Global Vision International

East Africa

Expedition Report 06-3

10th July – 18th September 2006

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The achievements of the Global Vision International East Africa expedition over the previous
three months would not have been possible without the support, hard work and dedication of
the following people. We extend our sincerest appreciation and gratitude.

GVI East Africa Local Partners:

Kenya Wildlife Service

Mohamed Omar Said Omar, Tom Amisi Amulavu and all the wardens and staff at the KWS
Kisite-Mpunguti Headquarters in Shimoni and KWS Coast Headquarters in Mombasa.
Kwale District Education Department
J.W Chiuri
Kenya Marine & Fisheries Research Institute
Edward Kimani and all the research staff at Mombasa Headquarters
One Earth Safaris
Ranjit Sondhi, and the staff at Shimoni Reef Lodge and Mombasa Reef Hotel.
National Museums of Kenya
Jimbi Katana and the staff at the Mombasa and Ukunda offices.

The committee members, staff and students of Mkwiro Primary School, the committee
members, staff and children of Al-Hanan Orphanage, the committee and members of; Mkwiro
Village Committee, Mkwiro Youth Group, Tumaini Women’s Group, Shimoni Village Council,
Shimoni Slave Cave Committee, Shimoni Youth Conservation Project, Shimoni Conservation
Committee. The community members of Mkwiro and Shimoni, for their friendship, enthusiasm
and support.

Global Vision International head office staff

Richard Walton, Sophie Greatwood, Steve Gwenin, Tabitha Cooper, Rowana Walton, Paul
Jones, Amy Collins, Andy Woods-Ballard, Alexis Bleasdale, Deborah Reeves, Ian Redgewell,
and all the other staff that support the expedition behind the scenes.
Global Vision International East Africa expedition staff
Graham Corti, Rachel Crouthers, Sara Trafford, Piet Oudejans, Kyla Graham, Hugo Félix,
Lisa Pepperell and Warren Young.

2
Expedition Members
Tessa Baker, Marissa Barrera, Alysse Bezahler, Nigel Brookes, Natasha Constant, Jo

Coulson, Mauricio Estrada Hernandez, Maria Alejandra Estrada Saenz, David Forbes,

Joseph Grinnell, Jonathon Gurney, Emily Jack-Scott, Angela Halliwell, Stuart Hague, Joseph

Henry, Jennifer Hutton, Meghan Lockwood, Ellie Maddox, Roisin Manning, Nicola Meldrum,

Daphne Patterson, Mariusz Pawlowski, Felicity Pointer, Wendy Powell, Hilary Sayer, Susan

Sparks, Kirsty Spaven and Nico Strang.

3
TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 2

INTRODUCTION 7

Global Vision International 7

Global Vision International East Africa 9

BACKGROUND 10

EXPEDITION TRAINING 13

MARINE RESEARCH PROGRAMME 16

Introduction 16

Aims 17

Methods 18
Vessel based dolphin survey methods 18
Vessel based dolphin survey forms 22
Boat based mega fauna surveys 26
Land based dolphin and mega-fauna surveys 27
Land based forms 28

Results and Discussion 30

Bottlenose Dolphins 33
Humpback Dolphins 35
Marine Mega Fauna 36

Conclusions and future work 37

TERRESTRIAL RESEARCH PROGRAMME 39

Introduction 39

Aims 40

Methods 41
Line Transect Sampling 41
Primate Community Survey 42
Primate Behavioural Observations 43
Vegetation & Regeneration Survey 43
Disturbance Survey 44
Habitat Survey 44
Casual Observations of Other Fauna 45

Results and Discussion 45

Line Transect Sampling 45
Primate Community Survey 46
Primate Behavioural Observations 47

4
 Vegetation & Regeneration Survey 48
Disturbance Survey 49
Ground and canopy cover surveys 53
Casual Wildlife Observations 55

Discussion and further work 56

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME 58

Introduction 58

Timetable of Activities 58
School Program Timetable 58
Weekly analysis of activities 59
Daily Activities 62

Teaching English 64
Mkwiro School Lessons and Mkwiro Primary School Development 64
Adult Education 66

Orphanage work 69

Community groups and initiatives: Introduction 71

Fishing Trips 73
Drumming 73
Mwaozi Tumbe Village Tour 74
Cooking lessons 75
Beehive keeping 75
HIV/Aids Awareness 76
Mkwiro Dispensary 77
Mkwiro Garment Industry 78
Recycling 79
Roles in a committee workshop 80
Shimoni Slave Cave Committee 80
Tumaini Women’s Group 80
Water Storage/Purification 81
Village Community Fund 82

Fundraising 82

Other community based activities 83

Concerns and funding of individuals in the community 84

NATIONAL SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMME 85

OVERALL ACHIEVEMENTS 85

CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE AIMS 86

REFERENCES 88

APPENDIX 89

5
 Table of Figures
FIGURE 1: DOLPHIN SPECIES IN KENYAN COAST (PEDDEMONNS V.M, 1999) 24
FIGURE 2: VESSEL AND LAND BASED SURVEY EFFORTS 31
FIGURE 3: COMPARISON OF EFFORT AND NUMBER OF SIGHTINGS BY RESEARCH PLATFORM 31
FIGURE 4: SURVEY EFFORT BY VESSEL 31
FIGURE 7: COMPARISON OF SIGHTINGS AND SURVEYS FROM VESSELS 32
FIGURE 8: NUMBER OF DOLPHIN PHOTOS TAKEN DURING EXPEDITION 06-3 33
FIGURE 9: PERCENTAGE OF SURVEYS DURING TIDAL STATES 34
FIGURE 10: REACTION OF DOLPHIN SPECIES TO RESEARCH VESSEL 34
FIGURE 11: DOLPHIN SIGHTINGS FORM LAND BASE AND TIME OF DAY 35
FIGURE 12: PROPORTION OF VESSEL BASED AND LAND BASED TURTLE SIGHTINGS 37
FIGURE 13: COMPARISON OF TURTLE SIGHTINGS BETWEEN EXPEDITIONS 37
FIGURE 14: RESEARCH SITE 40
FIGURE 15: TRANSECTS CUT 46
FIGURE 16: COLOBUS DISTRIBUTION RESEARCH 46
FIGURE 17: SIGHTING OF COLOBUS MONKEYS AT DIFFERENT DISTANCES FROM THE TRANSECT
LINE 47
FIGURE 18: REPRESENTATION ANALYSIS OF PLANT SPECIES IDENTIFIED 49
FIGURE 19: DISTURBANCE ON TRANSECT 1 50
FIGURE 20: DISTURBANCE ON TRANSECT 2 50
FIGURE 21: DISTURBANCE ON TRANSECT 3 51
FIGURE 22: DISTURBANCE ON TRANSECT 4 51
FIGURE 23: DISTURBANCE ON TRANSECT 5 52
FIGURE 24: DISTURBANCE ON TRANSECT 7 52
FIGURE 25: OVERVIEW OF THE CANOPY COVER ON THE SIX TRANSECTS 54
FIGURE 26: POLYNOMIAL FIT OF THE SECOND ORDER (PARABOLA) THROUGH THE CANOPY COVER
ON ALL SIX TRANSECTS 55
FIGURE 29: EXPEDITION 06-3 WEEKLY TIMETABLE DURING SCHOOL TERM TIME (CLASS IN
BRACKETS; STANDARDS 4-8) 60
FIGURE 30: EXPEDITION 06-3 WEEKLY COMMUNITY TIMETABLE DURING HOLIDAY 60
FIGURE 31: HOURS SPENT IN THE COMMUNITY WEEKS 5 - 10 62
FIGURE 32: DAILY ORGANISATION OF COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES 63
FIGURE 33: MKWIRO SCHOOL TIMETABLE FOR GVI 65
FIGURE 34: POTENTIAL TOURISM ACTIVITIES IDENTIFIED FOR THE MKWIRO COMMUNITY 73

6
INTRODUCTION

Global Vision International

Global Vision International (GVI) aims to build local capacity to support conservation through
long-term, sustainable community development. GVI was formed in 1998 to provide support
and services to international charities, non-governmental, non-profit and governmental
organisations. Through our international network of 50 professional personnel and 50
projects in over 20 countries GVI continues to support many of the most critical and
humanitarian projects around the world.

GVI is a non-political, non-religious organisation, which through its alliance with local
organisations throughout the world provides opportunities to Expedition Members to fill a
critical void in the fields of environmental research, conservation, education and community
development. To date, over 2000 volunteers have joined projects resulting in significant direct
financial and practical support.

GVI sources and supplies long-term experienced staff (1 to every 4 Expedition Members),
trained people, equipment and funds directly to local organisations, government
organisations, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and universities. This immediately
increases the short-term capacity of the local groups to monitor their local environment and
trains local people and researchers to assist in this vital work.

Through the work of GVI programmes, and its in country training, GVI increases the long
term capacity of the local organisations and communities, assisting them to both utilise their
resources and monitor the effect of this use. Thus, it helps the local populations to acquire
the capacity to monitor the effects of development, and enables them to decide between
short-term profit and long-term, sustainable revenue.

GVI’s local partners select the projects they feel are of the highest priorities, work they either
want to initiate but have not had the resources to previously, or ongoing programmes that
they wish to expand through GVI’s additional resources. The partners choose the
methodologies that they feel are most useful locally and that can be compared on a regional

7
level. The Expedition Members’ contributions fund the programmes, and, through training
with the experienced GVI staff, it is the Expedition Members that undertake the work.

It has been shown in several instances that with suitable and rigorous training programmes,
non-specialised volunteers can provide useful and reliable baseline data for use in
conservation management strategies. All Expedition Members undergo a rigorous training
programme, learning prior to arrival and through the entire expedition. All Expedition
Members must pass both theoretical and practical in field examinations (95% and 100%
respectively), on species recognition and research techniques prior to joining the survey
teams with retesting during the expedition. All survey teams and data are checked by the
experienced staff prior to being accepted. Thus the standard of knowledge of the surveyors,
and the baseline standard of the data collected, is quantified.

GVI employs both international and local national staff to organise the Expedition Members
and co-ordinate the programme, and the Expedition Member’s work alongside local people,
researchers and teachers. This is an essential part of all GVI programmes. Each year, GVI
invites 30 to 35 local researchers, students, environmentalists and teachers to join the
expeditions for free, training and working alongside the GVI Expedition Members. Thus GVI
recruits and funds 1 to 2 full time nationals per expedition.

All expeditions focus upon the promotion of their individual partners’ area, and each project
complies with one or more of the criteria summarised below:
1. Increase scientific knowledge and interest in the area
2. Increase conservation value for the area
3. Local community cultural and environmental awareness
4. Local community training
5. Tourist cultural and environmental awareness and training
6. Increased sustainable revenue to the local communities

Thus, GVI facilitates local groups to record and document their local area and the effects
local development is having upon it. GVI aims to draw in international partners to help
conserve the area, brings in funding for the local groups and draws in other international
researchers, whom all spend monies in the local communities. GVI discusses the effects
observed with the local communities, businessmen, governmental groups, and allow them to

8
draw their own conclusions. GVI aids local communities directly through assisting with
funding, direct manpower where needed, helping them with their own initiatives, and through
English Language lessons, this allowing them greater access to the tourism revenues. Within
some of the areas that GVI operates, this is as an alternative to other kinds of resource use,
such as poaching and petroleum. Additionally, the programme is aimed to allow local people
to access the tourism, rather than immigrants to the area from richer areas or countries,
whom utilise the resources of the local communities, develop the area and take the benefits.
GVI aims to present cultural and environmental presentations to tourists and local community
members, providing information on the history of the area, the people and the impact of the
varied uses of the area’s resources. This leads to the overall aim of assisting local
communities to utilise their resources in a sustainable way. GVI assists in accessing
sustainable sources of income, through promotion of the area and in direct recruitment of
responsible tourists. In addition, the science and community training programmes enable
them to monitor their environment to judge if the use of their resources is sustainable. Thus,
through successful, sustainable use of resources, the conservation of the area is assured as
it is this resource that the sustainable revenue relies upon.

Global Vision International East Africa

The Global Vision International (GVI) East Africa expedition was initiated in January 2006
and is based on Wasini Island on the Southern Coast of Kenya, in the community of Mkwiro
village. Wasini Island lies approximately 1km South of the Shimoni peninsula in Kwale
District, Coast Province, close to the border with Tanzania. Expedition activities are centred
around the Kisite-Mpunguti Marine Protected Area (KMMPA), which lies to the South of
Wasini Island, and falls under the jurisdiction and management of the Kenya Wildlife Service
(KWS). The marine programme research activities are undertaken within the KMMPA and
surrounding areas incorporating Wasini Channel and Funzi Bay. The terrestrial research
programme is focussed on an area of coastal forest in the South-East corner of Shimoni
peninsula, next to Shimoni village. The majority of activities under the community programme
are focussed on Mkwiro village, with some activities that support community initiatives in
Shimoni village. The GVI East Africa expedition is a partnership primarily with KWS
supporting their research and management objectives in respect of the KMMPA. Additional
partners in the area include Kwale District Education Department, National Museums of
Kenya and Kenya Marine & Fisheries Research Institute as well as a number of community

9
based organisations in Mkwiro and Shimoni. Expedition members are trained by GVI’s
international expedition staff to conduct research and community development activities on
behalf of our national and local partners. This report summarises the marine and terrestrial
programmes’ research activities and the community programme’s community development
and capacity building activities over the 10 week period of the 06-3 expedition, between 10th
July and 18th September 2006.

BACKGROUND

GVI’s scientific research and community development activities in Kenya are carried out on
behalf of our local partners, at their request, addressing areas that they have identified as
priorities in terms of research and capacity building. Methodologies and activities have been
implemented in response to their needs. GVI merely facilitates the achievement of their
objectives through the provision of experienced staff, trained personnel, equipment and
resources. GVI East Africa currently operates in support of 14 partner organisations, 4 of
which are governmental, 1 is non-governmental and 9 of which are community based
organisations, as follows:

The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS); a governmental organisation responsible for the
management of Kenya’s National Parks, National Reserves and wildlife. The marine research
programme is undertaken in direct support of their objectives for the management of the
KMMPA. The community programme is also undertaken at their request to build capacity
within the Mkwiro community which so far does not receive the economic benefit from tourism
that is evident in both neighbouring Wasini and Shimoni villages. The terrestrial programme
and community development activities in Shimoni also support the organisation’s objectives
for community outreach.

Kwale District Education Department; a local government department responsible for

school education in the district. GVI East Africa is supporting the national curriculum for
primary schools in English language learning at Mkwiro Primary School. Expedition Members
under the supervision of GVI teaching staff take English classes for standards 4 to 8 during
term time with additional environmental education activities outside of term time. All activities
in the school are undertaken in liaison with the teaching staff and Mkwiro Primary School
Committee, a community based organisation.

10
National Museums of Kenya (NMK); a governmental organisation with responsibility for the
management of Kenya’s national historic and cultural monuments and, through their Coastal
Forest Conservation Unit, the protection of forest biodiversity. The terrestrial research
programme supports coastal forest biodiversity research, whilst Expedition Member
involvement with the Shimoni Slave Cave nature trail, an area that falls under the protection
and management of National Museums of Kenya, directly supports the organisation’s
management aims. Further to this, Expedition Members have conducted work on the historic
monuments in Shimoni in support of National Museums of Kenya’s Shimoni Development
Proposal.

Kenya Marine & Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI); a governmental research

organisation responsible or marine research and conservation in support of national
objectives and international collaborations. As GVI’s marine research programme develops it
is expected that we will be able to support a number of the organisation’s research objectives
including baseline cetacean research and marine habitat monitoring.

World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA); an international non-governmental

organisation concerned with animal welfare. The organisation is planning to work in
collaboration with KWS on anti-whaling awareness in Kenya and restore Kenya as a voting
representative on the International Whaling Commission. Expedition Members supported the
organisation’s awareness campaign through a community initiative that will build capacity for
income generation through the recycling of rubbish washed up on Kenya’s coast. GVI East
Africa has also provided volunteers to assist in the organisation’s environmental awareness
activities at the Zanzibar International Film Festival.

Al-Hanan Orphanage Committee; a community based organisation that runs the orphanage
in Mkwiro, accepting children throughout Kwale District who can not be supported by their
relatives. The orphanage is entirely reliant upon donations, primarily coming from Islamic
organisations throughout the South coast. The organisation also receives donations from the
Global Vision International Charitable Trust to improve the conditions and facilities.
Expedition Members have visited the orphanage to undertake activities with the children and
provide more practical assistance in the development and maintenance of their dormitories.

11
Mkwiro Village Committee; a community based organisation that oversees the interests of
the Mkwiro community. Expedition Members have delivered adult education classes to
support English language acquisition in the community, participated in a variety of workshops
and GVI East Africa is helping set up a community fund so that proceeds from tourism and
other community initiatives can be administered for the benefit of the whole community.

Mkwiro Youth Conservation Group; a community based organisation with the objective of
furthering health and environmental education in the community and developing alternative
sources of income generation including accessing tourism. Expedition Members have worked
closely alongside members of this organisation to develop workshops and the Mkwiro Village
Tour with its associated tourism activities.

Tumaini Womens Group; a community based women’s group in Mkwiro that make
traditional hand crafts for sale primarily to tourists. Expedition members have been working
with the organisation to help develop products for the tourist market and to aid the marketing
of their products.

Shimoni Slave Cave Committee; a community based organisation that has been delegated
responsibility by National Museums of Kenya to manage and operate the tourism at Shimoni
Slave Cave, a gazetted national monument. The committee operates a guided walk in to the
cave and are looking to develop the tour further by incorporating a nature trail through the
forest above the cave which by default is also under protection from National Museums of
Kenya. The guided tour targets tourists visiting KMMPA and also attracts school parties from
across Kenya, Shimoni’s history featuring in the national curriculum. Proceeds from the Slave
Cave tour go towards a Shimoni community fund which pays for teachers in the local primary
schools, scholarships for students to attend secondary school, pharmaceuticals for the local
dispensary and other community projects. Expedition members have been assisting the
committee in developing their nature trail.

Shimoni Youth Conservation Project (SYCP); a community based organisation that aims
to promote environmental awareness, responsible management of natural resources and
development of sustainable sources of income generation. Members of SYCP have joined
expedition members during their forest biodiversity training and research activities as part of
a capacity building programme to enable them to manage and monitor their natural

12
resources. Under the stewardship of GVI, SYCP committee members created the Shimoni
Conservation Committee (SCC) with representatives including two elders and one woman
from each of the six villages within Shimoni sub-location that are stakeholders in the forest
areas. Following the awareness and sensitisation activities, the SCC with GVI support has
petitioned community members and submitted a proposal to relevant government authorities
requesting that they be designated authority to manage their forest resources on behalf of
and for the benefit of local communities. Through community management they aim to
designate conservation areas, manage sustainable resource use, reduce illegal timber
extraction and develop ecotourism initiatives.

Shimoni Mkwiro Dhow Tours; a community based organisation which has been recently
formed as a co-operative of tourist dhow operators, taking tourists in to the KMMPA on
dolphin watching and snorkelling trips. This co-operative aims to redress the balance of
tourism on Wasini Island, planning to take their clients to Mkwiro village for lunches instead of
Wasini village. By working alongside this organisation it is hoped that Mkwiro community
groups can gain access to tourism revenue, and that these local operators will be the first
beneficiaries of education and training, encouraging responsible dolphin watching activities.

