dc.contributor.author | Bundiwa, Hellen | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2022-05-21T03:33:18Z | |
dc.date.available | 2022-05-21T03:33:18Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2021-01-01 | |
dc.identifier.citation | Bundiwa, H. (2021). An assessment of habitat preferences of marabou storks in Makerere University campus [Unpublished undergraduate dissertation]. Makerere University | en_US |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12281/12876 | |
dc.description | A dissertation submitted to the Department of Environmental Management in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of a Degree of Bachelors of Environmental Science, Makerere University | en_US |
dc.description.abstract | Due to the important role marabou storks play in the environment, this study was conducted at
Makerere University to generate knowledge to enhance conservation of these birds. Marabou
storks are scavengers thereby helping to keep the environment neat and tidy through feeding on
the garbage. The main objective of the study was to generate information that is important in the
conservation of birds in urban areas of Uganda and specifically to assess the: i) habitat
preferences of Marabou Storks at Makerere University campus, ii) influence of tree size on the
number of birds and nests and iii) investigate the population structure of Marabou storks.
Makerere University was divided into 4 transects. Along each transect, all trees measuring dbh
above 0.78m were identified and measured. The number of birds, their age and sex, and nests on
each of these trees was recorded. The total sightings of marabou storks during the study period
were 262 birds in an area of 300 acres (https://www.mak.ac.ug/visting-makerere/main-campus).
Canarium schweinfurthii was the most preferred tree species with an average number of birds of
56 followed by Mangifera Indica with 32, followed by albizia lebeck with 20 birds per tree and
others follow in sequence. The birds preferred indigenous tree species (60 % of sightings)
compared to exotic tree species (40% sightings). Birds preferred trees of large size; the biggest
number of bird sighting was made on trees of 5.38m dbh size with 20 birds followed by trees of
5.82m dbh size with 16 birds. Most birds cited were females (98) compared to males (61) and
unsexed were (95). In this population of marabou storks, there were more adults than young
ones. Since results of this study show that marabou storks prefer indigenous trees of large size,
more indigenous trees should be planted at the university premises while conserving the ones
that already exist. | en_US |
dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
dc.publisher | Makerere University | en_US |
dc.subject | Habitat preferences | en_US |
dc.subject | Marabou stork | en_US |
dc.subject | Makerere University | en_US |
dc.title | An assessment of habitat preferences of marabou storks in Makerere University campus | en_US |
dc.type | Thesis | en_US |