A CAGARRA
Boletim de Sociedade Caboverdiana de Zoologia
Edited by | Editado por Cornelis J. Hazevoet cjhazevoet at gmail.com
No. 8 - DECEMBER / DEZEMBRO DE 2014
Have you seen, heard or read something of zoological interest? Let us know!
Viu, leu ou ouviu algo com interesse zoológico recentemente? Informe-nos!
and a call to report all sightings of bats
In September 2014, local inhabitants caught a bat at Ponta Preta, Sal. The animal was released before a naturalist had the opportunity to have a closer look at it. Fortunately a few snap shots documenting the event were made. The animal could readily be identified as a free-tailed bat Molossidae, but, as the number of molossid bats occurring in Africa is considerable and species-level identification is not always easy, a more precise ID based on the photographs alone is not possible. This is the first record of a free-tailed bat of any species in the Cape Verde Islands.
After the discovery of a straw-coloured fruit bat Eidolon helvum in Boa Vista in September 2010 (see Zoologia Caboverdiana 1: 116-118, 2010), this is the second chiropterological surprise in Cape Verde within a few years time, suggesting that more may be expected. The most recent overview paper on bats known to occur in Cape Verde (Azzaroli Puccetti & Zava 1988) listed five species (four vespertilionids and one emballonurid), with records from five islands (Santo Antão, São Vicente, Maio, Santiago, Fogo). Although as yet unpublished, several more sightings of bats in Cape Verde have become known since, including records from islands not listed by Azzaroli Puccetti & Zava (1988). Even though many of these sightings refer to unidentified bats, their registration is important as it provides spatial and temporal information on their occurrence, thus indicating where and when further and more focused searches might be carried out in future.
In order to improve the database of bats in Cape Verde, observers are asked to report all sightings of bats, including unidentified ones. Please provide details on the number of bats seen, locality, date, hour of day, as well as any other information of interest (e.g. if the bat was seen in flight or resting in a building or crevice, weather conditions, etc.). In due course, a comprehensive paper on current knowledge of bat distribution in Cape Verde could then be prepared for publication in Zoologia Caboverdiana. With thanks to Jacquie Cozens/www.sostartarugas.org for bringing to light the record of the free-tailed bat in Sal. CJH.
Reference - Azzoroli Puccetti, M.L. & B. Zava, 1988. Nouvelles données sur les chiroptères des îles du Cap-Vert. Bollettino della Museo Regionale di Scienze Naturale di Torino 6: 603-615.
© Meky Soares.
e apelo ao envio de registos de todos os morcegos avistados
Para que possamos melhorar a base de dados de morcegos em Cabo Verde, solicita-se aos observadores que nos comuniquem todos os avistamentos de qualquer morcego, incluindo os não-identificados. Devem fornecer pormenores quanto ao número de morcegos avistados, local, data, hora, bem como outras informações consideradas relevantes (por exemplo, se o morcego estava em voo ou em repouso num edifício ou rocha, condições meteorológicas, etc). CJH
Turnstone MY6 turns up in New Jersey again and a sanderling marked in the Netherlands takes a journey to Boa Vista
A sanderling Calidris alba that had been colour ringed and flagged at Richel, a sandbank near the Frisian island of Vlieland, the Netherlands, 2 August 2011, was observed and photographed by British birdwatcher Mike King at Lagoa de Rabil (Ribeira d’Agua), Boa Vista, 17 November 2014. Previously, it had been resighted in Maio, 13 October 2011, just over two months after it was ringed in the Netherlands. Thereafter, it had been resighted 10 times during the years 2012 and 2014, once at Richel in July and the other times at the small and uninhabited island of Griend in the Dutch Wadden Sea, all in August. Before turning up in Boa Vista, it was last observed at Griend on 15 August 2014. Sanderling is a circumpolar Arctic breeder and a long-distance migrant, wintering south to South America, southern Europe, Africa and Australia.
With thanks to Ellen de Bruin for her update on MY6’s adventures and Mike King for providing the data on the sanderling. CJH.