EXPEDITION TRAINING

Expedition members are put through a two week intensive training programme upon arrival
on the expedition prior to participation in programme activities. Theoretical and practical tests
are conducted at the end of their training period. Training consists of:
 Marine Research Programme: Expedition members receive classroom training on
cetacean species identification and marine megafauna identification. Expedition
Members learn field identification of nine species of cetaceans. Eight of these are
dolphin species and include: Indian Ocean Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops spp.
Truncatus and aduncus), Humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis), Common dolphin
(Delphinus delphis), Spinner dolphin (Stenella longirostris), Striped dolphin (Stenella
coeruleaoalba), Pan-tropical spotted dolphin (Stenella attenuate), Rough-toothed
dolphin (Steno bredanensis), and Risso’s dolphin (Grampus griseus). In addition to the
learning the dolphin species the Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeanglia) is known
to occur in the Kisite-Mpunguti area.Reference material is available for self study. Five
species of marine turtles are known to occur in Kenyan waters and during training EMs

13
 are also taught and examined on the identification of these species. These include:
Green turtle (Chelonia mydas), Hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), Olive Ridley
(Lepidochelys olivacea), Leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), and Loggerhead
(Caretta caretta). This is followed by testing utilising slides, requiring a 95% pass
mark. Expedition members receive classroom-based presentations and practical field
training in cetacean and megafauna survey techniques and theories, the collection of
environmental data, accurate completion of data forms, distance estimation and GPS
training. This is also subject to testing with a pass mark of 95% prior to participation in
research activities.
 Terrestrial Research Programme: Expedition Members receive classroom-based
presentations and practical field training on primate identification and behavioural
ecology, transect laying, vegetation, disturbance and casual observation of fauna
surveys. Training is followed by a theoretical test requiring a 95% pass mark. Practical
training and in field testing is also undertaken on the use of the panga, compass and
GPS. Expedition Members receive distance estimation training and in field testing for
which participation in sighting distance estimation during primate community surveys is
contingent on expedition members achieving an average error within 10m.
 Community Development Programme: Expedition Members receive the GVI
Introduction to TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) training and an
additional Introduction to TEFL for Children course designed to prepare them for
teaching in Mkwiro Primary School and activities at the Al-Hanan Orphanage. Their
training incorporates practical activities and guidance in classroom management.
Following training Expedition Members receive practical testing in the form of lesson
planning. Expedition Members receive individual assessment and feedback.
 Health & Safety: Expedition Members are all subject to comprehensive health &
safety awareness training in the form of risk assessments, a specific hazardous
marine life presentation, forest field safety talk, dangerous game and wildlife viewing
protocol, a boat safety orientation, radio protocol training, emergency oxygen use
training and fire extinguisher & fire safety orientation. Further to this all expedition
members are put through the Emergency First Response Primary Care and
Secondary Care training courses. Assessment for certification is optional. Expedition
Members are also asked to complete a 200m swim test, if unsuccessful then wearing
of life jackets in the boats is compulsory.

14
In addition, Expedition Members are also offered additional training, presentations and talks
during the expedition on oceanography, marine environment, primate evolution and ecology,
African wildlife natural history, bio-geography of Africa, Kenyan history, Muslim culture and
Kiswahili.

15
MARINE RESEARCH PROGRAMME

Introduction

Kisite-Mpunguti Marine Protected Area (KMMPA) lies south of Wasini Island and covers an
area of 39 square kilometres. The KMMPA includes the Marine National Park surrounding
Kisite Island and the Marine National Reserve surrounding the Mpunguti islands. The
KMMPA and the marine wildlife it contains are an important tourist attraction and an
important resource for Shimoni and surrounding communities. The KMMPA is the highest
incoming generating marine protected area in Kenya and one of the highest income
generating areas under KWS management. The islands within the KMMPA are surrounded
by coral reefs attracting divers and snorkellers to the area. Almost every day swim-with-
dolphin and dolphin watching companies operating from Shimoni travel through Wasini
Channel to the KMMPA (Emerson and Tessema, 2001). These tourist dhows most frequently
encounter bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops aduncus, and less frequently, Indo-Pacific
humpback dolphins, Sousa chinensis. Currently, there is no code of conduct followed when
manoeuvring around the dolphins nor are levels of interaction monitored or regulated in any
way. The impact these activities may be having on the dolphins is unknown. In particular, it’s
not known whether increased, or even current, levels of dolphin tourism are sustainable for
local dolphin populations.

Very little scientific research has been conducted on the cetaceans of East Africa and little
information is available even on the baseline ecology of these species. Baseline data is
required before the impact of dolphin tourism can be accurately assessed (Stensland et
al,1998). The main objectives of the marine research program are to obtain baseline
ecological and demographic data on the dolphin species that occur in the KMMPA and
surrounding waters. The study area encompasses a wide range of habitats from mangrove
forests, coral reefs, inter-tidal rocky reefs, sea grass beds, and offshore areas.

GVI East Africa’s main working partner is the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS). The research
conducted by GVI will be shaped to satisfy the objectives of KWS, as to assist them towards
better management of the area. All data collected thus far is available to them to aid in
management plans of the study area.

16
The Marine Programme is supporting KWS to collate data by conducting vessel and land-
based surveys. The marine program will primarily focus on two research areas: (1) the
ecology of humpback and bottlenose dolphins and (2) the biodiversity of marine mega fauna.
The collection of this data will provide important information on the ecology of dolphins and
megafauna (large marine vertebrates such as turtles, whale sharks, dugongs, and seabirds)
within the area and improve the scientific basis and baseline data for management strategies.
This information can help lead towards long-term sustainability of cetacean-based tourism
and other human activities within the KMMPA and Shimoni area.

During the initial phase of the marine program research will focus on assessing dolphin
species abundance. Later, parameters such as demographic composition, residency and diel
movement patterns will be analysed.

Megafauna species attract tourists thus are a valuable resource for the Shimoni and Wasini
Island communities. Their conservation is important for the protection of marine biological
diversity at a number of levels. A further objective of this marine research project is to obtain
information on the occurrence of marine megafauna within the study area. This information
can then be utilised by our working partners to manage the area accordingly.

Aims

GVI East Africa conducted a pilot study in the first and second expeditions (061 and 062
respectively) to determine species distribution within the KMMPA and surrounding areas.
During this pilot study research questions were set to ensure that all the research
methodologies collated the relevant information to satisfy the objectives set by KWS.

The marine programme would like to collect the following data on dolphins and megafauna in
the KMMPA and surrounding areas.

From vessel based surveys:

 Abundance and habitat occupancy
 Demographic composition
 Residency
 Habitat-activity relationships

17
 Diel movement & activity
 Population structure
 Rates of human-induced injury & mortality
 Mega-fauna presence and behaviour

From land-based surveys:

 Tidal and diel movement
 Diel activity
 Dolphin behaviour before, during, and after exposure to vessels
 Boat traffic within the area
 Mega-fauna presence and behaviour

Methods

Upon successful completion of training and examination, Expedition Members (EMs)

participate in the boat and land-based surveys for the rest of the expedition. Some of the
EMs only participate for the first five weeks or the last five weeks of the expedition; these
EMs receive the same training and participate in 3 weeks of post-training research.

Vessel based dolphin survey methods

During Expedition 06-3 GVI East Africa primarily used two research vessels to conduct
surveys within the KMMPA and surrounding areas. Stingray, a 5.83 m catamaran style power
vessel with two 85 horsepower motors, was used during morning surveys from approximately
0730 to 1200. In addition to Stingray, ET, a 6.19 m power vessel was used for shorter
afternoon surveys from approximately 14:00 -16:00, The areas covered by this vessel were
smaller scale but provided extra data on dolphin movements in the afternoon.
These afternoon surveys were only carried out during the first 5 weeks, due to a smaller
number of EMs in the second five weeks. Photographs were taken using a Canon EOS
350D digital camera (75-300 ml lens).

To obtain information on population size, demographics and other biological parameters

photo-identification (Photo ID) and mark-recapture methods are used for data collection and

18
analysis. GVI will be adding a third survey technique, distance sampling, which will provide
an additional method to assess population size.

Photo-identification: Photo-ID refers to the identification of individuals by distinctive features

(shape, outline, natural markings and scarring) of their dorsal fins, flanks and flukes. Some
scars will be retained through life, whereas others will be added and may fade through life.
The depth and severity of the wound will determine the length of time this may be used for
identification. These features allow known individuals to be re-sighted. The re-sighting rate
can be plotted on a discovery curve, the plateau of which suggests population size. Photo-ID
can also be used to determine residency and demographic data such as inter-birth intervals,
patterns of ranging and mortality. Photographs can also help to determine sex of individuals
by noting mother and calf pairs.

The primary aim of photo-ID will be to try to determine population size. Photographers
attempt to photograph all the individuals within the group during a photo-ID survey so as not
to bias the data by focusing on individuals with distinctive markings or certain behaviours.
Results can vary due to conditions, surfacing bouts and animal behaviour.

Photo-ID survey times vary and are dependant on group size, activity and environmental
conditions. All photographs are taken from the vessel as it manoeuvres into position to get
the best angle, lighting and clear shot of dorsal fins. During a photo ID survey the
photographer informs the scribe of spacer shots (to separate groups or surveys) and number
of shots taken in order to separate frames into individuals. The primary aim during a photo ID
survey is to photograph the right and left flank of each individual. Making note of frame
numbers and groups of dolphins assists with later analysis of photographs (See the Forms
section for further explanation of this procedure).

Once photographs are downloaded onto the computer they are saved into the photo-ID
database. This database is divided into various users so that they are analysed individually.
Each user quality grades the photos into categories including: deleted, tail flukes, spacer
shots, and quality categories which range from 0 (poor quality, distant, out of focus, partial
images) to 3 (perfect photo-ID shots). Users then identify individuals by using permanent
identifying marks or features. Once the users agree on the recognition of individuals a photo-
ID catalogue will be created in which individuals are given unique ID numbers and/or names.

19
This is an important procedure allowing for future re-sighting of individuals on a long term
basis. Over time the information from this database will provide additional information such as
associations and calving intervals.

Mark-Recapture: Mark-recapture methods can be used to calculate population size from the
proportion of known individuals re-sighted over the study period. In order for mark-recapture
methods to yield accurate results a number of conditions must be met.

 A marked animal will always be recognised if it’s seen again. In order to satisfy this
assumption; only stable, long-term distinguishing features should be used to recognise
individuals.
 Samples of individuals must be representative of the population being estimated. If
‘marked’ individuals (recognisable individuals that have been photographed) do not mix
fully with the rest of the population this assumption is violated.
 ‘Marking’ (photographing) an individual does not affect the probability of that individual
being recaptured.
 Within one sampling occasion, every individual in the population should have the same
probability of being ‘captured’ (photographed). To reduce the risk of this assumption being
violated as many individuals should be captured as possible.
 The population must be closed i.e. no emigration or immigration.

Initially, a sample of individuals is photographically ‘captured’ (n1), and on a subsequent

occasion, a second sample of individuals is ‘captured’ (n 2) of which a number were already
identified in the first sample (m2). The proportion of individuals that are marked in the second
sample can be equated with the proportion in the overall population (N). The mark-recapture
formulas are as follows (Evans and Hammond, 2004):

Equation 1
(m2) = n1
n2 N

20
The number of individuals captured and marked is known which allows the population size to
be estimated (Ň):

Equation 2

Ň = n1 n2
m2

Distance Sampling: GVI is planning to use this methodology in the marine program; which is
based on the estimation of population density. This methodology involves sampling
distances and angles along a line transect during a survey.

During a line transect survey four or five EMs act as observers as the vessel travels along a
designated path of travel or line transect. Once there is a sighting the observer who made the
initial sighting will tell the scribe the distance and angle to all individuals detected. The initial
number of individuals sighted in three categories: minimum, maximum and best. Only the
observation data made by distance sampling observers will be used for distance sampling
calculations. All EMs are trained in distance estimation from the vessel using a GPS.
Distances are taken from a buoy, which is a marked as a way point and then expedition
members estimate the distance from the vessel to the buoy.

This methodology allows that some animals within a certain distance of the vessel will not be
detected. Only those animals that are detected within 180 degree angle from the centre of the
bow are recorded. By noting the distance and angle from the boat the perpendicular distance
of the sighting from the line transect can be calculated. The methodology accounts for the
fact that objects are more likely to be detected if they are closer and recorded at a smaller
angle from the point of observation along the line transect (Buckland et al, 2005).

Central to the concept of sampling is the detection function:

g(y)= the probability of detecting an object given that it is at distance y from the line

• Usually assume that g(0)= 1, that is, objects on the line are detected with certainty
• Accurate estimates of abundance can be obtained if certain conditions are met

21
Three main conditions for line transect sampling are:

1. Objects directly on the line are always detected

2. Objects are detected at their initial location, prior to any movement in response to the
observer – responsive movement of animals can create real problems!
3. Distances and angles are measured accurately.

GVI East Africa plans to implement this methodology in the near future.

Vessel based dolphin survey forms

Four forms were used to incorporate the above methodologies and collect information on
population size, demographics and behaviour. These forms include the Event Log, Sightings
form, Dolphin Survey form and the Photo ID form.

Event Log: Throughout the survey day an Event Log (Appendix 1) is completed. On this
data sheet the search effort throughout the day is recorded along with the number of surveys
completed and environmental and condition changes. Every fifteen minutes one person (the
scribe) records the current environmental conditions and any environmental or effort
changes. Every half hour the observers rotate roles and view points and every two hours
each observer receives a half hour eye break as the scribe. If a dolphin is spotted then all
observers maintain the same position while filling out one specific survey form. This allows
for consistency in data notation making it possible for questions regarding data collection, i.e.
reading illegible handwriting, to be easily answered.

At the beginning of the day and at every interval of data collection the recorder notes the
following:

1. Date
2. Vessel
3. Time (24hr clock)
4. GPS Co-ordinates (using WGS84 datum)
5. Event (See Appendix 1 to see categories)
6. Dolphin Survey number, each day surveys begin as DS01, DS02
7. Speed of vessel

22
8. Environmental conditions (swell, beaufort, cloud, precipitation, visibility and tide; All
categories are listed in Appendix 1)
9. Additional comments

Sightings Form: The Sightings form is used to record all sightings of dolphins and
megafauna. This form collates the relevant information to conduct distance sampling. It also
produces valuable information if a behaviour survey can not be conducted, for example, due
to weather conditions, when there are too many vessels present, or the dolphins are only
sighted once. The recorder notes if the sighting occurred due to the presence of a vessel or
whether the land based platform informed us of the presence of dolphins. This information is
then included in the analysis to note any sightings that may have been missed by the naked
eye or if the vessel was simply not in the same area as the sighting.

Once dolphins or mega fauna are sighted, the recorder documents the following data into the
sighting form (see Appendix 2).

1. GPS Co-ordinates of the vessel

2. Effort type
3. Sighting number and survey number (either a megafauna or dolphin survey)
4. Distance and angle to sighting
5. Species
6. Group size on initial sighting
7. Reason for sighting
8. Whether a Photo ID survey was conducted or not
9. Comments
10. Number of boats present

Dolphin Behaviour Survey Form: The photo-ID survey protocol provides a systematic
approach for sampling the behaviour of free-ranging dolphins. As part of this protocol a
Dolphin Behaviour Survey is used to record basic behaviour data when conditions allow a
dolphin survey to be conducted (Appendix 3).

This survey is used in conjunction with the Ethogram (see Appendix 4) which provides a
guide for dolphin behaviours. GVI East Africa has simplified this methodology to ensure that

23
accurate information is gathered. All EMs receive training on dolphin behaviours to ensure
that each individual will be able to recognise behaviours in the field. As well, there is always
at least one marine officer assisting with data collection to ensure that behavioural
observations are consistent across observers.

Survey encounters differ in many ways—e.g. the number of animals encountered; the degree
to which to individuals can be directly observed and identified. As such, the depth and quality
of data that are collected during surveys may vary widely. While detailed and individual-
specific observations are desirable, at times it is only possible to collect basic data such as
the time and location of encounter.

Figure 1: Dolphin species in Kenyan coast (Peddemonns V.M, 1999)

Common Name Scientific name
Bottlenose Dolphin Tursiops truncatus/aduncus
Humpback Dolphin Sousa chinensis
Spinner Dolphin Stenella longirostris
Common Dolphin Delphinus delphis
Rough Toothed Dolphin Steno bredanensis
Risso Dolphin Grumpus griseus
Striped Dolphin Stenella coeruleoalba
Pantropical Spotted Dolphin Stenella attenuate
Highlighted in bold are the 3 species which have been identified to date.

Dolphin surveys commence once the sighting form has been completed and the species is
identifiable (See species list above, figure 1). Dive durations are measured from the time of
the first positive identification until the time of departure from the group. A scan sample of
behaviour and group composition is conducted over a 10 minute period. Observers note how
many animals are present as early as possible once a group is sighted—group size indicates
how many individuals that must be identified visually or through photo-id. This sample is
intended to provide an unbiased ‘sample’ of the behaviours and the identity of the individuals
present for the calculation of association coefficients and other analyses.

During Expedition 06-3 the observation time was kept at a ten minute sample. From the
previous expedition it was found this sample period represents a suitable amount of time. It
is: (a) is short enough to approximate a true scan sample (more below) and (b) long enough
to cover (on average) two to three surfacing bouts during which identifications can be made

24
and group activity, direction, and group composition can be assessed. This time frame is kept
short to reduce the effect the vessel may have on the original activity of the dolphins when
first sighted.

For the purpose of defining a ‘group’ of dolphins (see further below) two individuals must be
within 100 m of each other or within 100 m of the initial group to be in the same ‘group’. If fifty
percent or more animals are within 100 m of another group they are classed as a sub-group
and a sub-group behavioral survey completed. If a group is seen outside of this 100 m radius
a new survey form is completed.

Cetacean behaviours can be distinguished as either events (short duration behaviours) that
include, spy hops, tail slaps, leaps or porpoises or states (long-duration behaviours) such as
resting, travelling, foraging and socialising (Mann, 2000). The predominant group activity or
state is defined as the activity that fifty percent or more of the group members are
simultaneously engaged in (See Appendix 4 Ethogram). Observers scan the group to
determine the group’s behaviour state and then record it on the form. Any secondary
behaviour states, i.e. when most of the group is foraging but a couple of animals are resting
during the survey, are also noted. Events that occur during the survey period are noted in the
‘activity notes’ section.

To help aid the process of identification and number of individuals present any distinctive fin
shapes, obvious scars or speckling of individuals is noted. Data is collected on the presence
of mother-calf pairs and whether they include neonates or young of the year. Neonates are
defined as calves which are up to three months old. These calves will have curled flukes and
dorsal fins, fetal folds and usually swim in a position parallel to and forward of the mother’s
midline. Young of year are older than three months and are more independent than
neonates. They still will travel next to the mother but in the infant position which is behind the
mother’s midline near the mammary slits (Mann, 2000). The notation of this data combined
with information from Photo-ID should allow for the determination of female animals and the
identification of their calves.

Vessel interaction is also recorded during this survey to assess the impact that the research
vessel may have on dolphin behaviour. This is recorded by noting whether the dolphins react
away from, toward or not at all to the survey vessel. This data was initially recorded on a

25
scale of 1-3; however this was modified because the definition of this scale was subjective
and not clearly defined in an objective, quantitative scale.

Once the ten minute scan sample is over the scribe completing the Event Log continues
recording every fifteen minutes while the vessel continues to follow the dolphin group for the
collection of Photo-ID data. When both surveys are complete the forms are reviewed by all
observers to ensure that the information recorded is accurate and all observers agree with
what is written. The ten minute scan sample may be reduced due to environmental conditions
or when there are too many vessels present. Should this happen it will be recorded on the
form.

Photo ID Form: The procedures for this form have changed slightly since the initial pilot
study. Rather than conducting photo-ID during behavioural surveys only opportunistic
photographs are taken if the individuals move towards the vessel. Photo-ID is then conducted
after the behaviour survey so the vessel can maintain a further distance so as not to change
dolphin behaviour. Photo-ID survey times vary and depend on group size, activity and
environmental conditions. During photo-ID the vessel can manoeuvre into a better position to
obtain the optimum distance and angle for photographs to be taken; this is when the boat is
travelling parallel to, and in line with, the dolphins. The most valuable photos for Photo-ID are
in-focus, directly perpendicular to the dorsal fin, with the sun behind the photographer and as
close a shot of the fin as possible.

During a photo-ID survey the photographer tells the photo-ID scribe the frame numbers of
spacer shots, recognisable or distinct individuals and the number of shots taken (Appendix
5). The photographer tries to photograph both the right and left flank of each individual and if
this is successful they will note this in the comments section. When the photographer has
finished they will take a final shot of the photo ID sheet to separate it from other encounters.
This method helps with the assistance of identification in the analysis and also helps separate
individuals and encounters for the photo catalogue.

