Earthwatch Award Recipient Summary
Awardee: David Harper, Ph.D.
Affiliation: University of Leicester
Project: Lakes of the Rift Valley
Award: 2001 Principal Investigator of the Year
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 Principal Investigator of the Year Award allowed Dr. Harper to:
· Purchase a trailer to move equipment from one research site to another
Dr. Harper and his colleagues in Kenya began to develop "mobile" teams in 2001, to explore the contrasting ecology and environmental issues of other lakes in the Rift Valley. He used his Earthwatch award to support the development of these mobile teams by purchasing a trailer for transporting tents and other field equipment. Dr. Harper has since run successful Earthwatch teams at two alternate field study sites, Lake Baringo, another freshwater lake with outstanding biodiversity, and Lake Bogoria, a soda lake frequented by thousands of lesser flamingos.
Research outcomes are indicated in several publications on the ecology of Lake Bogoria and Lake Baringo, including an investigation of recent "die-offs" of lesser flamingoes at the former lake. A satellite-tracking program has led to a deeper understanding of the movements of lesser flamingos from lake to lake in the Rift Valley, ensuring the more effective conservation of this near-threatened species. Other teams explored a newly discovered lake, referred to as Kichiritith by local villagers, providing valuable baseline information on what nearby Lake Baringo was like before human impacts took their toll. The Earthwatch teams at Lake Bogoria and Baringo continue, promising many more outcomes from the award.
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
"I was very touched to receive the award because I just felt I was doing my job to the best of my abilities, as a university research scientist with an 'environmental conscience.' I didn't think for a minute that I was doing it better or worse than many other people."
"The award has indirectly supported an expansion in our research. We have published work from Bogoria, Baringo, and the new lake between the two. We would not have been able to develop our work in these northern lakes if we were not a mobile camp."