With ca. 80 pairs, Cape Verde harbours the largest island osprey Pandion haliaetus population in the Western Palearctic. Most pairs breed in the windward (barlavento) islands, whereas in the leeward (sotavento)
islands ospreys are scarce. In Cape Verde, osprey often nests on the
ground, usually on cliff ledges and rocky promontories. Occasionally,
palm trees or man-made structures such as shipwrecks are used.The osprey population of Boa Vista has been regularly monitored since the year 2000. The low productivity of this population has been attributed to an extremely high nest depredation by brown-necked raven Corvus ruficollis and feral cats and harassment by people. Only five young have successfully fledged from the 35 active nests monitored during the last three breeding seasons (2012-2014). In normal conditions, an active nest should produce at least one young per season. To minimize nest predation by feral cats and harassment by people and to improve the reproductive success of the osprey population of Boa Vista, the General Directorate of Environment (DGA) and Bios-CV erected several artificial nesting platforms in coastal areas where low productivity or breeding failure have been the norm in previous seasons.
This project was funded by DGA (through the Directorate for Management of Natural Resources, grants allocated for activities under the CMS Convention) and The International Osprey Foundation (TIOF). DGA and Bios.CV hope that this conservation measure will yield positive results for one of the emblematic species of Cape Verde. We thank Cabeólica, CVTelecom, TIOF and Naturalia for their involvement, help and support of this initiative.
Boa Vista, placed in October 2014. © Bios.CV
With only one male and two females left, the situation of the magnificent frigatebird Fregata magnificens
in Boa Vista is highly precarious. Although there have been repeated
breeding attempts over the ast years, not a single young has fledged
for more than 10 years. The reasons for this failure are not entirely
clear, but the lack of suitable nesting sites is thought to be one
important cause. Over the past years, several breeding attempts ended
in disaster, with eggs disappearing or only egg shells found after
birds had been observed sitting at the nest for weeks. The feeble and
insecure frigatebird nests, often placed in locations where eggs easily
roll off, have been hypothesized to be amongst the principal reasons
for the frigatebird’s perilous future in Boa Vista. In order to improve
the situation, in November 2014 a number of artificial nests were build
at Curral Velho islet. It is hoped that these will be accepted by the
frigatebirds and hopefully lead to the first offspring in more than a
decade.
NOTÍCIAS ZOOLÓGICAS DE JORNAIS
Arlindo, um dos agricultores, disse em declarações à Inforpress que é com muita tristeza que vê o seu trabalho, tempo e dinheiro “ir para água abaixo”, dada a essa invasão de gafanhotos que, no seu entendimento, deveria ser dado combate logo no início. Porém, aponta que como os insectos estão ainda numa fase pequena de crescimento vai-se ainda a tempo, “havendo vontade” por parte das autoridades, de controlar a situação por forma a salvar as plantações. “Os gafanhotos estão a incidir a sua acção devastadora nas áreas agrícolas. Se não encontrarem milho para comer avançam para o feijoal. Por isso, pedimos quem de direito a agir rapidamente, caso contrário… já era”, apelou este e outros camponeses.
Contactado pela Inforpress, o representante do MDR local informou que aguarda-se a chegada, ainda hoje, de medicamento/insecticida, da ilha de São Vicente, e uma equipa de técnicos de protecção vegetal do MDR, da Cidade da Praia, para orientar e capacitar os agricultores na utilização da pesticida para combate dessa praga de gafanhotos. “Na verdade os gafanhotos já fizeram uma razia nas plantações de milho em Terra Boa. É uma preocupação que vamos tentar controlar assim que os medicamentos e os técnicos chegarem ao Sal. Queremos mobilizar o máximo de agricultores possível, passar-lhes as informações sobre a utilização desse produto tóxico, de modo a fazer face a essa praga”, disse Aureliano Almeida representante do MDR local. Não obstante essa praga de gafanhotos que de dia para noite assolou as plantações, os agricultores continuam a prognosticar, um bom ano agrícola, comida em abundância em Terra Boa, já que a esperança é a última virtude a morrer.