Boat based mega fauna surveys

These surveys are conducted using the same procedures as the dolphin surveys. The Event
Log and Sightings Form are completed and then the data is collected on the mega fauna
survey form (See Appendix 6). This data includes:

26
1. Vessel GPS position and general location
2. Time
3. Depth
4. Beaufort
5. Tide
6. Species
7. Habitat
8. Number of individuals present
9. Photos taken, if possible
10. Any additional notes

Land based dolphin and mega-fauna surveys

GVI conducted a pilot study of a land based survey during 06-2 to determine dolphin
presence, movement and activity throughout the mornings and afternoons and to help
determine whether the tourist dolphin watching vessels are having any impact on dolphin
behaviour. Surveys commenced on 8th May 2006. The site is located at S 04.65860º E
39.40076 º on an elevated cliff at approximately 9.7m height on the North East end of Wasini
Island. Surveys conducted with the unaided eye cover approximately 0.3 nautical miles and
data collected using binoculars cover 1.0 nautical miles. This location is ideal because it
provides coverage of both inshore coastal waters and deeper waters; favoured Humpback
dolphin (Sousa chinensis) and Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus/ aduncus) habitats
respectively. The land based research platform is ideal for this kind of study because the
observers can observe the animals and vessels without having any direct impact (Bejder and
Samuels). In addition to this, the land based location has a higher vantage point than the
vessel and can provide additional information in higher sea states (i.e. Beaufort 3+).

The land based survey was designed to collect data on the following:

 Tidal and diel movement

 Diel activity

27
 Dolphin behaviour before, during and after exposure to vessels
 Boat traffic within the area
 Megafauna presence and behaviour

Surveys are conducted during the daylight hours from approximately 1½ hours after sunrise
to 1½ hours before sunset, with a break between 12 pm to 2 pm. There are two primary
observers and one scribe present on every survey. The three recorders rotate every 15
minutes to ensure that each person receives a fifteen minute break every half hour. Using
7x50 Summit marine binoculars with reticules and a compass, one observer scans an area
approximately 1.5 km to 3 km from the land base location (an area including both coastal and
pelagic waters). The second observer scans an area approximately 0 -1.5 km from viewing
point using the unaided eye. The third person is the scribe noting environmental changes
every fifteen minutes, the number of tourist dhows entering the marine park, dolphin or mega
fauna presence. Within this fifteen minute time the scribe does not act as an observer so as
to rest their eyes and ensure better concentration levels during survey. The number of people
on land base varies from day to day, usually from three to five people, but only three people
are involved in the survey at any time. When extra people are present it allows for observers
to have longer resting periods for the observers.

Land based forms

Three forms are used to collate data on boat traffic, dolphin presence and the activity of both
dolphin and megafauna sightings. The map shows the area which can be seen from the land
based viewing platform and observers use it to plot dolphin movements over the observation
period. These forms include:

1. Environment and Boat Event Log

2. Sightings Form
3. Map
4. Dolphin Behaviour Form

28
Environment and Boat Form: During the land based survey the Environment and Boat form
(Appendix 7) is completed. On this data sheet effort, environmental conditions and boat traffic
are noted. Data is recorded every fifteen minutes, or when environmental conditions change.
Observers rotate their duties every fifteen minutes so the person who is the scribe has a
break while they are acting as the scribe.

The scribe makes note of the following:

1. Date
2. Time (24hr clock)
3. Observers
4. Environmental conditions (swell, Beaufort, cloud, precipitation, visibility and tide; See
Appendix 7).
5. Number of vessels
6. Vessel type (See Appendix 7)
7. Proximity of tourist dhows to dolphins
8. Swim with dolphin events
9. Additional comments

Land Base Sighting Form: When dolphins or mega fauna are sighted the scribe documents
the following information into the sighting form (See Appendix 8):

1. Time
2. Observers
3. Bearing and distance to sighting using the compass and reticules in the binoculars
4. Species
5. Initial group size
6. Dive type
7. Duration of dive
8. Spread
9. Number in correlation to plotted on chart
10. Additional information

This form collects valuable information on the actual behaviour before the presence of any
vessels. If the sighting occurred due to the presence of any vessels it is noted. This

29
information is then included in the analysis to take into account any sightings that may have
been missed by the naked eye.

Map form: A map is drawn to show dolphin movements within the range identified. The
movement of vessels in the presence of the dolphins is also recorded

Dolphin behaviour and vessel interaction form: This data sheet was introduced on 6th
June, 2006 to gain a greater insight into dolphin behaviour before, during and after the vessel
presence, conditions allowing. Observations were recorded every five minutes from the initial
sighting and/or every surfacing (See Appendix 9).

The recorder documents the following on the form:

1. Time
2. Dive type
3. Dive duration
4. Species
5. Spread
6. Group size
7. Number of vessels present
8. Vessel type
9. Number of Tourist vessels
10. Number of tourist vessels conducting swim with dolphins
11. If dolphins split into sub groups
12. If their view is obstructed by boat
13. Comments

Results and Discussion

Marine surveys were conducted during eight of the ten weeks of this expedition. There were
two weeks of no surveys due to a week of training and a week focused on other expedition
activities. A total of 330 hours and 23 minutes (figure 2) were spent on search effort this

30
expedition, resulting in: 89 dolphin sightings and 82 megafauna (all turtle) sightings. Photo-ID
surveys were conducted 38 occasions.

Vessel Land base Total

Hours of effort 195:03 135:20 330:23

Dolphin sightings 59 30 89
Turtle sightings 15 67 82

Figure 2: Vessel and land based survey efforts

The total vessel effort time was 195 hours and 3 minutes and the total land based survey
time was 135 hours and 20 minutes (Figures 2 and 3). The amount of survey effort by boat is
shown in figures 4 and 5. Stingray was the primary survey vessel during the entire expedition
while during the first five weeks ET was used for afternoon surveys. From these vessel
surveys the total number of dolphin sightings was sixty, total number of dolphin surveys fifty
and the total number of mega fauna surveys was fifteen. The total number of photos taken
this expedition was 1227; 28 photo surveys of bottlenose dolphins and nine of humpback
dolphins.

Hours of effort and number of sightings by

research platform

200
150
100 Vessel
50 Land base

0
Hours of Dolphin Turtle
effort sightings sightings

Figure 3: Comparison of effort and number of sightings by research platform

Hours spent on effort

Stingray 161:20
ET 33:43
Total 195:3

Figure 4: Survey effort by vessel

31
 Hours spent on boat effort

33.43
17%

Sting ray
ET

161.2
83%

Figure 5: Comparison of effort between survey vessels as a

percentage

Of the two species of dolphin surveyed from the boat more bottlenose dolphins were sighted
and more dolphin behaviour surveys were completed on this species (Figures 6 & 7).
Bottlenose dolphins were sighted 46 times (77% of total sightings), humpback dolphins were
sighted 11 times (18% of sightings) and unidentified species of dolphin were sighted three
times (5% of sightings). Nineteen dolphin sightings from the vessel (32%) were seen due to
the presence of dolphin tourist dhows with the animals.

Vessel Bottlenose Humpback Unknown Total

Sightings 46 11 3 60

Surveys 40 10 0 50
Figure 6: Comparison of dolphin sightings and surveys

Dolphin surveys and sightings in 06-3

50
40
Number of 30
sightings/surveys
20 Sightings

10 Surveys

0
Bottlenose Humpback Unknown
Species

Figure 7: Comparison of sightings and surveys from vessels

32
Bottlenose Dolphins
This expedition there were more vessel based bottlenose dolphin surveys (40) than in the
previous (10), but fewer than the first expedition (62). The total number of sightings of
bottlenose dolphins was 46; the majority of these (40, 87%) resulted in behaviour surveys
(Figure 7). Behaviour surveys were not possible when conditions such as the weather or the
presence of too many tourist vessels made it difficult to complete these surveys. During one
of the sightings the dolphins were not sighted again so no dolphin survey was possible.
Photo-ID surveys were completed for 29 of the sightings (63%) with a total of 1014 photos
taken (Figure 8). Work is currently underway to establish the number of recognisable
individuals encountered and the re-sighting rate of those individuals, which will indicate
population size.

Photos taken during 06-3

1200
1000
Number of 800
photos 600
400
200
0
Bottlenose Humpback
Species

Figure 8: Number of dolphin photos taken during expedition 06-3

The average size of bottlenose dolphin groups, using best group size, from sightings was 5.1
with a range of 1 to 25. For behavioural surveys 47.5% (19/40) occurred during ebb tides
while 52.5% (21/40) occurred during flood tides (Figure 9). At present, the sample size is too
small to make any conclusions on tidal activity and dolphin presence, movement or
behaviour.

33
 Dolphin surveys conducted during different tides

25
20
Number of 15
surveys 10 Ebb
Flood
5
0
Humpback Bottlenose
Species

Figure 9: Percentage of surveys during tidal states

During behaviour surveys it was noted whether bottlenose dolphins reacted away from,
toward or not at all in regards to the presence of the research vessel. A previous study of
bottlenose dolphins have found that there was statistically significant behaviour noted
towards boat traffic, but in general they displayed neutral response to boat traffic. Neutral
response was defined as no apparent change in directional movement, prior to and after
vessel arrival (Gregory and Rowden, 2001). During this expedition bottlenose dolphins
reacted toward the boat 32.5 % (13/40) of surveys and not at all 65 % (26/40) of surveys and
no data was collected for one survey (2.5%) (Figure 10).

Dolphin species reaction to survey vessel

100 90
80 65
60
Percentage Away
40 32.5
Towards
20 10 None
0 0
0
Bottlenose Humpback
Species

Figure 10: Reaction of dolphin species to research vessel

34
From the land based survey nineteen sightings (63%) of bottlenose dolphins were recorded
out of a total of thirty dolphin sightings. During the first five weeks 93% of bottlenose (bnd)
sightings (13/14) were seen in the morning and 7% (1/14) were seen in the afternoon (see
Figure 11). Unfortunately, during the second five weeks of this expedition land based surveys
were only conducted in the afternoons because there were fewer EMs.

Vessels were present during 58% (11/19) of the total number of sightings. Vessels varied
from canoes to power vessels. Group sizes ranged from 1 to 6 with an average of 1.5
animals.

Dolphin sightings from land base in the first five

weeks

Bnd
15
Number of 10 Unk Bnd
Hbd Hbd
sightings 5 Bnd Unk Hbd
Unk
0
am pm
Time of day

Figure 11: Dolphin sightings form land base and time of day

Humpback Dolphins

As with the Bottlenose dolphins work is currently underway to establish the number of
recognisable individuals sighted, and their re-sighting rates. Humpback dolphins (Sousa
chinensis) tend to occur in coastal water habitats, areas of shallow rocky reefs and estuaries
of the Indian Ocean and western Pacific (Ross et al. 1994).

Initial findings from data collected in the Shimoni area suggest that a large percentage of
encounters are re-sightings of previously seen individuals. This could indicate a small
population size of this species in the area. As mentioned in the discussion on bottlenose
dolphin data, behavioural surveys were not possible when conditions, such as the weather or
the presence of too many tourist vessels made it difficult to conduct these surveys.

35
Humpbacks were sighted eleven times during this expedition and surveyed ten out of those
eleven vessel sightings (Figures 6 & 7). Out of those ten surveys the Humpback dolphins
reacted away from the survey vessel on one occasion and the other nine times there was no
reaction.

Using best group size as an indicator the Humpback dolphin groups sighted had an average
size of three individuals, with a minimum group size of one and a maximum of five. To date
we have encountered these dolphins in near shore habitats and in small group sizes. All
sightings were recorded in depths ranging from 7 to 21 meters; usually in areas near the
coral platform. Five sightings (45%) occurred during ebb tides while six (55%) of these
occurred during flood tides (Figure 9).

Humpback dolphins were sighted from land base five times out of the thirty dolphin sightings.
Both morning and afternoon surveys were conducted in the first five weeks of the expedition
but this survey effort was reduced to afternoons in the second five weeks due to a lower
number of EMs. Three of these five sighting (60%) were seen in the morning while two
(40%) were seen in the afternoon. Vessels were present during two (40%) of the sightings.

Marine Mega Fauna

The majority of mega fauna sighted during this expedition were unknown turtle species. Short
surfacing periods and environmental conditions make it difficult to identify turtles to species
level in the field. There were a total of 82 sightings of turtles during this expedition; 18%
(15/82) from the vessel and 82% (67/82) from land base (Figure 12).

36
 Turtle sightings from research platform

18%

Landbase
Vessel

82%

Figure 12: Proportion of vessel based and land based turtle sightings

This expedition there were more marine turtles (82) in comparison to expedition 061 (34) and
062 (36) (figure 13). During the first expedition four individuals were identified to species but
due to the reasons above no individuals were identified in 06-2 and 06-3.

Number of turtle sightings per expedition

100
80
Number of 60
sightings 40 Turtle sightings
20
0
61 62 63
Expedition Number

Figure 13: Comparison of turtle sightings between expeditions

Conclusions and future work

For following phases, data will continue to be collected to provide information on the baseline
ecology of the dolphin and megafauna species encountered within the KMMPA and
surrounding waters. This information will form the foundations of a long-term cetacean
monitoring programme as well as providing valuable information that can be used to better

37
implement a management plan for both cetaceans, and the tourism based around them in the
KMMPA.

Currently the study area is not sampled in a systematic way but rather most surveys have
been randomly placed where it was best to survey based on weather conditions. To solve
this, a grid of transects will be designed and randomly placed over the study area. Transects
will then be randomly selected each day and completed, weather permitting. Such transect
survey methods will result in even coverage of the study area over subsequent expeditions.
In addition to this, the distance and angle to sightings from transects will be recorded to meet
the conditions of line transect distance sampling. This will result in three population size
estimates being calculated; from mark-recapture techniques, the photo-ID catalogue and
distance sampling methods. As a result, a comparison of results gained from these different
methods is possible.

The land based survey during this expedition was successful and we intend to continue
collecting data on the presence and behaviour of dolphins. We also hope to obtain more
information on vessel presence and type and the response of dolphins to boat traffic.

38
TERRESTRIAL RESEARCH PROGRAMME

Introduction

The Eastern arc forests of Kenya and Tanzania support high levels of endemism and
important populations of species that have wide-ranging but fragmented distributions and so
remain vulnerable. Tanzania’s Eastern Arc mountains for example are renowned for their
communities of endemic amphibians and reptiles. The coastal forests of Kenya form the
northern fringe of the Eastern Arc forests, of which much less is known, but which represent
an important and unique yet diminishing forest habitat.

The coastal forests around Shimoni and Wasini Island form a thin strip of ‘coral rag forest’,
officially labelled Northern Zanzibar-Inhambane Lowland Coastal Forest. This forest zone is
found along coastal areas of Kenya, Tanzania and Somalia, formed on old coral reef exposed
by falling sea levels, leaving limestone rock and shallow soils. This in conjunction with salinity
levels and the coastal climate influences the plant community that is found and the structure
of the forest, for example favouring shallow root systems that reduce stability.

Study sites: The research is conducted in Shimoni forest on the Shimoni peninsula,
positioned between Shimoni village on the western side and the coast on the southern and
eastern side (Figure 14, circled in black). The location is situated between the coordinates
04º64.900'S, 39º38.600'E and 04º64.300'S, 39º40.300'E.

39
Figure 14: Research site

Shimoni forest represents an area of important indigenous coastal forest, but is currently
threatened by resource extraction and clearing of land, a situation that may be exacerbated
by the continuing development of Shimoni village, particularly for tourism. The area of forest
was selected for biodiversity research primarily because at present it still forms a viable area
for biodiversity and in particular supports an important population of the Angolan Black &
White Colobus (Colobus angolensis palliatus). Discussions with community based
organisations in Shimoni highlighted the importance of the forest to the wider community and
in particular Shimoni Conservation Youth Project were keen to seek protection and
sustainable management. As a result we have developed our terrestrial research programme
to support local stakeholders. On a more practical level the forest is readily accessible and
we are logistically able to support a long-term wide ranging biodiversity survey and
monitoring of the area.

Aims

The aims of the terrestrial research programme are as follows;

 To establish a grid system of 6 east-west transects for access, mapping and long-term
monitoring.

40
  To conduct vegetation and regeneration surveys to assess biodiversity, species
composition and regeneration potential under different levels of disturbance.
 To conduct disturbance surveys to assess and monitor levels of resource use
including extraction of poles and timber in addition to other forms of anthropogenic
activity.
 To conduct primate community surveys to assess population density, distribution,
habitat use and demography.
 To gather additional biodiversity data on the fauna through recording of casual
observations.
 To support the Shimoni Youth Conservation Project in their petition for community
management of forest resources, building capacity within the community for
responsible resource use and monitoring.
 To support the Shimoni Slave Cave Committee in the development of their nature trail,
building capacity within the community to access tourism revenue from responsible
management of natural resources.

These aims will contribute towards our objectives of assessing the biodiversity of the coastal
forest in the Shimoni area in support of long term sustainable management of forest
resources and capacity building amongst local communities, supporting national and
international conservation of threatened habitats and species.

Methods

Line Transect Sampling

The overall methodology for the terrestrial research programme is structured around a
transect grid system utilising West-East transects. Parallel transects are spaced 200 m apart,
facilitating a 100 m survey distance on each side of the transect. This follows the Tropical
Ecology, Assessment and Monitoring (TEAM) Initiative Primate Monitoring Protocol.
Transects are divided into 50 m sections to enable the survey data to be categorised more
accurately and facilitate distribution mapping. A South-North ‘spine’ is used to ensure the
200m separation between parallel transects and aid accessibility.

The transect lines need to be straight and relatively easy to walk to enable the surveys to be
conducted. Transects are laid following a compass bearing as it has been found that use of

41
GPS equipment is unreliable. Disturbance is minimised where practical by utilising ‘off sets’ –
where it is not practical to continue the transect line on an Easterly compass bearing,
measured sections of the transect are staggered to the North or South of the bearing to
bypass obstacles before resuming the original bearing. Transect lines are marked with yellow
plastic tags at 5-10 m intervals for recognition in the field, and labelled double-tagged 50 m
section markers and triple-tagged ‘off-sets’ markers are used.

Primate Community Survey

The primate community surveys are based on distance sampling methods, utilising two
nominated observers whilst additional members of the team walk behind ensuring that they
do not draw attention to any primate groups that the nominated observers have not identified.
This maintains consistency in the effort for each survey. For all groups of primates (a solitary
individual counted as a ‘group’) the sighting distance is estimated and recorded (the distance
from the observer on the transect line to the geometric centre of each group of primates).
Distance sampling analysis utilises the perpendicular distance from the transect line to the
geometric centre of observed groups. To calculate the perpendicular distance the sighting
angle is also recorded from the transect line at the position of the observer to the centre of
the observed group using a compass. Distance sampling requires a number of assumptions
to be met including random distribution of the surveyed objects. In order to meet this
assumption for social species such as primates, groups rather than individuals are recorded.
It is also necessary to be confident that any group with a perpendicular distance of 0m from
the transect line has a 100% probability of detection, an assumption that we are satisfied we
are able to meet.

The behaviour of the primate group when first observed is recorded along with primate
species and group size. Where possible, time is taken to identify individuals in each observed
group by sex and age class; 0-3 months (‘infant’), 3-6 months (‘juvenile’) and > 6 months
(‘sub-adult’ / ‘adult’). Age classes were selected on the basis of colouration enabling
confidence in accurate categorisation rather than attempting to estimate by relative body size.
The duration, time of day and weather conditions are also recorded for each survey to assess
comparative effort and environmental conditions between surveys.

42
Primate Behavioural Observations
Preliminary behavioural observations of Angolan Black and White Colobus are conducted as
a precursor to developing a behavioural research protocol. Observations were conducted in
pairs with one observer using binoculars and one scribe to record observations. Observations
were conducted on focal individuals and for the purpose of this preliminary work, observers
were asked simply to record what they observed in detail regarding an individual’s behaviour,
posture, social interactions and spatial separation.

Vegetation & Regeneration Survey

The vegetation in the forest is important not only for the primate community; the local human
community makes use of the natural resources. The vegetation survey is used to gather
information about the composition of the forest including species diversity, maturity and
canopy profile. This provides data on plant species composition and recruitment. Vegetation
and regeneration surveys are conducted in a 2m corridor running parallel to the North of
transects.

