bushmeat resources around Kumasi are becoming increasingly depleted and are unable to meet demand, that hunters move in and out of the trade independently of price signals generated by the market, and that, for the Kumasi bushmeat system, consumption levels are driven not by consumer choice but by shortfalls in supply and consequent price responses. Together, these results indicate that supply-side processes dominate the urban bushmeat trade in Kumasi. This suggests that future management interventions should focus on changing hunter behaviour, although complementary interventions targeting consumer demand are also likely to be necessary in the long term. Our approach represents a structured and repeatable method to assessing market dynamics in information-poor systems. The findings serve as a caution against assuming that wildlife markets are demand driven, and highlight the value of characterising market dynamics to informappropriate management.