http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/6 Thu, 23 Apr 2026 10:57:43 GMT 2026-04-23T10:57:43Z http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/19824 Water Quality Parameters Effect on Zooplankton Distribution, Diversity, and Abundance in Water Pans in Semi-Arid Narok Socio-Ecological Landscape, Kenya Dorine Were, Reuben Omondi, Henry Ouma, Paul Angienda, Romulus Abila Water pans in the semi-arid Narok County are essential resources supporting domestic use, livestock production, small-scale irrigation, and aquatic biodiversity. However, these systems face increasing threats from climate variability, population growth, and land-use pressures that alter water quality and ecosystem functioning. Limited empirical data linking specific water-quality stressors such as elevated nitrogen and phosphorus, turbidity, and conductivity to zooplankton populations and ecosystem services hinders effective management in this landscape. This study examined the distribution, diversity, and abundance of zooplankton in relation to water-quality variations and contrasting land-use practices across 20 water pans in the Narok socio-ecological system. Monthly sampling was conducted in February, June, and July 2023, representing the late dry season, early wet season, and postrainy period. Physico-chemical parameters were measured in situ, while nutrients and chlorophyll-a were analyzed using APHA 2017 standard protocols. Chlorophyll-a ranged from 19.08 ± 1.05 µg/L (M118) to 176.61 ± 140.19 µg/L (M396). TN varied from 393.00 ± 30.25 µg/L (M100) to 2,609.43 ± 52.47 µg/L (M392), and TP ranged from 295.43 to 1331.14 µg/L. Zooplankton communities were dominated by Rotifera (48.9%), followed by Copepoda (25.8%), Cladocera (19.9%), and Ostracoda (5%). Taxa richness increased from the dry season (14.21 ± 0.79) to the wet season (16.43 ± 0.67; 4(1), 2026 Original Article p = 0.043), while Shannon-Wiener Index rose from 1.76 to 1.96 and Simpson’s Index reached 10.72. Diversity and richness showed a negative correlation with TN, indicating nutrient enrichment as a major stressor. The dominance of stress-tolerant Rotifers in nutrient-rich pans reflected catchment land-use influences. Conserving these semi-arid water pans through riparian buffer restoration, controlled livestock access, and improved water abstraction is important for sustaining zooplankton biodiversity and ecological integrity. Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/19824 2026-04-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/19823 Prioritizing underground roosts for bat conservation in Kenya Millicent J. Bungei, Sospeter Kibiwot, Irene B. Tieleman, Johnstone K. Kimanzi, Bruce D. Patterson, Paul W. Webala Identifying key wildlife resources is vital for lasting conservation efforts. Bats disperse seeds, pollinate plants, consume insects, and support cave-dependent organisms. However, they face significant threats from habitat loss, fragmentation, degradation, mining, cave tourism, cave closures, evictions, and superstitious persecution. Most of Kenya's bat species roost in caves outside the country's 10% of protected areas, where cave conditions and species remain largely unknown. We employed the Scalable Bat Cave Vulnerability Index (BCVI-S) to assess the conservation priorities of bat cave roosts in Kenya, aiming to identify the most vulnerable ones and establish priorities for effective conservation. BCVI-S has two components: (1) Biotic Potential (BP), which evaluates cave's ecological value through bat species richness, abundance, and the presence of threatened and endemic species, and (2) Biotic Vulnerability (BV),which measures human disturbance. Bat assemblages in protected area caves was different than those on unprotected community lands, with Otomops harrisoni contributing to differences between these two groups. Bat species diversity declined near urban areas. Caves with threatened species showed moderate vulnerability, which demonstrates the importance of targeted conservation efforts. Caves in protected areas showed greater Biotic Potential and lower vulnerability scores than those on unprotected community lands. These findings justify the need to incorporate species-level data and indicators of human intrusion in conserving cave-dwelling bats. The BCVI-S is a structured tool for identifying those caves, which are vulnerable, leading to their preservation, planning, empowering local management, and supporting evidence-based policy development. Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/19823 2026-04-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/19822 New parajeilongviruses detected in bats but not in humans: assays for screening and diagnostic purposes Emilia Pulkkinen, Reilly Jackson, Ruut Joensuu, Essi M. Korhonen, Moses Muia Masika, Omu Anzala, Joseph G. Ogola, Paul W. Webala, Tamika J. Lunn, Kristian M. Forbes, Olli Vapalahti, Tuure Kinnunen, Tarja Sironen, Anne J. Jääskeläinen To enhance preparedness against existing and new zoonotic viruses such as Hendra virus, Nipah virus, and other paramyxoviruses, screening tools and efficient diagnostic methods are needed. Here, we established a conventional nested pan-PCR assay using previously described primers for screening of human and bat samples. Additionally, we developed specific real-time RT-PCR (RT-qPCR) assays to detect Nipah virus and Hendra virus genotypes 1 and 2. Both PCR methods demonstrated good performance and could be used for screening of paramyxoviruses. Human serum and cerebrospinal fluid samples from 558 Finnish patients and 60 serum samples from Kenyan patients were screened using the nested-panPCR assay, and all were negative. In addition, we screened 340 synanthropic bat samples collected during 2021 and 2023 from Kenya, resulting in the discovery of two parajeilongviruses in Angolan free-tailed bat (Mops condylurus) samples. Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/19822 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/19821 Morphological Stasis in Wing Traits Despite Species Diversification in African and Malagasy Miniopterus Bats Stefania Briones, Roberta Mason-Gamer, Steven M. Goodman, Terrence C. Demos, Paul W. Webala, Bruce D. Patterson Islands often give rise to adaptive radiations, owing to the absence of mainland competitors and predators. The long-fingered bats (Miniopterusspp.) provide an opportunity to examine this pattern, as the genus includes sister radiations on Madagascar and on the African mainland. We measured wing elements related to flight in these two Miniopterus sister clades: one with 12 species from Madagascar and the other with nine species from Kenya, representing a comparable area of continental Africa. Principal component analysis revealed that Miniopterus species cluster within a narrow region of morphospace, with PC1 representing a size gradient that explains 93.6% of the variance in seven wing measurements. A phylomorphospace analysis integrating a resolved species phylogeny demonstrated that closely related species often occupy similar regions of morphospace, particularly among the smaller Malagasy taxa. Euclidean distance matrices showed similar nearest, average, and farthest neighbor values between Kenya and Madagascar, indicating strong morphological resemblance. Multivariate dispersion analysis yielded an observed mean dispersion of 1.8137, which did not significantly differ from a randomized expectation (p=0.08819), suggesting that species are not more regularly or unevenly distributed than expected by chance. These findings indicate limited shape divergence in wing morphology between these two Miniopterus radiations. This work highlights the complexity of detecting adaptive patterns and suggests the need to incorporate broader ecological and behavioral data when studying diversification in bats. Sat, 01 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/19821 2025-03-01T00:00:00Z