Species identification is done by the assistant of the botanist attached to the National
Museums of Kenya Coastal Forest Conservation Unit, a member of SYCP as a result of
capacity building with the organisation and terrestrial officers. Labelled specimens are
collected in the field where a confident identification can not be made, for later identification.
Only woody vegetation is surveyed and identified. Tree size is measured by Diameter at
Breast Height (DBH) following UK forestry protocol.

Trees <5 cm DBH are sampled in a randomly selected 10 m sub-section. Random selection
is made by rolling dice (1 = 0-10 m, 2 = 10-20 m subsection etc. A 6 requires re-rolling).
Woody vegetation that is 1-5 cm DBH has its DBH recorded. Woody vegetation <1 cm DBH
are identified and categorised as ‘small’ trees and recorded within height categories of the
stem as follows; 0-50 cm, 51-100 cm, >100 cm.
Trees ≥5 cm DBH are surveyed along the entire length of each 50 m section. These are
identified and recorded with their DBH. Trees that have a DBH of 5-15 cm are categorised as
‘poles’ if the trunk has 2 m of relative straightness, identifying them as potential resources for
construction. Trees >15 cm DBH are categorised as ‘timber’, identifying them as potential
resources for the local community. For trees in this category the canopy height is measured
using a clinometer to measure canopy angle to the top of the canopy above the tree base

43
with the distance from the angle reading to the base of the tree measured and the height from
the ground to the angle reading. The canopy radius is measured by calculating the average
of the distance from the outer margin of the canopy in the four cardinal directions (North,
South, East and West) to the base of the tree. All vegetation is sampled in alternate 50 m
sections.

Disturbance Survey
The local communities use the forest for their livelihood. Women gather firewood, herbs and
medicine; men gather timber and poles. The disturbance survey is intended to assess levels
of human resource extraction and disturbance and in association with vegetation and
regeneration data assess its sustainability. Disturbance is monitored within the 2 m corridor to
the north of the transect. This was chosen over 1 m on each side of the transect to minimize
the recording of disturbance inflicted by laying the transects and walking them.

Disturbance surveys record all clear evidence of:

 Cut Poles (old and new) defined as 5-15 cm DBH or at base where cut;
 Cut Timber (old and new) defined as >15 cm DBH or at base were cut;
 Pit saws;
 Shelters;
 Snares;
 Clearings;
 Firewood and
 Fire.
Cut poles and timber are only recorded when 50% or more of the tree base is within the 2m
corridor. Definitions of old and new are based on discolouration of the remaining stump. Any
other evidence of human disturbance present is noted.

Habitat Survey
A basic measure of ground cover and canopy cover, and additionally canopy height as a trial
this expedition, was recorded in order to describe the forest profile and compliment faunal
surveys and distribution patterns.

44
At the start of each 50 m section a 1 m2 quadrat is placed directly to the northeast of the
marker. In the quadrat an estimation of the percentage cover (to the nearest 1%) at ground
level of the following categories is recorded:
 exposed rock;
 bare earth;
 leaf litter;
 woody vegetation;
 non woody vegetation and
 other.
Estimations of the canopy cover and canopy height are recorded for every 10 m of each 50 m
section enabling the five recordings to be averaged for the section. Estimates are made by
looking straight up through inverted binoculars. Measurements of canopy height are taken at
the point where the canopy cover is taken. Canopy height is measured using a clinometer to
measure canopy angle to the top of the canopy. The horizontal distance over which the
canopy angle is recorded, is measured and the height of the canopy from the ground is
calculated taking into account the eye height of the observer.

Casual Observations of Other Fauna

During all other surveys, records are also made on dedicated data sheets of other Fauna
observed and identified in the field, noting species with confidence of identification, location,
habitat, group size and other applicable notes. Indirect observations of animals such as
tracks or dung are also recorded as indicators of presence.

Results and Discussion

Line Transect Sampling

In total 22 days were spent laying the transects, where two groups cutting transects
simultaneously counted as 2 days. This expedition we achieved our aims of completing
transects 5 and 6.

Figure 15 shows the total number of sections and lengths of each transect. Transect 1 was
initiated 100 m North of the southern coastal edge of the forest area, and subsequent

45
transects initiated 200 m North of each other. A total of 2.7 km of new transect was cut during
the expedition.

Sections West of Length West Sections East of Length East

North-South spine (m) North-South spine (m)
Transect 5 16 800
Transect 6 7 350 31 1550
Total 7 350 47 2350

Figure 15: Transects cut

Primate Community Survey

Primate community surveys were undertaken over 15 days. Each group of observers working
simultaneously counts as one day’s work. With two observers this total of 24 hours 52
minutes of man hours on primate community surveys.

We recorded 12 groups of Angolan Black and White Colobus. The results are summarized in
figure 16. The sightings are shown in figure 17.

Total research area

Colobus research area (m²) 2.2 km²
Colobus groups 12
Individual colobus 31
Mean individuals per group 2.6

Figure 16: Colobus distribution research

The number of groups sighted is considerably lower than in the expedition 06-1 (15 against
44) and consistent expedition 06-2 (15 against 15). The effort is relatively consistent with 15
days this expedition compared to 14 and 12 in expeditions 06-1 and 06-2 respectively. This
may be due to the rainy season, with new foliage growth resulting in a denser canopy,
rendering the primarily arboreal primates more difficult to observe. This may be supported by
the fact that all observed groups this expedition were within 40 m of the transect line.
Additionally primates may be less active in wet weather and therefore more difficult to
observe.

46
The data set on observations at different distances, necessary for distance sampling analysis
can be added to from this expedition. Distance categories are in 10 m groups, figure 17
shows distance categories of observed groups for this expedition combined with previous
expeditions.

Colobus group sightings

20
18

16
14
# groups

12
10 Exp 063
8 Exp 061+062
6
4

2
0
0<10 10<20 20<30 30<40 40<50 50<60 60<70 70<80 80<90 90<100

Distance (in m)

Figure 17: Sighting of Colobus monkeys at different distances from the transect line

We also encountered an additional 5 groups of Sykes monkeys to the 10 groups sighted on

the previous two expeditions. The Sykes encounters remain too small a sample to start
analysing.

Primate Behavioural Observations

During this expedition 6 man hours of behavioural observations were made of Angolan Black
& White Colobus as anecdotal evidence for habitat use. The one troop towards the beginning
of transect 3 on which much of the observations were based in previous expeditions were
absent for much of this one. This may be because of ongoing deforestation in the area with
much of the undergrowth removed. Additionally maize crops in the vicinity were seen to
attract Yellow Baboons creating localised wildlife – community conflict, which may have
caused disturbance to the resident Colobus troop.

An alternative troop on transect 3, on the Westerly sections close to Shimoni village, proved
to be particularly valuable for behavioural observations with only limited evidence of

47
disturbance from the presence of observers, confined to the first 10 minutes after arrival.
Other troops at the beginning of transect 1 proved to be a consistent presence for preliminary
behavioural observations as well. Troops encountered further in to the forest tended to flee
and maintain a spatial distance from observers that made behavioural observations
impractical.

In the course of the observations further anecdotal records were made of feeding behaviour
and the use of hands, the soliciting of grooming, and the handling of infants.

Vegetation & Regeneration Survey

During this expedition the assistant of the botanist, attached to the National Museums of
Kenya Coastal Forest Conservation Unit was not available for identification of specimens and
so vegetation and regeneration surveys were postponed.

With the data gathered from the previous two expeditions representation analysis can be
presented; the cumulative number of species should reach a plateau that indicates a
sufficient number of sections have been sampled (red line), as indicated in figure 18. Since
this is not the case more vegetation surveys are needed before an accurate characterization
of the plant community can be made.

48
 Representation analyses

35

30
Cumulative # species

25

20

15

10

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Researched area (x 100 m2)

Figure 18: Representation analysis of plant species identified

Disturbance Survey
Disturbance surveys were conducted on all transects. The results of the disturbance research
are summarized in figures 19 - 24. The greatest level of disturbance is pole extraction. On all
transects the number of old and new poles extracted account for more than three quarters of
the disturbance level. Poles are used both in the construction of houses and shelter, and also
for fish traps.

49
 Disturbance on Transect 1
shelter
25
clearing
20
snares
Amount

15 firewood
10 fire
5 pit saws
old timber
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 5 6 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
new timber
old poles
Section
new poles

Figure 19: Disturbance on transect 1

Disturbance on transect 2
shelter
40
clearing
30 snares
Amount

firewood
20
fire
10 pit saws
old timber
0
-9 -7 -5 -3 -1 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 19 21 23 25 new timber
old poles
Section
new poles

Figure 20: Disturbance on transect 2

50
 Disturbance on transect 3
30

25 shelter
clearing
20 snares
Amount

firewood
15
fire
pit saws
10
old timber
new timber
5
old poles

0 new poles

-14 -10 -6 -3 2 6 10 13 17 21 25 29
Section

Figure 21: Disturbance on transect 3

Disturbance on transect 4
40 shelter
35 clearing
30 snares
Amount

25 firewood
20 fire
15 pit saws
10 old timber
5 new timber

0 old poles
new poles
-11 -7 -3 0 4 8 11 15 19 23 27 31
Section
Figure 22: Disturbance on transect 4

51
 Disturbance on transect 5
12
shelter
10 clearing
snares
8
Amount

firewood
6 fire
pit saws
4
old timber
2 new timber
old poles
0
new poles
-8 -5 -2 1 4 7 10 13 14 16 17 18 20 23 26 29 32
Section

Figure 23: Disturbance on transect 5

Disturbanc on transect 6 other

14 shelter

12 clearing
snares
10
Amount

firew ood
8
fire
6 pit saw s
4 old timber
2 new timber
old poles
0
-7 -4 -1 2 5 7 10 13 16 19 22 25 28 31 new poles

Section

Figure 24: Disturbance on transect 7

Disturbance on all transects is most intense in the western part of the forest, from the South-
North spine westwards. This corresponds with the data of the canopy cover survey
suggesting that the higher levels of disturbance are found close to settlements.

52
Ground and canopy cover surveys
A total 33 days was spent on ground and canopy cover surveys in combination with other
surveys. Each group working simultaneously counts as one day’s work.

The dominant category for the ground cover was leaf litter, accounting on average for 73%,
indicating that this microhabitat dominates at ground level in the forest. Exposed rock varied
with extensive patches of this ground substrate distributed throughout the survey area. Bare
earth appears to be mostly prevalent in disturbed areas as might be expected.

The canopy cover varied from 0 to 95%, the average being 74%. The number of 74% is
considerably higher than the average of 55% of expedition 06-1 and comparable to the 75%
in expedition 06-2. This may be a consequence of the following three factors:
 The increase in foliage due to the rainy season;
 The increased effort per section from the beginning of expedition 06-2 by taking the
average of 5 samples
 The sampling during expeditions 06-2 and 06-3 have been taken deeper in the forest
than in expedition 06-1

In figure 25 the canopy cover of every section in the six transects is given as a point. In figure
26 a polynomial trend line of the second order (parabola) is fitted through the points showing
the trend of the canopy cover following the transects. The flatter the line of the parabola the
more even the canopy cover along the transect. The lines indicate reduced canopy cover
closer settlements and that the densest canopy is in the centre of the forest corresponding
with the theory of influence of human settlement closer to the forest and the influence of
environmental conditions along the coast line. Transects 1 and 6 show steep slopes,
explained on transect one by the shorter range of data (sections 0 to 17 only), and on
transect 6 by a limited number of Westerly sections (7). Transect 3 has been subject to the
highest degree of recent disturbance on the Westerly sections (clear-felling for agriculture)
and shows correspondingly low percentages of canopy cover.

53
 Canopy cover of Shimoni forest
120

100

80 T1
% coverage

T2
60 T3
T4
40
T5
T6
20

0
-30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 40
Section #

Figure 25: Overview of the canopy cover on the six transects

54
 Canopy cover of Shimoni forest
120

100

80
Poly. (T3)
60
% coverage

Poly. (T2)
Poly. (T5)
40
Poly. (T6)
20 Poly. (T1)
Poly. (T4)
0
-30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 40
-20

-40
Section #

Figure 26: Polynomial fit of the second order (parabola) through the canopy cover on all six transects

This expedition a new protocol for estimating average canopy height for each section was
trialled. 49 sections were surveyed in total, and will be analysed when further sections are
completed.

Casual Wildlife Observations

The observations of other fauna during the conducted research were also noted to contribute
towards biodiversity data. Confident identifications of the following species were recorded
during the expedition: suni (Neotragus moschatus), Harvey’s duiker (Cephalophus harveyi),
zanj elephant shrew (Rhynchocyon petersi), red-bellied coast squirrel (Paraxerus palliatus),
snouted night adder (Causus defilippi), speckled green snake (Philothamnus punctatus),
Bearded pygmy-chameleon/short-tailed pygmy-chameleon (Rhampholeon brevicaudatus),
palm nut vulture (Gypohierax angolensis) and African fish eagle (Haliaeetus vocifer). Further
sightings of animals occurred but the species couldn’t be confidently identified. At the edge of
the forest into the mangroves we found a midden of smashed shells, crushed using a stone

55
tool, with scratches and chips in the underlying rock substrate which could be indicative of the
presence of the African clawless otter.

In this expedition we have tried to identify the species of the bird community in the forest as a
preliminary assessment of the viability of structured bird surveys. We have been able to
positively identify three species in two attempts in addition to our casual observations; red-
capped robin chat (Cossypha natalensis), African pygmy kingfisher (Ispidina picta) and
silvery-cheeked hornbill (Bycanistes brevis)). Several other birds have been observed but not
positively identified.

Discussion and further work

The laying of transects to sample the forest has been completed for areas accessible from
our Shimoni base and appear to facilitate representative sampling of the different forest
habitats, with distinct variations and gradations in forest profile and levels of human
disturbance. An increase in the study area of the Shimoni forest would require the laying of
further transects to the North which is currently impractical from our Shimoni base in terms of
travel time. The current research area is 2.15 km2.

Primate groups for primate community and behavioural surveys were again potentially more
difficult to observe this expedition due to increase in foliage and wetter weather. Further
vegetation surveys are needed before an accurate characterisation of the plant community
can be made.

Extraction of poles accounts for the highest volume of disturbance recorded however it is
likely that it has less overall impact than the felling of mature trees for timber. Large scale
clearance of forest for farmland is still in evidence close to the village of Shimoni and should
be considered a priority area for community management objectives. The canopy cover
increased considerably from an average of 55% to an average of 75% from expedition 06-1
to 06-2. This expedition the canopy cover remained at a comparable level (74%). On going
monitoring of the canopy cover will indicate whether this variation is seasonal.

56
Future work is summarized as follows:
 Primate behavioural observations will continue with protocols set up based on preliminary
work achieved so far. Exposure to observers will also be incorporated as part of the
process of habituation for different troops of Angolan Black & White Colobus supporting
Shimoni Youth Conservation Group in establishing a Colobus trail in Shimoni forest.
 To counter the absence of a botanical expert, a field herbarium will be developed for
reference and tree identification catalogue so that samples can be stored for later
identification. Vegetation survey efforts in expedition 06-4 should be increased to keep
track of our vegetation and regeneration research aims, and will hopefully be supported
by access to a botanist through our partner KWS.
 Preliminary attempts at structured bird surveys proved interesting but only viable as a
means to develop a comprehensive list with much research effort and time allocation. W e
will continue bird surveys on future expeditions to supplement data on forest wildlife.
 During this expedition we have encountered a vibrant butterfly community in the forest.
With the successful acquisition of reference material it is intended to liaise with the African
Butterfly Research Institute in developing a pilot study to survey the butterfly community in
the forest.
 For next expedition we will start investigating potential study sites for additional terrestrial
research in other parts of Kenya in the neighbourhood of Kwale district. For the duration
of two weeks, one in the first halve of the expedition and another in the second halve, will
be utilised to undertake pilot studies on large mammal distribution and habitat use in a
private reserve. The potential study site we have in mind for next expedition is a site on
the Mombasa – Nairobi road. On this site there is the potential of research on wildlife
introduction and consequences of the changes on conservation, vegetation, wildlife and
man.
 In future expeditions it is envisaged that there will be less research time allocated to
Shimoni forest. This will be countered by the fact that much of the baseline data and work
has been completed (transects, disturbance survey, habitat survey), with research
activities focussing on primate community monitoring, behavioural surveys and vegetation
& regeneration surveys. A programme of capacity building and handover will be entered in
to with Shimoni Youth Conservation Project with whom we have collaborated previously
so that much of the monitoring work can be undertaken by them as community
management stakeholders.

57
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

Introduction

At the specific request of KWS, Global Vision International East Africa’s Community
Development Programme is focused on the community of Mkwiro Village. We aim to assist
KWS in their objective of capacity building within the community, to access tourism revenue
bought in by the KMMPA and improve the over-all socio-economic status of the villagers.
Mkwiro has a population of approximately 1400, with around 200 children attending Mkwiro
Primary School, and 26 resident boys in the Al-Hanan Orphanage. The village remains a
relatively isolated and very traditional rural Islamic community, with a mainly sedentary
population. Traditional fishing is essentially still the main form of economic income, but is
supplemented by seasonal small scale arable farming, livestock keeping and other small
scale activities such as traditional woven crafts and supplying the shell trade. With the
creation of the KMMPA, the community lost many of its fishing rights within the area, and the
perception amongst the community is that they have yet to see the compensatory economic
benefit from tourism. There is one tourist operator based in Mkwiro, operating diving,
snorkelling and dolphin-watching tours within the KMMPA. Tourists with this operator are
brought to Mkwiro for lunch at private facilities, offered a short tour of the village, but very few
stay overnight.

Timetable of Activities

School Program Timetable

As shown in figure 27, EMs received two weeks of training, delivered two weeks of lessons,
then constructed a two week holiday program in the first and last weeks of the four week
August school holiday break, before teaching in the school for another two weeks.

T = Training, H = Holiday Programme, S = In School lessons, TR = Terrestrial Research Trip

Expedition 06-3
Figure 27: School programme
10th July – 18th September
Weeks 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
T T S S H TR T H S S

58
In the next expedition, the EMs will have the opportunity to be working in the school for five
weeks, before delivering a three week educational holiday program (figure 28).

T = Training, H = Holiday Programme, S = School Open

Expedition 06-4

9th October – 18th December

Weeks 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
T T S S S S S H H H

Figure 28: Proposed expedition 06-4 school programme

Recommendations for Expedition 06-4

 As the three week holiday block is a substantial amount of time, it is recommended
that activities for the holiday program are brainstormed and planned in advance.
 In Expedition 06-3 the holiday program was widely promoted in the village and
advertised on the school notice board encouraging high numbers of attendance by
students, this should be replicated in expedition 06-4.

