A preliminary species checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Kakamega Forest, Western Kenya, is presented. The species list is based on specimens sampled from 1999 until 2009, which are deposited in the ant collection of the Zoological Research Museum Koenig, Bonn, Germany, and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, United States. The known ant fauna comprises 11 subfamilies with 52 genera and 288 species. This species richness is the second highest reported from the Afrotropical zoogeographical region. The observed ant fauna can be divided into a group of forest habitat species with approximately 180 species and another group, which consists of about 100 species, of open habitat specialists. The greatest part of the ant fauna (204 species or 71%) could be identified to species level but the rest remains unidentifiable or undescribed (84 species or 29%). The preliminary data from the observed ant fauna seems to support the hypothesis that Kakamega Forest is the eastern-most remnant of the former Guineo-Congolian rain forest belt, while the zoogeographical influence from East African Afromontane forests seems to be less significant.

Biodiversity surveys and the compilation of indigenous knowledge were conducted in eight previously unstudied proposed and already gazetted Forest Reserves of Mtwara Region, south-eastern Tanzania, from April to August of 2005. The results indicate relatively low biodiversity and endemism values in these forests, and high levels of forest disturbance. In most areas the original vegetation has been converted by clearance for cultivation and by fire, and has regenerated into degraded forms of Swahilian/Coastal Mixed Dry Forest, Swahilian/Coastal Brachystegia Forest and floristically impoverished Zambezian-Swahilian Brachystegia Woodland. Some Coastal Forest endemic and threatened species, however, occur in the degraded forest patches, such as east coast akalat Sheppardia gunningi, Reichenow's batis Batis mixta reichenowi, spotted flat-lizard Platysaurus maculatus, woodland toad Mertensophryne micranotis and the shrub Gardenia transvenulosa. The low proportion of endemic and threatened species recorded implies that these forests are of modest biological importance within the context of the Eastern Arc Mountains and Coastal Forests Biodiversity Hotspot. Nevertheless, local inhabitants depend heavily on the long-termavailability of timber and non-timber resources and water and soil regulation services from these forests. The development and implementation of effective natural resource management is therefore urgently needed in this area.

To evaluate bird use of a widespread matrix habitat in forested landscapes of western Uganda, I used mist nets to compare bird communities in the understory of continuous forest and adjacent banana plantations. Frugivorous and insectivorous birds accounted for a higher proportion of captures in the forest habitat than in banana plantations, whereas nectarivores were more common in banana plantations. For the western olive sunbird Cyanomitra obscura, a nectarivore that uses both forest and banana plantation habitats, I used demographics, body condition, and correlates of male dominance to evaluate habitat quality. The sex ratios from the banana plantation and forest samples were not significantly different, nor was there any difference in body size, condition, or male badge size between the forest and banana plantations. These results suggest that banana plantations may provide suitable habitat for some nectarivores, but are of limited value for small birds that eat invertebrates and fruit.

Zaraninge Forest, part of the Coastal Forest Biodiversity Hotspot of Tanzania, is threatened by human activities. The effect of such activities on the ecology of the forest is less known. Nested quadrat sampling technique was used along preestablished transect lines. Trees had a stem density of 521 ha-¹, the majority falling in Diameter at Breast Height (DBH) size classes 9.5 to 44.9 cm. There was no significant difference in species diversity between sampling areas, which had a Shannon's diversity index ranging from 1.64 to 2.63. PCA identified two vegetation sample groups with Baphia kirkii, Cynometra webberi, C. brachyrachis, Scorodophloeus fischeri and Tessmannia burttii being abundant in both groups. TWINSPAN revealed three vegetation communities: Community A was fragmented woodlands characterized by the effects of fire and exploitation and having few remaining individuals of the valuable timber trees Afzelia quanzensis and Pterocarpus angolensis; community B was growing in a moist ecologically rich habitat and included rare species (Inhambanella henriquesii), endemic species (T. burttii, C. brachyrachis and S. fischeri); and community C had dry habitats dominated by C. webberi and C. brachyrachis. We conclude that habitat characteristics, fire, past and the present exploitation clearly influence the species diversity, distribution and variation in vegetation communities. The results are discussed in context of current and future management plans for this ecologically important forest.

An investigation was conducted on the effects of a naming contest for the Sagalla caecilian Boulengerula niedeni on Sagalla peoples' perspectives about this critically endangered subterranean amphibian. The study found that having an indigenous name, “kilima-mrota”, for this amphibian allowed local people to differentiate it from earthworms and snakes, which is helpful in promoting its conservation.

Two specimens of Peplidium maritimum (L.f.) Asch. (Scrophulariaceae / Phrymaceae) are recorded from the Indian Ocean coastline of Kenya, representing the first record of this species and genus for the Flora of Tropical East Africa. The generic key for the Flora volume is revised to accommodate this addition and a description is provided, together with notes on its distribution, habitat requirements and conservation status. The first Kenyan records of Limnophila indica (L.) Druce and Lindernia zanzibarica Eb.Fisch. & Hepper are also noted.