Earthwatch Award Recipient Summary

Awardee: David Harper, PhD
Affiliation: University of Leicester
Project: Lakes of the Rift Valley
Award: 2003 Darwin Initiative Grant

Project Synopsis
For nearly two decades, Dr. David Harper and an international team of colleagues have led Earthwatch teams to Lake Naivasha to evaluate the effects of human resource use on Kenya's second-largest freshwater lake. Historically a biodiversity hotspot, Naivasha was recognized as a Ramsar site, or wetland of international importance, based on data collected by Dr. Harper and colleagues. Working on land and in the water, Earthwatch volunteers have sampled all aspects of the ecosystem to document the conservation status of a lake in crisis. Their findings on the impact of introduced species, such as the destructive Louisiana crayfish, and papyrus swamp degradation, have elucidated the complexity of conservation needs in the region.

Award Outcomes
The Darwin Award allowed Dr. Harper to:

  • Support the team's research on lesser flamingo populations on soda lakes
    Provide for staff and vehicle maintenance needed for flamingo studies
    Pay for the analysis of field samples
    Help purchase satellite transmitters for tracking flamingo movement
    Expand the educational outreach efforts of the project

Dr. Harper and his colleagues in Kenya began research on Lake Bogoria in 2000, with Earthwatch support, in response to mysterious "die-offs" of an estimated 250,000 lesser flamingos in the 1990s. The additional infusion of Darwin Initiative support permitted Dr. Harper to expand this research beyond the timeframe and resources of Earthwatch teams. Staff from scientific partners at National Museums of Kenya, University of Nairobi, and other local institutions carried out monthly research campaigns to Lakes Nakuru and Elmenteita, in addition to Bogoria. Darwin support also funded the maintenance of vehicles for these forays into the field, and for the expensive analysis of field samples. This year-round monitoring effort has resulted in a deeper understanding of the biology of healthy flamingos, and the ecology of soda lakes. Should another "die-off" event occur, there is a database of knowledge ready to help explain its causes and suggest ways to mitigate its impact.  

Another area of research supported by the Darwin Initiative is in the satellite tracking of lesser flamingos, directed by Dr. Brooks Childress (Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust), co-principal investigator on Lakes of the Rift Valley. Childress placed transmitters on four male lesser flamingos in 2002, aided by Earthwatch volunteers, and in 2003 he attached four more, paid for in part by the Darwin Initiative. The satellite-tracking program has led to vital clues to the population status and movements of lesser flamingos in East Africa, making conservation efforts more effective. 

Finally, the Darwin Initiative supports a large educational component of the project, ranging from formal university training of a few core partners to an increased awareness of all the inhabitants of the area of Lake Bogoria through their schools. Five local staff received university training under the supervision of Dr. Harper at the University of Leicester, and nine Kenyan conservation workers were invited to participate on Earthwatch research teams. Dr. Harper's frequent contact with local schools was expanded to include new classroom materials about the flamingos, soda lakes, and their value to the local community.

Publications and Papers
Childress, B., B. Hughes, D.M. Harper, W. Van den Bossche, P. Berthold, & U. Querner, (in press). Satellite tracking documents the East African flyway and key site network of the Lesser Flamingo (Phoenicopterus minor). Proceedings of the Waterbirds Around the World Conference.

Childress B., D.M. Harper, B. Hughes, W. Van den Bossche, P. Berthold & U. Querner (2004) Satellite tracking lesser flamingo movements in the Rift Valley, East Africa. Ostrich 75: 57-65

Harper, D.M., R.B. Childress, M.M. Harper, R.R. Boar, P. Hickley, S.C. Mills, N. Otieno, T. Drane, E. Vareschi, O. Nasirwa, W.E. Mwatha, J.P.E.C. Darlington, X. Escuté-Gasulla (2003) Aquatic biodiversity and soda lakes: Lake Bogoria National Reserve, Kenya. Hydrobiologia 500, 259-276.

Quotes
"It was a great honor to have received one of these rare awards. It was particularly pleasing since it was a true partnership with staff at Earthwatch Institute (Europe). The funds have enabled the flamingo and soda lake studies to become a focus of the project. This is a major step forward. It is the most important means of maintaining our team in existence over the 'lean years' of low volunteer recruitment and a weak dollar."

"An important part of the Darwin Initiative is the transfer of knowledge and technology from the U.K. to the host nation, which represents a very exciting development of our work at Lake Bogoria. It provides a means of clearly linking the research of Earthwatch scientists with the education and training of Kenyan scientists and students and for linking the studies of biodiversity to the livelihoods of the local people."