Weekly analysis of activities

Community based activities fall broadly into four categories: Mkwiro Primary School lessons,
Adult Education lessons, Orphanage sessions, and Community Group development. The
weekly timetable is scheduled so that each group within the expedition is able to participate in
each of the various categories during the week, except for the latter category. With
community groups, each with numerous members, it was beneficial in previous expeditions to
remain flexible in our approach to setting up meetings each week. However, time constraints
during expedition 0-63 meant that a limited amount of hours were spent on these projects,
and mainly condensed into the last few weeks, so the time flexible approach should be
reviewed for expedition 06-4. Lessons are allocated so that each team teaches the same two
English classes twice a week, except for the third team who teaches one class twice on
Fridays. This ensures continuity for both EMs and students, and allows EMs the opportunity
to develop a better rapport with students in their particular classes. Adult Education and
Orphanage sessions are balanced so that each group gets to experience each of these on

59
alternate days during their two days in the community each week. Figure 29 outlines the
weekly schedule for each of the GVI groups in the community during school time, while figure
30 outlines weekly activities during the two weeks of holiday lessons in expedition 06-4. The
Holiday program in expedition 06-3 was mix of HIV/AIDS awareness sessions, arts and
crafts, letter writing, environmental lessons and beach cleans.
Day Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
Group 1 1 2 2 3 3
Mkwiro Mkwiro Mkwiro Mkwiro Mkwiro
Adult Education
AM School School School School School
Women
(5 & 8) (5 & 8) (7 & 4) (7 & 4) (6 & 6)
Adult Adult
PM Orphanage Education Orphanage Education Orphanage
Men Men
Community Community Community
Extra
Group Work Group Work Group Work

Figure 29: Expedition 06-3 weekly timetable during school term time (Class in brackets; standards 4-8)
Day Time Week One of School Holidays Week Two of School Holidays
Std 5 – Dolphin lesson (theory and
AM Std 5 & 6 - Letter writing with craft cards
activities) + Beach Clean
Monday
Std 8 – HIV/AIDS awareness (theory
PM Std 8 – Letter writing with craft cards
+ questions and answers)
Std 5 – Dolphin lesson (plasticene
AM Std 5&6 – Mobile crafts
models)
Tuesday
Std 8 – HIV/AIDS awareness
PM Standard 8 – Mobile Crafts
(posters)
Std 7 – HIV/AIDS awareness (theory
AM Standard 7 – Letter writing with craft cards
+ questions and answers)
Wednesday
Std 4 – Dolphin lesson (theory and
PM Standard 4 - Letter writing with craft cards
activities) + Beach Clean
Std 7 – HIV/AIDS awareness Std 7 – Flip flop packaging and forest
AM
(posters) diarama’s
Thursday
Std 4 – Dolphin lesson (plasticene
PM ALL Standards invited – Film
models)
Std 6 – Dolphin lesson (theory and
AM Day off
activities) + Beach Clean
Friday
Std 6 – Dolphin lesson (plasticene
PM Day off
models)

Figure 30: Expedition 06-3 weekly community timetable during holiday

60
The Holiday program in expedition 06-3 was well advertised resulting in high numbers being
recorded in some classes. Although the schedule was timetabled to target different levels on
different days, in reality the classes were often a mix of levels, as some younger and older
students wanted to participate each day, and we did not turn away students eager to learn
during their school holiday break. It was noted that during the holiday session students were
not as punctual as normal, as we would often start with a class of 3 or 4 students, but end up
with a full class by the end of the session. Lessons lasted approximately two hours in the
morning and two hours in the afternoon, to maximise the amount of time we could spend with
the children.

Figure 31 outlines the actual amount of hours spent on scheduled activities per week during
expedition 06-3. It is important to remember that this figure does not reflect the true nature of
the work effort put in, as it does not show the large number of hours spent preparing lessons,
creating resources, and also the meetings held on a flexible weekly basis with community
members/community groups. Despite additional time off base during terrestrial research trips
and a week long mid-phase break, the time spent in primary education actually increased by
over 10 hours due to longer lessons being delivered during the school holidays. Orphanage
hours decreased slightly as the orphans were not present for the four week August holidays,
and the time spent in adult education remained exactly the same as GVI continues to provide
this regardless of when EM availability, as staff are able to deliver the lessons and ensure
continuity for community members. During expeditions EMs have the opportunity to take
some Saturday mornings off to maximise their weekend leisure time, meaning they are
unable to participate in the regular Saturday morning time slot for Women’s adult education.
As a result of this, it is recommended that the community timetable be reviewed and if
possible amended for expedition 06-4.

61

Primary Education
(actual lesson time only,
excluding preparation and
reflect/review time)
26 hours
Phase One (2 (School: 35 mins x 10 lessons
weeks of school, 1 x 2 weeks + Holidays:
week of hoildays) 120mins X 10 Lessons x 1
week)
26 hours
Phase Two (2 (School: 35 mins x 10 lessons
weeks of school, 1 x 2 weeks + Holidays:
week of holidays) 120mins X 10 Lessons x 1
week)
Total 52 hours
Orphanage
Adult Education (actual
(actual time spent at the
lesson time only, excluding
orphanage only,
preparation and reflect/review
excluding preparation
time)
time)
12 hours
(1.5 hrs x 3 sessions x 2 18 hours
weeks + 2 extra sessions (2 hrs x 3 lessons x 3 weeks)
during training week)
9 hours
30 hours
(1.5 hrs x 3 sessions x 2
(2 hrs x 3 lessons x 5weeks)
weeks)
21 hours 48 hours

Figure 31: Hours spent in the community weeks 5 - 10

Weekly Timetable Recommendations

 If amenable to the women involved, change the women’s education session from
Saturday to a Friday from 2-4, ensuring the third community group are still able to
participate in adult education lessons.
 Use every second Saturday morning to regularly liaise with community groups to work
on community based projects.

Daily Activities
Figure 32 outlines the typical structure of a day spent on community activities. EMs on the
community programme are also required to undertake additional activities while on base to
help camp duty. On Saturday mornings the group spend their first hour or two planning and
developing women’s education lessons, before implementing them.

62
Time Activity
EM’s revise their lesson plans for the morning, making last minute materials or resources required to
7.00-
implement the lessons smoothly, and ensuring all involved know their roles and responsibilities
8.50
during the lesson.
Lessons are delivered at Mkwiro School. After each lesson there is review and reflection time,
8.50-
assessing what worked and what could have been improved in the lesson. Lessons are then planned
12.30
ahead for the next day or next week’s lessons.
12.30-
Lunch
14.00
14.00-
Adult Education lesson planning (2x a week on week days)
15.00
15.00-
Down time/data entry/school sports/remedial work/extra class time*
16.00
16.15-
Adult Education Lessons delivered at Mkwiro School (2x a week)
18.30
15.00-
Orphanage sessions (3x a week).
18.30

Figure 32: Daily organisation of community activities

The current timetable works relatively well. In previous expeditions it was recommended to
implement remedial reading with school students in the afternoons, and to explore the
potential of EMs being utilised as Teacher Aides in school during the afternoons. Teachers at
Mkwiro Primary school who were approached about the idea of teacher aides seemed very
open to the idea, and have promised to organise a list of students who we would focus our in-
class attention on. We are still waiting for the list of students who would be targeted to
receive remedial reading attention. However, we need to be very careful about initiating these
early afternoon programs in light of EM commitments and activities during the rest of the day.
It may be that any early afternoon activities such as extra tuition in class or remedial reading,
will have to remain optional. This will undoubtedly result in variable numbers of EMs being
available in the school in the early afternoons, so should be discussed very carefully and
thoroughly with Mkwiro Primary school teachers before being initiated.

The community timetable should be reviewed for expo 06-4 focusing on the early afternoon
period, how Saturday mornings can be best be utilised and trying to timetable in community
based projects.

63
Daily Timetable Recommendations
 Investigate EM response to additional early afternoon activities and Mkwiro teacher
response to these activities if they were to be optional, resulting in variable numbers in
the classes each day.

Teaching English

Mkwiro School Lessons and Mkwiro Primary School Development

Permission was granted by Kwale District Education Department to work during school hours
in Mkwiro Primary School. As part of the agreement it was stipulated that we must follow the
Kenyan Primary Schools Syllabus. As such we utilise the New Progressive Primary Schools
English syllabus books (teacher and student copies), and have been using this as the basis
around which our lesson plans are constructed.

Using this method has been effective, in that we are seen by the regular teachers to be
following the syllabus, we have a solid framework around which we can plan lessons, and we
can also introduce our own activities into the lesson. In expedition 06-2 feedback from the
EMs reconfirmed that the syllabus is above the level of the students we teach. We employed
various methods to try and circumvent this problem, while still delivering the national syllabus
and have hopefully made the lessons less challenging for the EMs to deliver. We continue to
pre-teach a lot of extra vocabulary from the books, simplifying our lesson plans, and focusing
on a very small part of each chapter at a time. Chapters have been allocated in consultation
with each class’s regular teacher, so that GVI takes responsibility for a whole chapter
avoiding over-lap between us and the regular teachers.

The structure of lessons given varies, but basically consists of a GVI staff member leading a
quick introduction or warmer activity, before breaking into small groups allocating 4-5 pupils
per EM.

At the end of each unit a vocabulary list is regularly put up on the walls and tested to
encourage new learning. EMs mark, record and analyse the results of these tests. Any
marking done by EMs is in a green pen, and students are encouraged to head up work done
by GVI with the words ‘GVI’ and the date, to indicate when and for which teacher the work
was done. At the end of Expedition 06-3 Standard Eight finished their New Progressive

64
Primary Schools English syllabus book, so for the last two weeks we taught revision activities
in consultation with their English teacher.

Figure 33 shows the times we have been teaching in the school. Most groups have taught
two classes twice a week, while one group teaches class six twice on Fridays. We are still
restricted to the 35 minute lessons which are very short, but where possible have tried to
utilise any double lessons and teach two classes in a row.

Day Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Group A A B B C
Lesson 1. Standard 8 Standard 5 Standard 7 Standard 4 Standard 6
8.50 – 9.25 8.50-9.25 8.50 – 9.25 8.15-8.50 9.55-10.35
9.55-10.30
Lesson 2. Standard 5 Standard 8 Standard 4 Standard7 Standard 6
11.55-12.30 10.30–11.05 10.30–11.05 8.50-9.25 11.20-11.55

Figure 33: Mkwiro School timetable for GVI

We were once again successfully able to avoid the first lesson of the day and thus the
morning assemblies, which can go on for longer then anticipated cutting into lesson times,
and during which physical disciplinary procedures occur.

Results from the spelling tests were once again variable, and it is recommended to teach
younger students learning skills such as ‘look, cover, spell, look’ methods of how to learn new
words, and to provide spelling cards or notebooks for them to take home and learn.

Additional resources such as Dolphin Fact sheets were sent out by a UK based Cetacean
charity. These were implemented into the holiday program and will be used again in the
future.

Mkwiro Primary School Development

At the end of Expedition 06-1 several library books were donated to the school, with a card
system of borrowing in place on the inside back cover of each book. This system has not yet
been adopted by the school, and at the beginning of expedition 06-3 the library consisted of
several books stored in a cardboard box. This has now been rectified due to the generous
donations of two EMs from expedition 06-3, one of which had collected funds from her

65
community church group and another who decided to match that with funds she and her
friends raised. This money was spent on 3 bookshelves plus over 200 fiction and non-fiction
reference books. A new building in the school has meant the old 7 and 8 classes are empty,
so these have been set aside to utilise as the school library. The card system is yet to be
implemented, but teachers at Mkwiro Primary School have informed us they will take over the
role of librarians and keep track of books going home in the future.

In expedition 06-3 GVI sponsored a trophy for the first annual inter-class football tournament
– named ‘The GVI Cup’. This involved each standard playing several other standards in a
series of football matches after school. Standard 7 were the eventual winners.

Two concrete constructions in the Mkwiro Primary School Playground were re-painted by
EMs to represent the continent of Africa with countries and capitals, and another of Kenya
showing regions, major landmarks and cities.

Mkwiro School Recommendations

 Continue using the New Progressive Primary Schools English syllabus books as a
framework to construct lesson plans, pre-teaching extra vocabulary, focusing on small
parts of each chapter at a time, and add in extra activities to reinforce the subject
matter taught.
 Continue to split students into small groups, allocating 4-5 students per individual EM
in the body of the lesson.
 Teach younger students the skills for learning new vocabulary, and provide them with
spelling cards/note books to take home and learn.
 Use different coloured pens for marking (e.g green for GVI) so teachers can keep track
of GVI marking, utilise stickers brought by the EMs, and encourage students to
differentiate their GVI work in their headings.
 Support the implementation of a library by providing books, and encouraging students
to read the books by asking questions about them and doing their own book reviews.

Adult Education
Adult education lessons are offered in the first week after training, between 4.15 pm and
6.30pm at Mkwiro Primary School for men, and between 10am and 12pm for women at the

66
Nursery School. Students normally learn conversational English and extend their vocabulary,
and range from lower intermediate to advanced learners. In expedition 06-3 however, basic
computer literacy lessons were delivered, utilising the GVI lap tops.

Women are free to bring their children and young babies to these lessons, to encourage
attendance and so that they are able to breast feed while still accessing the curriculum. The
presence of so many young children in the women’s classes often makes them quite
challenging, but both rewarding and worthwhile.

Both adult and primary education lessons have continued to be delivered by GVI in the
community, with the focus in Expedition 06-3 being on computer literacy for adult education.
Villagers were very keen to learn these new practical skills, and numbers increased as result
of offering computer lessons, over 45 different adults attending lessons at one stage or
another. Over one hundred and fifty primary school students participated in lessons taught by
GVI Expedition Members, mostly from Std 4-8, but during the holidays Std’s 1-3 were also
welcomed into class. Teachers at Mkwiro Primary School continue to welcome the
opportunity to work with us, and the feeling of goodwill amongst both parents and staff has
been maintained. A two week holiday program consisting of environmental education and
craft activities was also implemented and enjoyed by all involved.

Discussion
The number of different men attending lessons increased slightly to 13 pupils, class sizes
ranged from 1 pupil to 6 pupils with an average of 3-4 per lesson. These latter figures were
very similar to the previous expedition. The average class size for the women’s lessons also
stayed the same at 12-13 pupils, with a maximum attendance of 17 pupils. Again the number
of different women attending classes increased, this time significantly to 32 different women.

Overall 45 men and women attended adult education classes during expedition 06-3, this is
an increase of almost a third. Once again there were core students who regularly attended
without fail, and then ‘drop in’ students who may have been slightly less motivated, or
perhaps had other activities occupying these times.

The increase in attendance can be attributed to the implementation of computer literacy

lessons, and the attraction of learning how to use a computer, a program which has been

67
thoroughly welcomed by the community. Various community members have picked up the
concepts so quickly that they are now almost computer literate, and have already starting
exploiting their new skills for community benefit writing proposals and letters for the
community. We expect that by the end of the next expedition there will be at least one or two
community members who will be completely literate in Microsoft word and basic computing
skills.

There have been many requests from community members for individual computer tuition,
but due to time constraints and limited availability of computers, we are unable to offer this.
Both lessons for men and women on the computers are now also beginning to become
difficult to manage, with new students turning up at each lesson, requiring the students
currently sharing the computer to go back over the basics. These issues could be alleviated if
there were more computers available to use, and this will be passed onto the fundraising
committee to try and address in expedition 06-4. In the mean time, we may instigate shorter
sessions for various ability levels, e.g more advanced for the first hour, and then more
introductory for the second or vice versa,

During normal Adult education lessons the majority of students attending the men’s classes
were at an intermediate to advanced level, and benefited from activities such as debating,
discussions, formal letter writing, and vocabulary extension. However, there is a cohort of the
community that we are yet to access – the true beginners in English. It was recommended in
expedition 06-2 to deliver a four week intensive beginners class, however due to the broken
up nature of activities in expedition 06-3, a continuous four week time period was unavailable.
To access these in the current timetable we would have to run con-current English lessons.
This means having two lead teachers at one time and breaking the EM group in half, which is
possible if additional staff are available during the afternoons. EMs have also been offered
the opportunity to lead the lessons themselves, but so far very few feel confident enough or
eager to take on this role. It is recommended that in the review of the community timetable for
expedition 06-4, this issue is investigated and if possible a beginner course initiated.

Many adult education lessons have been based upon lesson plans and activities found in the
book ‘Grammar and Punctuation’ Key Stage 2. In expedition 06-3 we exhausted the activities
found in this book, which was mitigated by the instigation of computer literacy lessons.
Although it is possible to construct lesson plans from scratch, it is far more time efficient and

68
the quality of the lessons delivered much higher if there is some structured format to base
them upon, which lesson plans in resource books can provide.

Aside from providing English lessons, Spanish, German and French lessons were also given
to interested community members, utilising the knowledge of EMs and staff.

Adult Education Recommendations

 Continue to deliver computer literacy lessons, if necessary splitting the lessons to
allow for the different ability levels.
 Deliver varied, interesting and relevant lessons to the classes, integrating more
community based themes (such as proposal writing, budgeting etc) that will assist in
the development of community initiatives.
 Possibly provide an intensive four week evening course for beginners, structured
around the syllabus provided in the official GVI TEFL teaching syllabus, delivered con-
currently to the men’s advanced group.
 Acquire books on the resource list suggested in association with the GVI Introduction
to TEFL course.
 Look into the fundraising or donation possibilities for computers for the community.
 Continue to utilise the knowledge and skills of EMs, teaching other languages or skills
such as budgeting to community members.

Orphanage work

Three times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays EMs visit the orphanage to
spend time with the boys. This time is unstructured to allow the EMs and the orphans to
interact with each other in a more relaxed manner.

Activities include:
 reading library books and listening to stories
 lateral thinking exercises and development of cognitive skills using interactive books
brought out by Ems
 playing sports like frisbee, football, volleyball, acrobatics and athletics
 other physical activities like hacky sac, poi dancing and dancing to music

69
  creative arts such as colouring in, using crayons, felt tips, and paints to create paper
murals for the walls
 help with homework and exam study
 group games and circle time

Sessions with the orphanage boys are so popular that students who are not actually orphans
keep trying to join in, however this has become problematic as the caregivers for the orphans
feel that they are unable to supervise everyone. GVI also believe that these times are special
and that the attention should be devoted to the orphans only. To assist in making sure we
know who is who, we have a list of all the boys with photo’s of all those living at the
orphanage for easy identification. Once GVI staff members get to know and recognise more
individuals in the orphanage, it will be easier to decipher those boys who are actually from
families in the village.

Discussion
Although the amount of time spent with the boys in the orphanage in expedition 06-3 was
limited due to the school holiday break, it still proved to be one of the highlights for many of
the EMs. The boys were once again hugely responsive to the attention given to them, and
enjoyed participating in activities led by EMs.

During the break the EMs were able to spend time decorating the orphanage, and it is now
looking spectacular with swirls of soothing colour, proverbs and wise words and a map of the
KMMPA. These paintings were constructed under the approval of the Al-Hanan Orphanage
caregivers, as pictures of subject matter with heart-beats or shadows were not permitted for
religious reasons. The majority of the wooden beds have been constructed. Each of the beds
has a pillow, sheets, mosquito nets, and a basket underneath it for storage. Until the last
beds are made, the smaller boys will share beds so that they can start to utilise their new
room.

The Global Vision International Charitable Trust (GVI-CT) pledged 1000 pounds to the
orphanage in expedition 06-3, from which much of the above materials were purchased.
However, there is still much to be developed, three out of the five rooms in the dormitory
block still have rubble instead of cement for a floor, and the facility for collecting and storing

70
fresh water has only partially been built. Continued donations from the GVI-CT will be
allocated in liaison with the Al Hanan orphanage caregivers to prioritise projects they deem
most important. In expedition 06-4 this is likely to be finishing the water tank to provide free
fresh water for the orphans, plastering a second room, and possibly the provision of desks for
the boys to use for study after school.

The GVI-CT also continues to fund the nurse at the dispensary, and this remains one of the
most positive and beneficial aspects of community development this year. It has not only
alleviated conditions for the boys at the orphanage, but has provided essential medical care
to the whole Mkwiro community.

GVI has also helped the caregivers of the Orphanage formulate and write proposals for
further funding from additional sources from within Kenya.

Orphanage Recommendations
 Continue providing EM support to the orphans in the evenings
 Continue to seek funding for sporting equipment such as boots and soccer balls
 Continue close liaison with Orphanage Caregivers to develop and improve the
orphanage, utilising the GVI-CT funds in the most cost effective way, and on a project
by project basis

Community groups and initiatives: Introduction

Individual expedition members who have an interest in particular projects in the community
form groups which in theory meet regularly to develop each project. Community members are
not only invited to be involved and participate in these discussions, but to ultimately make the
major decisions concerning their own community ventures. Community projects are handed
over to successive expedition members so that the work being done towards the objectives of
each of the community based organisations is perpetuated. Community members and EMs
constructed a list of activities that could attract tourists, these are listed in Figure 34. A
summary of the work achieved on these and other community projects is also given.

