Project 2-447 Kenya

Partnerships for enhanced engagement in research (PEER) SCIENCE
Cycle 2 (2012 Deadline)

Capacity building in fish biodiversity discovery In Kenya

PI: Dorothy Wanja Nyingi (National Museums of Kenya)

U.S. Partner: Henry Bart, Jr. (Tulane University)
Project Dates: August 2013 to January 2016

Kenya Partnership

Participants in the Biodiversity and Phylogenetics Research Methods Workshop held September 24 to 27 at the National Museums of Kenya in Nairobi (Photo courtesy Dr. Nyingi).

Project Overview

The ichthyology section is the youngest of all the research collection departments at the National Museums of Kenya (NMK). Founded in 1997, the section holds the largest collection of fishes in East and Central Africa. Despite its potential, however, it has suffered from the lack of adequate funding and human capacity. Previous collaboration with Tulane University with funding from the National Science Foundation supported field collections, morphological and genetic analyses, and capacity building of local researchers. However, many gaps remained in field expeditions, specimen curation, data analyses, publication, and dissemination.

The main goal of the PEER project was to support the NMK research team and Kenyan researchers at large in their work on fish species discovery and creation of identification keys. The project involved field excursions to rivers, particularly the mid and lower basins of the Tana and Athi rivers and rivers in northern parts of Kenya. The project also included support for proper curation of fishes at the ichthyology section of NMK, training in phylogenetic analyses, and support for undergraduate and postgraduate student participants.

Final Summary of Project Activities

As part of the project, Kenyan scientists and students received additional training in various components of biodiversity research, specifically taxonomic revisions and new species descriptions, and molecular phylogenetic analyses on DNA sequence data. This allowed unfinished fish taxonomic work to be completed, greatly increasing knowledge of the Kenyan freshwater fish fauna. Researchers sought to impart this knowledge to local indigenous people to increase their desire to protect fish species and their riverine habitats.

The team also sought to improve the state of specimen preservation at NMK through the purchase of supplies for the ichthyological collections. They also added Web-based dissemination of data from the collection. Dr. Nyingi and her colleagues published two papers on their findings, as well as one book chapter co-authored by the PI. The team participated in the Pathways Kenya 2016 International Conference: Integrating Human Dimensions into Fisheries and Wildlife. The PI organized a special session at the conference about conflicts between humans and wildlife in water dependent ecosystems of arid and semi-arid areas, where most of the presentations involved work supported by PEER funding.

The team received a new grant of approximately 24000 euros to study the impact of dams on Kenyan wetlands, funded by the Kenya National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation and the French Embassy in Kenya. The PI was also awarded the Palmes Académiques for exceptional scientific and educational merit by the French ambassador to Kenya.

The project supported two female undergraduate students during internships at the Ichthyology Section under the Kenya Wetlands Biodiversity Research Team, as well as two graduate students for joint projects on freshwater fish diversity work in Lake Turkana.

Publications

Olivier Hamerlynck, Wanja Dorothy Nyingi, Jean-Luc Paul, and Stéphanie Duvail. 2019. The fish-based farming system: maintaining ecosystem health and flexible livelihood portfolios. Chapter 11 in J. Dixon et al. (eds.), Farming Systems and Food Security in Africa, Priorities for Science and Policy Under Global Change (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315658841

Ray C. Schmidt, Henry L. Bart Jr., and Wanja Dorothy Nyingi. 2015. Two new species of African suckermouth catfishes, genus Chiloglanis (Siluriformes: Mochokidae), from Kenya with remarks on other taxa from the area. Zootaxa 4044(1): 45-64. http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4044.1.2

D.J. McCauley, T. E. Dawson, M. E. Power, J. C. Finlay, M. Ogada, D. B. Gower, K. Caylor, W. D. Nyingi, J. M.Githaiga, J. Nyunja, F. H. Joyce, R. L. Lewison, and J. S. Brashares. 2015. Carbon stable isotopes suggest that hippopotamus‐vectored nutrients subsidize aquatic consumers in an East African river. Ecosphere 6(4): 52. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/ES14-00514.1

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