Tree species preference for marabou stork Leptoptilos Crumeniferus nesting in Makerere University

Abstract

The Marabou Stork, Leptoptilos crumeniferus (Lesson) is a wide- spread scavenger in SubSaharan savannas with an estimated global population of 100,000 to 300,000 individuals. In East Africa, it is often closely associated with humans, even breeding in urban environments such as Kampala. Their original habitat was mainly savannas, where they foraged on carcasses of large mammals, but they also scavenged at drying ponds and around bush fires. Over the years, Marabou Storks have become more urbanized frequently breeding and feeding in the city. Before they became urbanized, marabous and most other scavengers timed their breeding to have rapidly growing young when the weather was mainly dry. Makerere University is believed to be a home for more than three quarters of Marabou storks in Kampala. However, recent reports reveal the deliberate killing of the Storks by the institution together with Kampala Capital City Authority through poisoning and felling of Trees. Felling of trees in the university not only leave the Storks homeless but also threatens their survival. The study aimed at identifying the tree species used by Marabou storks for nesting with in Makerere University and examining their morphological characteristics. This study aims at establishing current knowledge in understanding of the nesting ecology and factors affecting nesting habitat selection of marabou stock in Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda. This will lead to marabou stork considerations when designing development programs in Makerere University. Selected roads were used as transects for identification of nesting trees. For each nesting tree, the height was estimated using a clinometer and a DBH meter was used to estimate their Diameter at breast Height. It was found out that Marabou Storks nest on different tree species however these have similar of characteristics such as similar range of height and DBH. It was also found out the number of nests at the university had decreased as compared to the numbers reported in previous literature. The cause of the decline was not clear as they might not have entered their breeding season. Further studies should be conducted to assess whether the reduction in nests is due to the breeding season or other reasons such as poisoning, felling trees or improvements in rubbish collection methods