71
 Name of activity Details
Fishing Trips ( with - traditional line fishing in a small dug-out canoe
local fishermen and - checking traps
women) - octopus hunting
- catching squid (calamari) in a small dug-out
Village Tours - tour the village with local guide
- eat a traditional lunch
Guided nature - in Kaya Bogoa, a forest with cultural
Walks significance to the local community
- Beach and Mangrove Forests on the south side
of the island
- hunt for (catch and release) the large and rare
Coconut Crab
Cultural activities - visit the grave of Mwauze Tumbe to hear the
story of her life and death
- visit Jiwe jahazi, or ‘dhow rock’, and hear the
story of how it changed from a dhow into an
island
- visit the sacred cycad trees, where offerings are
still made
- visit cultural cave sites where the villagers’
ancestors went to pray
Drumming Lessons - Msondo
- Kipumbwi
- Msapata
Cooking Lessons - cook in the home of a local women, learning the
secrets of her trade
- take the fish you caught earlier in the day, and
cook on an open fire while listening to village
stories around the flames
Community Centre - one of the women’s groups have a co-operative
building that is currently being used as a
restaurant. If this could be developed, it could

72
 become a focal point for the community. This is
where they could advertise the tourist activities
provided in the village, and where they could
sell some of their goods.

Figure 34: Potential tourism activities identified for the Mkwiro community

Fishing Trips
Expedition members and staff have both participated in the first fishing trips out in dug out
canoes. These trips have been a big success, not only in the fish that have been caught, but
also in the enjoyment of both fishermen and GVI member. By using expedition members as
‘guinea pig tourists’ the fisherman were able to see some of the ideas they need to work on to
offer these trips to the larger tourist community. An initial brochure and flyer has been
designed to advertise the trips, but these have yet to be finalised with community members.

Recommendations:
 Finalise the brochures and flyers with community members, then photocopy and
distribute in local areas like Diani, Shimoni and Wasini. Perhaps also look at
advertising in budget accommodation or hotels in Mombasa.
 Finalise prices for the different activities with community members

Drumming
Mkwiro Villagers are descended from the Shirazi tribe, a group historically known for their
drumming and drum making. Unfortunately these drums are no longer constructed locally and
instead villagers perform at weddings and in the evenings on plastic barrels.

The drums mentioned in the story of Mwauzi Tumbe are actually located in Fort Jesus,
Mombasa, in storage. Several expedition members received permission from the curators to
see the drums, and informally discussed the possibility of the drums being displayed more
locally in Shimoni once the Shimoni Museum and visitor centre has been built.

Some expedition members have taken up the opportunity to have drumming lessons, and
have enjoyed these with community members. These have been on an informal basis, and
no marketing has been developed on this activity.

73
Recommendations:
 Source funding for replica’s of the Fort Jesus drums to be made, and use these as one
of the focal points of the village tour.
 Write a formal proposal to include the original Mkwiro/Shirazi drums in a display at the
proposed Shimoni Tourist centre.
 Work with community members to start actively marketing drum lessons on the island
by designing leaflets and brochures to be distributed in local tourist areas.

Mwaozi Tumbe Village Tour

Several meetings have been held between EMs and community members (primarily from the
Mkwiro Youth Group) to discuss the development of a tour of Mkwiro Village, incorporating
both natural and cultural aspects. The focus of this tour is to be a visit to the grave stone of
Mwaozi Tumbe, with a local lunch offered and a short nature walk in Kaya Bogoa. In previous
expeditions EMs have participated in research trips to Mombasa Library and Fort Jesus to
investigate the history of the Mkwiro people, and the story behind Mwaozi Tumbe’s grave. A
visit to Kaya Kinondo was also provided for several community members and Ems, providing
them with an opportunity to see a similar venture that has been successful, and to observe
the conduct and eloquence required of a guide in interacting with tourists.

Villagers are keen to get started on delivering the tour as soon as possible, and have shown
much enthusiasm and energy for the project. Although some members of the community
would like to start as soon as possible, most have begun to appreciate that they need to have
everything in place before delivering their final product, and that these things take careful
thought and consideration before implementing, so that they are professional.

During expedition 06-3 a second draft of the village tour brochure was designed, and EMs
worked with community members to create a folder outlining the content of the tour. Members
of the community with an aptitude for tree species identification and with a local knowledge of
medicinal uses of plants were identified and approached for help with the project. Meetings
were held to report back on the progress made on a list of requirements that need to be
fulfilled before the tour can go ahead. Movement on some of the tasks has been quite slow,
as community members appear to prefer the approach of getting one thing done completely

74
before starting on another task, rather then spreading the load and distributing the tasks to be
achieved evenly between them.

Recommendations
 Continue meetings to report back on progress made on the list of tasks to be done
before the community is ready for the tour. These meetings should try to help drive the
group forward, by providing an impetus for task development by the Mkwiro Youth
Group and with the additional help of EMs.
 Finalise the script for the tour by continued liaison with community members about the
content and facts involved, and by practising the script with potential guides.

Cooking lessons
In all expeditions cooking lessons have been offered to the EMs, who leave the women a tip
as thanks. Chapattis, samosas and mandazi’s have been the focus of the lessons, but other
dishes such as pilau, local bean dishes and local tomato based dishes could also be offered.
No formal marketing or community development has been done to try and develop these
activities for the wider community and at present they are only given on an ad hoc basis.

Recommendations:
 Formalise an agreement between members of the community and GVI to offer cooking
lessons every phase of each expedition.
 Liase with community members to develop cooking lessons as an activity available to
the wider tourist community.

Beehive keeping
The donation of bee hives by an NGO to the Mkwiro community has offered the opportunity
for alternative income generation through apiculture. However, community members do not
appear to have received the knowledge or expertise to utilise the bee hives effectively.
Meetings have been held with members of the community to assess their knowledge of
apiculture and to look at methods of moving forward with bee keeping.

It was found that hives had been placed deep in the forest, in areas that may not be
conducive to bee keeping. Insects such as butterflies were more prevalent on the forest

75
edges, and thus it was advised as a first step to relocate the hives to the edge of the forest,
where conditions may be more suitable.

In expedition 06-2 the National Scholarship Programme (NSP) student collected information
on bee keeping and led most of the discussions. In expedition 06-3 community members and
staff went on an investigative trip to some working beehives in the local area to gain insight
and advice on how to run the project successfully in Mkwiro.

Recommendations
 Source some expertise on aviculture and either invite them to Mkwiro for a
presentation, or invite community members on a trip to investigate apiculture at an
established project.
 Apply for apiculture funding on behalf of the Mkwiro Community.

HIV/Aids Awareness
The Mkwiro dispensary nurse has informed us that very few people in Mkwiro know their HIV
status, and very few favour the use of condoms. It is valuable that the benefits of testing for
HIV/AID’s are related to the villagers, and that the use of condoms is advocated particularly
for people having intercourse before marriage.

In expedition 06-2 the NSP student volunteered to help present a workshop in Mkwiro as he
had considerable experience acting as a facilitator in HIV/Aids awareness. EMs and staff also
made a series of posters from information gleaned during a tip to an HIV/AIDS awareness
presentation in Fort Jesus. Utilising the skills and knowledge of all involved, a format for a
basic workshop was established.

In expedition 06-2 the workshop was delivered to 40 members of the Mkwiro community. In
expedition 06-3 it was delivered to 40 members of the Shimoni Community, and the whole of
the senior school in Wasini Primary School.

The workshops were all very successful, with open honest environments created in all,
community members feeling comfortable about asking detailed questions and learning new
information about HIV/AIDS. One method used to encourage discussion in the workshops is

76
to ask people to write their questions on a piece of paper anonymously. This works extremely
well and many questions were answered in this manner. Practical demonstrations of the
effectiveness of condoms and how to put a condom on correctly were also given.

By the end of each of the workshops many of the attendees appeared to be more open to the
idea of using condoms and more reassured of their effectiveness. Community members also
seemed more resolved and open to the idea of being tested at the Voluntary Counselling and
Testing centre in Ukunda in the future. Certificates were issued to all who attended the
workshop.

A second workshop may be planned for the following expedition in each of the three villages
of Mkwiro, Shimoni and Wasini. This may cover new topics such as caring for people with
HIV, more information on reducing the stigma of aids, and details on how the illness
progresses. However, before initiating these workshops contact should be made with
HIV/AIDS awareness groups such the Marie Stopes organisation in Mombasa for advice
about how to best progress. This may mean inviting certain organisations to give
presentations in this area.

Recommendations
 Source expertise on HIV/AIDS awareness in Mombasa and initiate discussions about
what can be done further in the Shimoni sub-location.

Mkwiro Dispensary
The villagers have a range of medical needs, such as malaria, diarrhoea, pregnancies,
children under five requiring immunisations and other medical care, and a population of
elderly people who also often need assistance. There is also a lot of sharp coral rag substrate
on the island, which means there are many accidents, especially with children playing and
requiring stitches. It is much easier and safer to give stitches at the dispensary, than it is to
try to get to the mainland for assistance. Community members do not always recognise the
early signs of malaria, and thus may deteriorate quickly.

The re-opening of the dispensary has been one of the most positive and beneficial aspects of
community development this year. Feedback about the new nurse continues to be very
positive, as she has made herself available in the evenings and weekends.

77
The government and DANIDA provide and sponsor the medical equipment, drugs and first
aid to the dispensary. However, in May 2006 many of the drugs had run out. A previous
expedition member was able to source some of these drugs and invaluable medical
equipment from the UK. These have been put to good use in the dispensary, and have been
greatly appreciated by the whole community.

Recommendations
 Regular additional funding for medicines and other medical equipment should be
sourced to prevent the Mkwiro Dispensary from running out of essential material
again.

Mkwiro Garment Industry

Fisherman pants made of Kikoi material continue to sell well, and the fundis have grown in
confidence experimenting with pockets, skirts, and other designs requested by EMs. These
sales have greatly contributed to the community fund.

An EM in expedition 06-3 has proposed getting labels manufactured in the United States and
air freighted over. She worked diligently on the marketing of this project, coining a name for
the pants as ‘Mkwiro Mvuvi Pants’, which translated means Mkwiro Fisherman Pants, tying in
nicely with the fact that they are of Thai Fisherman design, and also that Mkwiro’s primary
income is from fishing. She also designed a small information tag to be attached to each pair
of pants, explaining a bit about the village, the history of the Kikoi material and the community
fund.

On a trip to Shimoni, Diani and Wasini the same EM approached several shops to sell the
pants, emphasising that they are locally hand made and that a percentage of the profit will be
going to a local community. Initial contact with commercial vendors was very positive, and
interest in selling the pants was expressed by several shop managers or hotel operators.

Recommendations
 Research methods of printing the labels commercially either here or abroad in the UK.

78
  Encourage the community sewing fundis to start buying their own material and
manufacturing the pants for EMs to choose, rather then simply sewing the material
provided.
 Follow up on leads to sell the pants in Diani, Wasini and Shimoni, or from within
Mkwiro itself.

Recycling
During this and previous expeditions several beach cleans of the mangroves along the South
coast of the island have been held. These have been conducted with community members
and commemorated such special events as ‘Dive into Earth Day’ and ‘International Clean Up
Day’, but also simply as part of the general community program.

To date 800 shillings have been earned for the community from the recycling of plastic bottles
into pillows, and added to the community fund. An outlet for hard plastics has been found
temporarily in the form of encasing for the life size flip flop whale, and a more permanent
outlet may have been sourced in the form or fencing rods and roof tiles.

Flip Flops collected from the mangroves were sorted into coloured piles, and then transported
to Nairobi in expedition 06-3 to be made into a promotional whale for WSPA and the anti-
whaling campaign. The whale will be transported to Europe and auctioned, and the revenue
used to help Kenya, through KWS as the governmental representative, regain their voting
membership in the International Whaling Commission. Members of the community have been
invited to take part in the construction of the whale in Nairobi, learning how to utilise flip flops
and make marketable items such as key rings, toys and jewellery. Meetings will be held with
a company, UniquEco, to purchase these products from the community and market them
internationally.

This venture has great potential for alternative income generation and associated publicity for
Mkwiro, and has already resulted in one film crew visiting the island and filming. Through
WSPA the BBC have commissioned a short news item about recycling in Kenya, the waste
being washed up on Kenyan beaches and the construction of the flip flop whale. Mkwiro
community will feature in this news item, as will parts of an interview of conducted with

79
community members. The viewing capacity of the news item, which will probably be shown
several times during the day it is featured in the news, could be as many as 60million people.

Roles in a committee workshop

GVI was approached by a member of the community to go over the topic of what people
should do in a committee. There are a lot of community based organisations within Mkwiro
Village and Shimoni, but it was felt that some of the groups were not doing enough to work
towards their goals, and were groups in name only.

The ‘roles in a committee’ workshop group was set up to try and facilitate a workshop about
what exactly it is that people are meant to do in a committee. It was presented in expo 062
and handouts produced in both Kiswahili and English were given out.

Developments observed from this workshop, that continue to have an effect in expedition 06-
3, are the motivation of several individuals in moving their groups forward or creating new
groups, with a sense of direction and purpose. It is hard to quantify exactly how much of an
effect the workshop had, but some of these community members have commented that it
was integral in helping them to formulate and structure some of the ideas that they wanted to
initiate.

Shimoni Slave Cave Committee

A working group of expedition meetings have held meetings with members of the Shimoni
Slave Cave Committee to review their current plans for a nature trail tour and develop the
visitor experience on offer. Information was gathered and plans for information signage
discussed. A draft leaflet was designed to support the nature trail and GVI facilitated two
further guides this expedition to visit the Kaya Kinondo tour to observe a similar community
based organisation operating a forest nature trail.

Tumaini Women’s Group

Fishing is the main source of income for Mkwiro village, restricting the amount of jobs
available to women. The Tumaini Women’s group was set up to help the women earn money
to support their families by selling their crafts to tourists. They now also sell their hand crafts
to GVI expedition participants.

80
An information leaflet was produced in expedition 06-2 and attached to their products. EMs in
expedition 06-3 approached vendors in Shimoni to sell the products, but unfortunately the
vendor concerned had just taken an order of very similar crafts from Diani. Despite this the
Shimoni vendor seemed very interested in the Mkwiro product, and may be inclined to buy
from Mkwiro in the future.

Recommendations
 Take the products to Diani and try to market them to stall holders there.
 Encourage EMs to take the information leaflets and examples of crafts back with them
and contacting possible buyers in the UK.
 Contact major buyers of small scale crafts such as ‘Trade Aid’ and ‘1000 villagers’ to
see if they are interested in the products.

Water Storage/Purification
In conjunction with members of the youth group, and the adult education group, a joint
proposal with GVI was written to Bamburi Cement for a donation in expedition 06-1 (with
eight accompanying letters of support discussed, drafted and written in adult education).
Unfortunately the proposal was turned down, as Bamburi have delineated an area 25km from
their plant in Mombasa to be their main priority for charitable donations.

A Rotary club in New Zealand contacted GVI with the possibility of using Mkwiro in trials of a
product called ‘Lifestraw’; a personal water purification system that is able to turn polluted or
brackish water into safe drinking water. The Diani Rotary club was contacted to help monitor
progress of the system in the village, and initially it looked like it would be of great benefit to
the villagers. Unfortunately feedback from Rotary Members in Diani who had come into
contact with the product before meant that we decided not to introduce it to the Mkwiro
community. Apparently the straws waste a considerable amount of water in the process of
purification, and are hard to suck up making them difficult for younger members to use.

 Use the fundraising interest group to contact other cement companies in Kenya for
funding.

81
  Research alternative water purification methods, particularly in relation to making
water stored over a long time safer to drink, and to try to dispose of mosquito larvae
safely in stored water tanks

Village Community Fund

Ten to twenty percent of all transactions made between GVI and Mkwiro village goes into a
central village fund. This has amounted to almost 19000 KSh from the last two expeditions, in
Expedition 06-3 over 10,000 KSh was raised for the community, from a variety of sources.
These include bread and samosa sales, clothing sales, laundry, home baking, and crafts.
This money will be used by the village committee for the benefit of the whole community.

At present the funding raised has been earmarked to assist in purchasing iron sheeting to
mend part of the community water storage facility. Five thousand shillings were spent on
salaries for Madras teachers in the school holidays, and money raised from the laundry ladies
is directed towards the mosque.

In expedition 06-3 GVI staff initiated a meeting with Village elders to determine the correct
means of money transfer to the village fund, and to identify who would be the co-signers of
any transactions, as the correct channels were still unclear. The results of the meeting were
that Mshamanga Neema was designated as Secretary, and Hamisi Mohamed as Treasurer.
From here forth these two community members will given any monies and co-sign any
receipts together, ensuring open and honest transactions, and keeping their own record of
transactions for the community.

Recommendations
 Channel any money to the community fund through the designated secretary and
treasurer, ensuring they co-sign all receipts.
 Keep a GVI record of all transactions, and monitor what the fund is spent on.
 Encourage the elders to establish a bank account for the village fund.

Fundraising
In expedition 06-3 a fundraising group was formed in response to the requests of various
community villagers for assistance with a number of issues. These include:

82
  concrete for the water storage facility
 ongoing medical supplies, equipment and support for the medical dispensary
 scholarship funds for students graduating from primary school to high school
 medical operations for village members
 tertiary education for primary school teachers and nursery school teachers
 primary education for disabled community members (such as a blind girl)
 sponsorship for sporting teams such as volleyball, netball and football or simply the
provision of sporting equipment
 library books for a school library

In expedition 06-3 the fundraising group constructed templates for letters under for each of
the requirements, simply requiring the name of the company or organization being
approached for funding to be inserted.

A newsletter to be sent to previous EMs was also designed, and explains what smaller things
can be done for the community, as well as giving a general update on the project and new
developments. It is hoped that this newsletter will be perpetuated by consecutive projects,
becoming a quarterly edition for all previous EMs interested.

Other community based activities

Expedition 06-3 was once again a very full expedition, however, staff and EM’s were able to
fit in a small number of extra community based activities, including a wedding in the village,
football matches, cooking lessons such as chapatti and samosa making, receiving drumming
lessons from members of the community and going on fishing trips with locals.

Outside of the Mkwiro and Shimoni communities, GVI has also attempted to support Bodo
Turtle Conservation Group, based at Bodo, North of the Shimoni peninsula and a gateway to
Funzi Island. This group undertakes mangrove restoration through replanting, and have an
open invitation to staff and EMs to participate in planting the mangroves with them.

Recommendations
 Continue to support local environmental groups such as the Bodo Turtle Conservation
Group, as and when required

83
  Continue to play an active role in the community in promoting physical activity, with
regular matches in various sports
 Utilise opportunities offered to experience and learn more about cultural events in the
community

Concerns and funding of individuals in the community

One of our major initial concerns while working in the community was that we would create a
culture of begging, simply by our very proximity to the. Once again during this expedition
there were no examples of begging behaviour by children; it appears the firm guidelines
given to expedition members on this topic seem to have taken effect with the younger
members of the community.

In the past there have been several occasions where older members of the community have
asked GVI as an organisation and GVI staff for money, these included:
 help to acquire a passport
 funding for a new mobile phone
 money to go to the hospital
 funding for a hip replacement operation
 funding for further education
 funding for football boots

These and other issues have been placed into the hands of the newly formed GVI fundraising
group, and will be passed onto subsequent EMs in future expeditions.

GVI continues to collect for the EM Scholarship fund to help support local school children
from the orphanage or Mkwiro School in attending high school. Gifts such as pens, pencils,
books and items of clothing were given to students at the end of the expedition, with each
class from 1-8 receiving a farewell gift box from the EMs.

84
NATIONAL SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMME

GVI offers National Scholarship Programme placements on expeditions to facilitate capacity

building within partner organisations and for host country nationals. NSP placements are
offered free of charge to individuals, and are funded by GVI. NSP placement students
participate fully as an expedition member receiving the same training and experience.
Unfortunately there were no nominations forthcoming from our principal partners, and
enquiries with previous interested parties did not result in an opportunity to fill a placement
this expedition. Both KWS and KMFRI have been approached to nominate individuals to
participate in the NSP for next expedition.

OVERALL ACHIEVEMENTS

GVI East Africa has completed its third 10 week expedition based in Mkwiro, during which the
following has been achieved:
 195 hours 3 minutes of effort from vessels and 135 hours 20 minutes of effort from
land-based survey site on the Marine Research Programme
 59 dolphin sightings from vessels and 30 dolphin sightings from land-based survey site
 50 dolphin behavioural surveys
 29 Photo Identification surveys of dolphins resulting in 1014 photos
 15 marine mega-fauna surveys from vessels and 67 marine mega-fauna surveys from
land-based study site
 2.7 km of transects laid on the Terrestrial Research Programme
 15 primate community surveys conducted with 12 groups of colobus monkeys
recorded and 5 groups of Sykes monkeys
 2.45 km of transects had habitat surveys undertaken
 Disturbance surveys conducted on all transects (10.8 km)
 9 species identified through casual observation surveys and 3 additional species on
specific bird surveys
 52 hours delivering lessons in Mkwiro Primary School
 48 hours delivering adult education lessons
 21 hours of activities at Al-Hanan orphanage

85
  Delivery of 2 HIV/AIDS awareness workshop in Shimoni and Wasini with 40 and 130
participants respectively
 Facilitation of Mkwiro apiculture working group to visit successful community bee
keeping project
 Facilitation of 2 members of Shimoni Slave Cave Committee to attend the Kaya
Kinondo community forest tour to build capacity for local community based tourism
activities
 Over 10,000 KSh raised or the Mkwiro community fund through GVI economic
activities
 Donations through GVI have raised US $740 to establish a community library facility
 GVI-CT has funded the completion of dormitory at the Al Hanan orphanage and
initiation of water storage tank. Continues to fund the staffing of Mkwiro dispensary.

CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE AIMS

This third expedition for GVI East Africa continued to build upon was was initiated in the
previous two expeditions. The Marine Research Programme continued the core research,
utilising both vessel based and land based survey techniques. Once again the land based
surveys proved comparable to the vessel based in terms of dolphin sightings for the effort,
and yielded significantly higher megafauna sightings, which in this expedition were all turtles.
Weather conditions this expedition did not interrupt survey effort in any significant way as
there was little heavy rain, however wind resulted in high swells for a period which limited
access to the KMMPA and high Beaufort conditions limited the ability to effectively conduct
behavioural and photo identification surveys. GVI’s locally employed boat captain underwent
further training on the marine research programme as part of a capacity building initiative with
the aim of utilising him to conduct and supervise marine research surveys.

Future aims are to continue the marine research programme activities attempting to continue
to run both vessel based and land based surveys concurrently during the mornings. Surveys
using transects will also be implemented in future to offer a more structured and random
approach to sampling and facilitating the use of distance sampling techniques. Appropriate
survey designs are being investigated in respect of this.

86
The Terrestrial Research Programme also continued and consolidated upon what has been
initiated. The transect grid system was extended significantly enabling a greater area and
diversity of forest to be sampled. This now covers the total study site for which it is feasible to
survey from our current base. Primate surveys continued utilising the same methodology as
did disturbance research, and an amendment to the methodology to gain a more accurate
sample of canopy cover and height proved successful. However, the Terrestrial Research
Programme was compromised again by the inability to access appropriate botanical expertise
to continue the vegetation research.

With implied access to botanical expertise through our main working partner, KWS, next
expedition it is envisaged that the focus or the terrestrial forest biodiversity research
programme next expedition will be on vegetation surveys. In addition, monitoring of the
primate community will continue and a protocol for primate behavioural observations trialled.
With the acquisition of suitable reference material it is planned to implement butterfly
community surveys once appropriate liaison has been established with national stakeholders.

GVI’s presence in Mkwiro Primary School continues to be well received and the teaching
delivered by expedition members effective in improving English language acquisition. Adult
education focussing on computer literacy this expedition, in response to the request o
community members was well received and brought an increase in attendance. The skills
learnt are of value to members of the community who despite not having ready access to
computers have been able to utilise GVI’s computers to produce formal letters and proposals
in support of community activities. The community development programme continued
although with a lot less time available to be allocated to it, and significant progress was made
with the marketing of local crafts and garments and the apiculture working group. GVI’s
standing in the community remains positive and our focus on Mkwiro has enabled
widespread and integrated support for many community stakeholders. The primary concern
has to be the careful management of time to ensure all projects initiated receive appropriate
on-going support from GVI.

Overall, GVI East Africa has continued to successfully implement the broad objectives
outlined by KWS in the formation of our partnership and established long-term programmes
to support their long-term objectives for sustainable management of resources in the KMMPA
and community outreach. As the partnership develops GVI East Africa will review the

87
priorities for research and community development with KWS and implement changes within
our current capacity.

REFERENCES

Bejder L. and A. Samuels. 2003. Evaluating effects of nature-based tourism on cetaceans. In:
N. Gales, M. Hindell, R. Kirkwood (eds.) Marine Mammals and Humans: Towards a
sustainable balance. CSIRO Publishing. 480 pp.

Buckland, S.T., Anderson, D.R., Burnham, K.P., Laake, J.L., Borchers, D.L. and Thomas, L.
2000. Introduction to distance sampling:estimating abundance of biological populations.
Oxford University Press. New York. 423 pp.

Emerton, L. and Tessema, Y. 2001. Economic constraints to the management of marine

protected areas: the case of Kisite Marine National Park and Mpunguti National Reserve,
Kenya. IUCN – The World Conservation Union, Eastern Africa Regional Office, Nairobi,
Kenya.

Evans, P.G.H and Hammond, P.S. 2004. Monitoring cetaceans in European waters.
Mammal Review. 34,1. 131-156.

Gregory, P.R., and Rowden, A.R. 2001. Behaviour patterns of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops
truncates) relative to tidal state, time-of-day, and boat traffic in Cardigan Bay, West
Wales. Aquatic mammals, 27.2. 105-113.

Mann, J. 2000. Unravelling the dynamics of social life: long-term studies and observational
methods. In: Cetacean Societies: field studies of dolphins and whales. (Ed. Connor, R.C.,
Tyack, P.L., and H. Whitehead). 44-64. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Peddemors, V. M. 1991. Delphinids of Southern Africa: A review of their distribution status

and life history. In: Journal of Cetaceans Research Management. 157-165.

Parson, K.M., 2005. Procedural guideline No. 4-5 Using photo-ID for assessing bottlenose
dolphin abundance and behaviour. In: Marine JNCC Marine Monitoring Handbook. 1-21.

88
Reeves, R.R. and S. Leatherwood. 1994. Dolphins, porpoises and whales: 1994-1998 Action
plan for the conservation of cetaceans IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.

Ross, G.J.B., Heinsohn, G.E and V.G. Cockcroft, 1994. Humpback dolphins Sousa chinensis
(Osbeck, 1765), Sousa plumbea (G. Cuvier, 1829), Sousa teuszii (Kukenthal, 1892).
Pages 23-42 in S.H. Ridgeway and R. Harrison, eds. Handbook of marine mammals.
Volume 5. The first book of dolphins. Academic Press, San Diego, CA.

Stensland, E., Berggren, P. and R, Johnstone. 1998. Marine Mammals in Tanzanian waters:
urgent need for status assessment. Ambio. 27,8. 771-774.

APPENDIX

89
Appendix 1

EVENT LOG
DATE: VESSEL: STAFF: SCRIBE:
Environmental Conditions
Time South East Beari
24hrs Event 04° 039° Effort Trans # ng WPT Speed Cloud Swell BFT Vis Tide Precip Wind Comments
T I S D

Events: Events: Beaufort Cloud Cover: Precipitation ENTERED ON

01 - Start of survey day 01 - Start of survey day 0 – Glass Measure in eighths Type COMPUTER
02 - Change in effort 02 - Change in effort type 01- Ripples e.g. 0/8 – clear Rain
type 03 - Sighting (DS OR 02 - small wavelets 8/8 - over cast Fog
03 - Sighting (DS OR MFS) 03 - occasional
MFS) 04 - Start of transect whitecaps Intensity
04 - Start of transect 05 - End of transect 04 - Frequent Visibility (km): Intermittent
05 - End of transect 06 - Change of course whitecaps 0-1 heavy fog Continuous Initials
06 - Change of course 07 - Bft/Env/Spd change 05 - Many whitecaps 1-10
07 - Bft/Env/Spd 08 - Other >10
change Swell:
08 - Other Boat Speed: 0 - no/weak swell
(use GPS) 1 – intermediate swell
2 – strong swell

90
 Appendix 2

Sightings Form Entered onto computer □

Date: Vessel: Skipper: Recorder:
Angle Group size
Latitude Distance to Spotted Photo-
South Longitude Effort Sighting Survey to sighting Specie Ma because ID?
Time 04° East 039° type number number sighting (P or S) s Min x Best Dhows? Yes/No Comments

Effort type:
CW - casual watch,
DS - dedicated search,
LT - line transect
PI - photo identification

91
Appendix 3

DOLPHIN SURVEY FORM ENTERED ONTO COMPUTER

DATE VESSEL OBSERVER RECORDER SURVEY #

DS
START TIME SOUTH 04° EAST 039° SPECIES DEPTH WPT#

LOCATION HABITAT NOTES TIDE ASSOC SIGHT/

Ebb/flood/slack RESIGHT?

DOLPHIN INFO – FIRST GROUP GROUP SIZE

ID NOTES MAX:
MIN:
BEST:

M/C PAIRS?
WELL MARKED (BEST GUESS): SUBGROUPS:
ACTIVITY
REST/MILLING FORAGING (SUSPECTED FEEDING) FEEDING (FISH SEEN)
TRAVELLING SOCIALISING BOWRIDE UNKNOWN
DIRECTION OF TRAVEL: N S E W NE NW SE SW
NOTES

REACTION TO SURVEY VESSEL: AWAY/ TOWARDS/ NONE

DOLPHIN INFO – SECOND GROUP (SPECIFY WHETHER THIS SECTION GROUP SIZE
IS INCLUDING 1ST GROUP OR ONLY SECOND GROUP) MAX:
ID NOTES MIN:
BEST:

M/C PAIRS? SUBGROUPS:

WELL MARKED (BEST GUESS):
ACTIVITY
REST/MILLING FORAGING (SUSPECTED FEEDING) FEEDING (FISH SEEN)
TRAVELLING SOCIALISING BOWRIDE UNKNOWN
DIRECTION OF TRAVEL: N S E W NE NW SE SW
NOTES

JOINED AT TIME: LAT: LONG:

REACTION TO SURVEY VESSEL: AWAY/ TOWARDS/ NONE
END
TIME: LAT: LONG:
TOTAL # ANIMALS: _____A _____YOY _____N
TOTAL PHOTOGRAPHED: _____A _____YOY _____N

PHOTOGRAPHS
ROLL NUMBER:
SPACER SHOTS:
Appendix 4
Ethogram
This ethogram is the copyright of the long-term dolphin research project at Monkey Mia in Shark Bay, Western Australia. The
ethogram is reproduced here with permission and with some adaptations for the Shimoni project.

I. GROUPING

Ten meter chain rule

For the purpose of defining a ‘group’ of dolphins (see further below), individuals in a ‘group’ must be linked by the ten meter chain
rule. The rule states that in order for two individuals to be in the same ‘group’ they must be within 10m of each other or within 10m
of another dolphin that is within 10m of one or both of them, and so on ad infinitum.

Definition of a group
We restrict the term group to refer to assemblages of dolphins in which the following requirements are fulfilled: (a) the median inter-
individual distance is <2m (i.e. a “tight” group); (b) the predominant group activity is Rest, Socialise, and or Travel (note: all
assemblages of foraging and feeding are excluded); (c) all individuals are linked by the 10m chain rule); and (d) all, or nearly all, of
the individuals in the group have been identified. Individuals in tight assemblages separated by >5m but in the same ‘group’ by the
10m chain rule are said to be in different subgroups of the same group. Individuals in tight groups that are not in the same assemblage
according to the 10m chain rule are said to be in different groups.

Note that this definition is designed for studies of dolphin social behaviour and is quite restrictive.

Group Spacing
Very tight vti modal distance between group members is: less than 0.3m
Tight tig 0.3 - 2m
Moderate mod 2 - 5m
Spread spr 5 - 10m
Widespread wsp 10 - 30m
Wide-disperse wdi 30 - 100m

Important Group Geometries

Abreast abr Individuals are side-by-side abreast [staggered at less than ½ a body-length
(BLD) between individuals], any distance

Staggered Abreast sgg Individuals are abreast and staggered between ½ and 1 BLD, any distance

Formation frm The basic Formation is two individuals flanking another on either side and just
behind. Variations between three or more individuals occur and should be
described.

Group Movement
Straight str Individuals in parallel orientation moving in one general direction (i.e. not
varying more than 45 for a period of at least a minute or through at least two
surfacing bouts.

Meander mnd Individuals in parallel orientation repeatedly changing direction (varying more
than 45 within every minute or in sequential surfacing bouts. Speed is
typically slow to very slow. Single individuals engaging in this movement
pattern are said to be milling.

Milling mill Individuals changing orientation with respect to each other on every or nearly
every surfacing. Individuals in a milling assemblage are typically stationary
over an area but assemblages may also progress at any speed.

93
Dive type
Dive types are discussed in Section II (Feeding & Foraging).

Speed
None 0 mph
Very slow vsl <1 mph
Slow slo 1-2 mph
Cruise cru 2-3 mph
Moderate mod 3-4 mph
Fast fas 4-6 mph
Blast bla >6 mph

II. FEEDING & FORAGING

We refer to foraging as those behaviours which indicate that dolphins are seeking prey. Feeding, on the other hand, refers to the
active pursuit and processing of captured prey. Foraging is by definition a “continuous” behaviour (i.e. a behavioural state) for which
we attempt to record a duration. Thus, we may use the term foraging bout to indicate a discrete period of time in which an individual
dolphins engaged in the activity of foraging. We refer to discrete behaviours (e.g. a tail slap) as a behavioural event). This dichotomy
is useful because typically we can use observations of behavioural events to diagnose the behavioural state (i.e. activity).

Feeding, however, may be continuous or instaneous (note that we still refer to feeding as a behavioural state even in situations where
the duration of the activity is emphemeral). Which category a particular kind of feeding falls into is determined by two factors: (a)
whether the prey are solitary or schooling and (b) whether the prey are large or small.

When feeding on small prey the cycle of puruit-catch-process is essentially instaneous, but some large prey items take considerable
time to process and we can record a feeding duration for those items. Examples include bream, large squid or cuttlefish, snake eels,
and rays. Note that dolphins cannot masticate (i.e. chew) and thus must “process” prey items that are too large to shallow (e.g. by
rubbing on bottom or throwing on surface). Feeding is also considered continuous when dolphins are feeding on small schooling fish,
as the cycle of pursuit-capture-process continues essentially uninterrupted. Examples include bouts of ‘leap-and-porpoise’ feeding on
concentrations of schooling fish such as anchovies or sardines.

Thus: (1) if we can record a feeding duration for large and small schooling fish or a large solitary fish record the activity as Feed; (2)
if we record only occasional instantaneous observations of feeding during a continuous foraging bout, record the activity state as
Forage/Feed; and (3) if there are no indications of active feeding, but there are indications of foraging, simply record the activity as
Forage.

As with anything to do dolphins, there are many shades of grey. The key is to develop a transparent diagnosis for what constitutes the
activity state of Forage that is consistent across different observers abd over time.

A. Foraging

Foraging
Foraging is generally characterized by single dolphins or slightly spread-out assemblages of dolphins (i.e. >2m between dolphins). A
general exception is when one or more dolphins remain close to a foraging dolphin for social reasons (e.g. during herding,
mother/calf pairs). Both the dive type and the inter-individual geometry are important in determining foraging independent of
observations of feeding.

Dive type
Tail out dive td Flukes are raised above the water surface as the dolphin descends at an angle for
a deep dive.

Peduncle dive pd The peduncle is humped up out of the water as the dolphin descends for a deep
dive. Tail flukes are partially submerged.

Geometry
Milling Changing directions with every or nearly every surfacing. In an assemblage of
dolphins, individuals are changing directions with respect to each other.

Dispersed Milling An assemblage of dolphins milling in a large area; typically 10m or more between
dolphins. There may be smaller, tighter ‘clusters’ of dolphins within the
assemblage; often after a lp/pp bout.

Lateral Line A frequently occurring type of spread (>5m) movement pattern in which dolphins
are in rank formation (i.e. abreast – ‘on-line’).

94
Behaviours
Weed prod A dolphin prods into a seagrass/seaweed mass at the surface with its rostrum.
Maybe followed by a fish chase such as snacking.

B Feeding

Pursuit: individual behaviours

Rapid surface rs A rapid surface in which the dolphin maintains a normal horizontal
posture and the dolphin’s ventrum does not clear the water surface.

Porpoise pp A rapid surface in which the dolphin maintains a normal horizontal

posture and the dolphin’s ventrum does not clear the water surface but in
which the dolphin does completely clear the water surface.

Leap lp A rapid surface in which the dolphin maintains a normal horizontal

posture and the dolphin completely clears the water surface.

Humping surface hs A normal surface in which the dolphin ‘humps up’ its posterior half to
break its forward motion as it descends. Often seen when dolphins are
driving or pursuing a fish school in shallow water.

Fast swim fsw A dolphin rapidly accelerates and/or swims fast along or below the
water surface.

Rooster tail rs A fast-swim along the surface in which a sheet of water trails off the
dorsal fin.

Belly-up chase bu A fast-swim belly-up just under the water surface. The fish may often be
seen skipping along the surface just in front of the dolphin.

Snacking snk A slow or moderate swim, belly-up, after a small fish (typically 2” or
less—a ‘snack’).

Bottom-grub bg The dolphin is vertical in the water, prodding into seagrass patches with
its rostrum.

Tail-whack tw A dolphin stops abruptly at or under the surface and wheels, swinging
its flukes sharply. May be indicated by observing fish being knocked
into the air.

Snap snp A sudden jerk of the head and snap of the jaws at or just below the
surface or underwater. The fish is often seen.

Tail-slap ts A dolphin lifts its flukes and sometimes the posterior portion of its body
out of the water and brings the flukes/body down vigorously against the
water (sometimes creating a ‘kerplunk’ sound).

Beach feeding Not likely to observed in Shimoni but a dolphin chases a fish out of the
water onto the beach, momentarily “stranding” itself.

Pursuit—group behaviours
Lp & pp feed An assemblage of spread out, milling dolphins in which the predominate
surfacing type is leap or porpoise. The aggregation may progress rapidly in any
direction.

Bird feed A milling assemblage in actively feeding group of seabirds.

Cluster feed/mill Feeding on a relatively stationary school of small fish (2-4”) in a milling group
but with individuals surfacing side-by-side with one or two others. Record as
cluster mill if fish not seen.

Snack party A slightly spread to spread assemblage of dolphins snacking.

95
Fish catch & process: direct observations
Fish catch fc Dolphin observed to catch fish or another prey item.

With fish wf Dolphin observed with fish in its mouth.

Fish toss ft Dolphin observed to toss a fish.

Fish-busting fb Dolphin observed to rub fish against the bottome (=bg+wf over sand
substrate).

Fish catch & process: indirect observations

Note: The indirect observations are dependent on context as each may indicate a different behaviour in a non-foraging context.

Chew cw Dolphin seen to make biting motion in a foraging context.

Fin jerk fj A sudden twitch of the fin (indicates sudden movement of the head);
again in a foraging context.

On side osd A dolphin lies still on its side at the surface; again in a foraging context.

Foraging types
Note: More than one type may apply—e.g. bird feed may occur with other foraging types.

Foraging (non-specific) Foraging that could not easily be classified as any other type.

Group
Bird feed Dolphins are surfacing within or around actively-feeding seabirds.

Lp & pp feed Dolphins are multi-directional (i.e. milling) and lp/pp continuously within an
area. The area may be relatively small or dispersed over as much as a kilometer
or more. The activity usually occurs in closely spaced bouts with abrupt starts,
stops, and changes of direction. The assemblage as a whole may progress
rapidly.

Foraging aggregation An assemblage of foraging dolphins in which 10 or more dolphins are present.

Individual
Bottom grub Dolphin sticks its beak to the se floor to ferret something out of the sea floor
while in a vertical position. This can only be observed in shallow water.

Td/pd Foraging in which predominant dive type is td/pd. Breath intervals are irregular
with no long intervals between dives. Dolphins typically stay submerged for
more than a minute after a td or pd dive.

Mill Dolphin forages and changes direction (orientation) with virtually every
surface or breath. Often hovers over a particular location but maybe progress in
any direction.

Rooster tail The predominant dive type is during foraging is rt. Only occurs in shallow
water.

Tail slap Foraging in which dolphins frequently utilize tail slaps, often with several tail
slaps in succession followed by a fish chase.

Snack party Belly-up chase and capture of fish trapped against the water surface.

Boat-begging Dolphin approaches to within 1-2m of stationary or slow-moving boats and

exhibits solicitous behaviours such as opening jawing or orientating head-out.

III. MISCELLANEOUS

96
Some behaviours do not fit obviously into either social or feeding/foraging categories. In some cases behaviours may occur in a wide
variety of contexts including feeding, socializing, or resting (e.g. snagging) and in some cases they can be clearly excluded from
either (e.g. stretching).

Snagging sng A dolphin floating at the surface, still or slowly moving, is said to be
snagging. When still the dolphin’s flukes will drop to the degree that
only the anterior edge of the dorsal fin may show at the surface and
the rostrum may be exposed to the top of the mandible. Snagging may
last from a few seconds to several minutes. Occurs in a wide variety
of contexts:
(a) resting: when dolphins are in a tight group, moving slowly with
regular, peduncle, or tail-out dives and with no evidence of foraging
or socialisng
(b) socialising: snagging may occur in several social contexts;
dolphins may snag prior to joining other dolphins or while waiting for
group members to “catch up” (e.g. when one member has strayed off
to catch a fish)

Stretching sth Occurs frequently during snags. The dolphin flexes its body one or
several times in succession. A typical sequence is to depress the neck
region while flexing the head up, then to flex the neck region up while
pointing the rostrum down. Stretching may include side-to-side
flexing as well.

Weed rub wrb A dolphin approaches a patch of seaweed/seagrass and rubs it while
rolling side or belly-up. The dolphin’s pectorals and flukes are often
lifted out of the water, draped with weed. May be difficult to
distinguish from weed-prodding.

Chuffing chf Dolphin emits a ‘coughing’ sound. May be voluntary or related to

stress and increased respiration.

IV SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR

We consider five categories of social behaviours: 1) affiliative; 2) aggressive; 3) sexual and 4) non-contact dispays; and 5)
miscellaneous for behaviours that do not fit easily into the first four categories. Bottlenose dolphins are remarkable for the variety of
synchronous behaviours they perform. Each category includes a sub-section of synchronous behaviours.

A. Affiliative Behaviours

Contact Behaviours (prb = Petting and/or Rubbing)

Petting pet Gentle contact involving movement between the pectoral fin, dorsal fin, or flukes of one
individual with any part of the body of another individual. Petting triplets, with two
individuals petting with another positioned between them, are sometimes seen.

Observation quality:
1. Observation based on direct observation of pec-body contact:
 Note whether pec is: 1) actively moving; 2) knee-jerking; or 3) stiff
 Note part of body being contacted: (common parts include: blowhole, dorsal
surface between blowhole and dorsal fin dorsal ridge between dorsal fin and flukes; dorsal
or ventral aspect of flukes; side below dorsal fin; side peduncle; eye region; “chin” chest
(between pecs); genital area).
 Note whether receiving pec contact is actively moving against pec: 1) roll; 2)
pitch; 3) yaw
2. Observation based on surface observation of underwater roll of one dolphin at
distance 0 from another dolphin

Frequently observed sub-categories:

 keel-rubbing (krb): One dolphin rubs ventral aspect of its flukes and/or keel of
peduncle against (typically) the leading edge of another dolphin’s pectoral fin. Female to
male but may occur male-male (or female-female). The pec often knee-jerks. One
individual may keel-rub to two others simultaneously who are side-by-side at distance 0.
 mutual face-genital petting (mfg): simulataneous petting in which one dolphin
receives petting around the genital area while the other receives petting around the eye.
 rub-pec (rp): One dolphin rubs along stiff pec of another, typically along side from
behind the eye to peduncle. Often seen in herding context (female to male), often in
97
 response to pops. Also between males in an alternating series.

Rubbing rub Gentle to more vigorous body-to-body contact. Individuals are often seen rubbing against
each other vigorously in play groups.

Frequently observed sub-categories:

 chin-rub (chr): A dolphin approaches another and rubs, head first, under the chin of
the other dolphin. Often observed female to male. The rubbing dolphin may be right side
up or belly up, but is more typically on its side.
Bonding bnd One dolphin rest its pectoral fin against the flank of another dolphin, behind the other
dolphin’s pectoral fin, and below or just posterior to the dorsal fin. The actor is positioned
just above and alongside the other at distance about .3-.5m behind the tip of the other’s
rostrum. Typically female to female, and often in cases of harassment by males.
Infrequently male to male.

Observation quality:
Note whether the observation is based on: (a) surface position (sbs staggered by .3-.5m at
distance 0) or (b) direct observation of the pec resting against the side of the other dolphin.

Synchronous Contact Behaviours

Synch spt Two dolphins approach from either side and contact the central dolphin’s pectorals
petting with the same body part and perform synchronous movements against the pec and/or
are petted by both pectorals of the central dolphin synchronously. An example is two
dolphins, on side, under the pectorals of the central dolphin, pitching toward and
away from each other synchronously.

Non-Contact Behaviours
Synch surfs ss Two or more dolphins surface synchronously—they both break the surface and dive
in synchrony. If the dolphins are side-by-side but staggered note the relative
location as ½ body-length difference (1/2 bld) or 1 bld. Note distance between
dolphins as: 0 = <.3m; 1 = .3-2m; 2 = 2-5m; and 3 = 5-10m.

Synch up ss-up Two or more dolphins break the surface synchronously but do not dive
synchronously. A common example is when one dolphin remains snagging at the
surface. Distance and location are as for SS.

Synch down ss-dn Two or more dolphins break the surface asynchronously but dive synchronously.
Distance and location are as for SS.

Almost ss-al Two dolphins surface side-by-side but are not quite synchronous during any part of
synch surfs the surfacing cycle.
Touring trg When a dependent calf repeatedly approaches (to within 2m) and leaves from an
adult or adolescent animal, or the baby remains remains at <2m from this animal
while remaining >5m from the mother. The bay does not tour on its own (then it’s
traveling). Touring is a state, and must occur for the majority of a surfacing bout
(when surfacing bouts are discrete) to be called. If there are non-discrete surfacing
bouts, then touring should be called if it occurs for the predominant interval you are
using for measurement (i.e. 5-minute intervals).

B. Aggressive Behaviours

Individual-to-individual
Head-to- hth One or more individuals line up with one or more individuals.
head
Tiff tf A head-to-head in which at least one individual is bobbing its head up and down.
Accompanied by Donald Duck vocalisations.

Head jerk hj A sharp lateral or vertical jerk of the rostrum. Often accompanied by a sharp bang
sound.

Jaw clap jc An exaggerated opening and closing of the mouth.

Fin jerk fj An indirect indicator of a HJ or JC in social groups.

Chase chs Two individuals fast swimming, one behind the other. The individual in the aft
position is the chaser.

98
Circle cch Two dolphins ‘chase each other’s tail’ in a tight circle.
chase
Charge chg A dolphin rapidly accelerates and swims fast directly at another dolphin
approaching to within two meters or less.

Tail hit tht A dolphin strikes another violently with its flukes/peduncle.

Fin hit fht A dolphin swims rapidly past another so that its fin hits the other dolphin.

Pec hit pht A dolphin ‘karate-chops’ another dolphin with its pectoral fin.

Rostrum hit rht A dolphin strikes another dolphin with a sharp lateral strike of its rostrum.
Essentially a HJ with contact.

Bite bte A dolphin bites another with a rapid motion of the head and jaws.

Body slam bsl A charging dolphin slams into another with any part of its body other than its
rostrum, peduncle and tail, fins and pectoral fins.

Ram rm A dolphin charges into another dolphin with its rostrum.

Attack atk An intense aggressive interaction between two dolphins involving multiple
aggressive behaviours by one individual only (e.g. biting, hitting, etc.).

Fight fgt An intense interaction between two dolphins involving multiple aggressive attacks
by both participants.

Group-to-Individual
Head-to-head: X on 1 hth-2, -3, etc. Two or more dolphins line up head-to-head against another
dolphin, e.g. hth-4 indicates a four-on-one interaction.

Group attack: X on 1 atk-2, -3, etc. Two or more dolphins attack a single individual. The single
dolphin may or mat not fight back.

Synchronous Behaviours
Synch head jerk shj Two dolphins, side-by-side, perform synchronous head jerks.

Synch jaw clap sjc Two dolphins, side-by-side, perform synchronous jaw claps.

Synch charge scg Two dolphins, side-by-side, charge another synchronously. May veer off
synchronously in opposite directions.

Synch chase sch Two dolphins, side-by-side, blast after another dolphin or group of dolphins.
The pursuing dolphins porpoise or leap synchronously abreast.

C. Submissive Behaviours

On-side osd In connection with being approached or (more clearly) receiving aggression
from one or more dolphins, a dolphin lies on its side at the surface.

D. Sexually-Oriented Behaviours
Sexual behaviours are given a separate category because some behaviours may be performed in both aggressive and affiliative
contexts. As well as judging the intensity of the behaviour, the observer should look for other behaviours (e.g. biting, petting) which
would indicate that the interaction is an affiliative or aggressive interaction.

99
Individual-to-individual
Erection erc Obvious.
Mount mnt One dolphin approaches another from the side and slides ventrum over the
dorsum of the other animal at a 5-30 angle with respect to the anterior-
posterior axis of the other dolphin. An erection may be seen if the mounting
individual is male. Males have been observed to mount males as well as
females and females have been observed to mount males and females. Two
dolphins may mount another synchronously or iteratively from either side.

Inverted mount ivm A common variation of mounting. The individual being approached rolls
belly up at or below the surface, then the approaching dolphin rolls over and
mounts ‘upside down.’ The penis is more readily visible in inverted mounts.

Side-press sdp A dolphin approaches another as though to mount but instead of angling up
over the back of the other it presses against its side in parallel orientation.
May be simply another variation of mounting. Often occurs with two
dolphins ‘sandwiching’ a third between them.

Double roll-out dbr Two individuals approach another from either sides though to mount but as
they come up along either side they splay up and out rather than up and over,
sliding their ventral area against the side of the other’s peduncle. Only seen as
a dyadic behaviour.

Goose goo A dolphin moves its rostrum into the genital area of another dolphin. May be
performed slowly and gently in affiliative interactions and violently in
aggressive interactions. The goosed dolphin often avoids by rolling belly up
and tail-slapping at the goosing dolphin. A tail-slap, rub, or belly-present may
also precede a goose in affiliative interactions.

Push-up psh One or more dolphins push up under another dolphin’s mid-section forcing it
out of the water. The dolphin being pushed is typically on its side or belly-up.

Pec-mount pm One dolphin approaches another and inserts the other dolphin’s pec-fin intoits
genital slit.

Group-to-individual
Group-on-one-sex gps An encounter in which two or more dolphins perform multiple sexual acts on a
single individual.

Herding hrd An aggressively-maintaind association. Two or more dolphins use vocal (pops,
screams) and physical (head jerks, charges) threats to force another dolphin to
accompany them. Herding dolphins engage in normal daily activities such as
foraging while herding another dolphin as well as in social and sexual
behaviours directed at the herded dolphin. Typically seen as an aggressively-
maintained consortship between coalitions of males and a female.

Synchronous Behaviours
Synch mount smt Two dolphins approach another from either side and synchronously mount it.

Synch goose sgs Two dolphins approach another side-by-side from either side or from behind
and synchronously goose it.

Synch side-press ssp Two dolphins approach another from behind, swim up on either side, and
synchronously perform side press or ‘sandwich’ the dolphin in the centre.

Double roll-out dbr Two dolphins approach another from either side as though to mount but as they
come up along either side they splay up and out rather than up and over, sliding
their ventral area against the side of the other’s peduncle. Only seen as a dyadic
behaviour.

100
E. Displays
Dolphins, particularly males, perform a wide variety of displays. Many displays by males are often performed in synchrony with
another male or males and these can be quite spectacular. Displays are divided into two categories, those that can only be observed as
synchronous displays (by definition) and those which can be performed by a single individual.

Individual or Synchronous
Tail-slap ts A dolphin raises its tail flukes out of the water and slaps them against the water
surface.

Chin-slap cns A dolphin raises its head out of the water and slaps its rostrum against the water
surface. Maybe light or hard.

Belly-slap bls A dolphin raises itself out of the water to at least its dorsal fin and then slaps its
belly on the water surface. Maybe light or hard.

Belly-breach blb A dolphin leap clear of the water and lands on its belly.

Leap lp A dolphin leaps clear of the water, remains orientated normally in the air and re-
enters head first. Note: this class is the most common form of leap and occurs in
many non-social contexts such as very fast Travel (i.e. blasting) and leap feeding.

Chin-slap- csts A commonly occurring sequence in which a chin-slap is immediately followed by a

tail-slap tail-slap.

Face-slap fcs A dolphin, on its side, raises its head out of the water and slaps the side of its head
on the water surface. May be light or hard.

Side-slap sds A dolphin, on its side, raises itself out of the water at least to its dorsal fin and then
slaps its side on the water surface. May be light or hard.

Side-breach sdb A dolphin leaps clear of the water and lands on its side.

Side-leap sdl A dolphin leaps clear of the water side-up, or turns on its side in the air, and re-
enters the water head-first.

Head-slap hds A dolphin, belly-up, raises its head out of the water and slaps it on the water
surface. May be light or hard.

Back-slap bks A dolphin, belly-up, raises itself out of the water at least to its dorsal fin and then
slaps its back against the water surface. May be light or hard.

Back-breach bkb A dolphins leaps clear of the water, belly-up, and lands on its back.

Back-leap bkl A dolphin leaps clear of the water, belly-up, and re-enters the water head-first.

Vertical rise vtr A dolphin rises partially up out of the water while in the vertical position. Dolphins
have been observed rising out past the pectoral fins or son only the rostrum breaks
the surface.

Tail-walk tlw A vtr in which the dolphin rises up to at least halfway down its peduncle and holds
the position with vigorous fluke-thrusting.

Belly-present bep A dolphin rolls on its side belly toward another dolphin at distance 0-1 as it swims
past in front of or alongside the other dolphin.

Tilt-belly-in tlb A dolphin tilts its belly toward another dolphin while positioned beside and just
behind the other dolphin. Often performed by two dolphins in formation behind
another.

Tilt-head-in tlh A dolphin, from tilt-in position, angles its head into the vicinity of the other
dolphin’s genital slit.

Head-circle hcl In horizontal position, a dolphin rotates its head in circles (only seen once as a
synchronous display by two dolphins).

Rooster-strut rst A dolphin pushes its chest down and arches its head up and out of the water, then

101
 moves forward, often with a slight bobbing motion of its head. The bobbing motion
is typically not as pronounced as in a rst. May be accompanied by tail slaps.

Side-sway ssd Like the rooster strut except that the dolphin sways its head from side to side
display instead of up and down.

Tail-flailing tfl Very rapid, short strokes of the flukes in any orientation. Often used in intense,
singleton displays.

Arching acd The most intense single display. Often growing out of the rooster strut, the dolphin
display arches its head up higher and higher, often until it is arching out to the dorsal fin,
while whirling around, often rolling over on its side or back; often with an open
mouth. Often accompanied by tail-flailing and sometimes tail-slaps.

102
Appendix 5

Date (Year-Month-Day) Initials (RC/KG)

Roll # :

Photo- ID Data Sheet

Date:
Survey Number:
Start time: End time:
Photographer: Camera: Scribe:

Frame # Notes

103
Appendix 6
Megafauna Survey Form (1/06) Entered Computer: MFS#
GENERAL INFORMATION Vessel:
Date South 04 East 039 Wpt # General Location Closest Habitat Notes

Observer Recorder Time Depth

Species Temp Tide: Number Present

Ebb
Bft Flood
Slack
NOTES

Roll 1 (date/ID): Frames: Spacers(s):

Roll 2: (date/ID): Frames: Spacers(s):

Photo Notes:

Megafauna Survey Form (1/06) Entered Computer: MFS#

GENERAL INFORMATION
Date South 04 East 039 Wpt # General Location Closest Habitat Notes

Observer Recorder Time Depth

Species Temp Tide: Number Present

Ebb
Bft Flood
Slack
NOTES

Roll 1 (date/ID): Frames: Spacers(s):

Roll 2 (date/ID): Frames: Spacers(s):

Photo Notes:

104
 Appendix 7

PAGE
LAND BASED SIGHTINGS: ENVIRONMENT AND BOAT OBSERVERS: __OF___
Environmental
DATE: Conditions Boat Traffic
Time Wind Precip No. of
# Observers Cloud Swell BFT Vis Tide Comments
(24hrs) Direction T I Vessels Vessel Type
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
Vessel
Cloud Cover: Beaufort: Visibility (km): Precipitation Type Entered on
Measure in computer
eigths 0 - Glass 0-1 heavy fog Type SR - Stingray
e.g. 0/8 - clear 01- Ripples 1-10 None CF - Fishing Canoe
>10
8/8 - over cast 02 - small wavelets Rain CS - Sailing Canoe
Swell: 03 - occasional whitecaps Tide: Fog D - Power Dhow (non-tourist)
0 - no/weak swell 04 - Frequent whitecaps Ebb – High to low Intensity TD - Tourist Dhow Checked
(Initials)
1 - intermediate swell 05 – Many whitecaps Flood - Low to Intermittent SD - Sailing Dhow (non-tourist)
High
2 - strong swell Continuous C - canoe (paddling)
S - Sailboat
P - Powerboat
Appendix 8 LAND BASED:
SIGHTINGS
DATE: OBSERVERS: PAGE ______OF______
Dolphins and
Megafauna
Time (24 Group size Plot # on Comments
# Observers Bearing Species
hrs) Min Max Best chart
Sighting Distance
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Dolphin species (Spp) ENTERED ON
No. of Dolphin dhows passing on Ptd- pan-tropiccal
way to MPA (Tally count) Bnd - Bottlenose spotted COMPUTER
Hbd - Humpback Unk- unknown sp
Spd - Spinnner
Rsd - Risso's
Cod - Common Initials
Std - Striped
107
Appendix 9
LANDBASE SURVEY: DOLPHIN BEHAVIOUR
DATE: OBSERVERS: PAGE: OF
Record every 5 minutes from 1st sighting # dhows Split into View
Group size #
Vessel #Tourist swim subgroups Obstructed
Dive Dive Vessels Comments
Time Spp Spread type dhows with (Yes or by boats
Type Duration Min Max Best present
dolphins No) (Yes or No)

Dolphin species (Spp) Dive Type Vessel Type Spread ENTERED ON

Bnd - Bottlenose Rg - Regular SR - Stingray Tig - Tight (< 2 m) COMPUTER
Hbd - Humpback Td - Tail-out CF - Fishing Canoe Mod - Moderate (2 - <5 m)
Spd -
Spinnner Pd - Peduncle CS - Sailing Canoe Spr - Spread (5 -10 m)
Rsd - Risso's Rs - Rapid Surface D - Power Dhow (non-tourist) Wsp - Widespread (>10 m)
Cod -
Common Rt - Rooster Tail TD - Tourist Dhow Checked (Initials)
StD - Striped Lp - Leap SD - Sailing Dhow (non-tourist)
PtD - Pan-tropical Spotted Pp - Porpoise C - canoe (paddling)
Unk - unknown species Snag - Snag S - Sailboat
P - Powerboat

108
References

Buckland, S.T., Anderson, D.R., Burnham, K.P., Laake, J.L., Borchers, D.L. and
L.Thomas. 2000. Introduction to distance sampling:estimating abundance of
biological populations. Oxford University Press. New York. 423 pp.

Mann, J. 2000. Unraveling the dynamics of social life: long-term studies and
observational methods. In: Cetacean Societies: field studies of dolphins and
whales. (Ed. Connor, R.C., Tyack, P.L., and H. Whitehead)., 44-64. Chicago:
University of Chicago Press.

Gregory, P.R., and A.R. Rowden. 2001. Behaviour patterns of bottlenose

dolphins (Tursiops truncates) relative to tidal state, time-of-day, and boat traffic
in Cardigan Bay, West Wales. Aquatic mammals, 27.2. 105-113.

109
111