Inforpress, 16 de Outubro de 2014
Neste fim-de-semana a Câmara Municipal da Praia, através da sua Direcção da Guarda Municipal, realizou uma mega operação para remover todos os pneus que estavam em cima da casa e dentro do quintal combatendo assim os focos de mosquitos e evitando as doenças oriundas desta época do ano como dengue e paludismo. Segundo os vizinhos a situação é mais gritante nesta época chuvosa. A operação de desmantelamento contou com a colaboração dos moradores da localidade e do proprietário. Os pneus tiveram como destinos o Centro Logísticos da Câmara Municipal da Praia, em Monte Babosa.
Oceanpress, 20 de Outubro de 2014
A Delegada de Saúde de São Vicente, Ariana Monteiro disse que não existe uma luta anti-vectorial sem a parte de limpeza e higiene que começa, primeiramente, dentro da nossa casa, no terraço, no quintal, pátio, nas ruas e por todo o lado. Ariana Monteiro informou este on-line que “em São Vicente, não temos registado vectores transmissores do paludismo mas temos o Culex, um agente que causa irritação na pele pois se uma pessoa se coçar fica com furúnculos e pode causar celulite.”
A Delegada de Saúde de São Vicente alerta e pede atenção ao público da ilha em geral, “para cuidar do próprio espaço e para não deitar lixo e objectos no meio ambiente porque esses são um dos factores que contribuem para a criação de focos de mosquitos”. “Chamamos também a atenção aos herdeiros de propriedades ou aos responsáveis de patrimónios em que os donos se encontram fora do país para terem cuidado com esses espaços porque assim já fica mais difícil entrar pois, são propriedades particulares e não vamos logo de início entrar ou empurrar a porta, mas pedimos a acção da Câmara Municipal para nos ajudar a localizar os donos das casas para serem notificados e depois agirem”, acrescenta a Delegada de Saúde, Ariana Monteiro.
Notícias do Norte, 15 de Outubro de 2014
Quanto às medidas a serem tomadas, os vendedores defendem que em vez de atacar as aves, deveriam cortar ou podar as árvores para que as garças possam procurar outros espaços. A situação torna-se mais insuportável quanto chove. Segundo afirmam, a sujidade acumulada nas árvores escorre para o interior das barracas e é necessário várias botijas de creolina para desinfectar o local. Questionado pelo Ocean Press sobre esta questão, o vereador pela área de ambiente e saneamento da Câmara Municipal da Praia, Gilberto Silva afirma que a autarquia está consciente deste problema que tem afectado os vendedores do Sucupira. Silva diz ainda que o assunto foi uma das questões levantadas na última sessão de assembleia municipal da Praia.
O autarca reconhece a necessidade de reduzir a nidificação da Garça Boieira e evitar a utilização do espaço herbário do Parque 5 de Julho como espaço dormitório. Mas defende que a solução não passa pelo abate das aves. “Isto implica um conjunto de medidas que estamos a levar a cabo. A ideia é reduzir consideravelmente a população da Garça Boieira, que tende em se tornar numa praga causadora de grandes problemas a nível de saúde pública e económica” explica o vereador. Gilberto Silva defende também que esta ave representa ameaça para a própria agricultura e para a segurança dos voos no aeroporto da Praia.
A Garça boieira é uma ave com aproximadamente 48-53 cm de comprimento e 90-96 de envergadura. É coberta por uma plumagem branca, bico amarelo e patas escuras. São animais com grande capacidade de dispersão. É uma espécie nativa do sul de Europa e Norte de África. Com excepção de Santa Luzia é comum em todas as ilhas, principalmente no final do ano até ao primeiro semestre do Ano Novo.
Oceanpress, 5 de Novembro de 2014
[SCVZ EDITOR’S NOTE: An investigation of the situation at Sucupira, leading to sensible improvements for all concerned, seems desirable. The assertion that “esta ave representa ameaça para a própria agricultura” is totally unfounded. Quite on the contrary, as Bubulcus devours large numbers of locusts and other insects, it is beneficial to agriculture.]
http://www.rtc.cv/tcv/index.php?paginas=45&id_cod=37096
(screenshots, Jornal da Noite TCV, 6 December 2014).
Recent publications on Cape Verde zoology
Publicações recentes sobre zoologia Caboverdiana
Nano-tags for neonates and ocean-mediated swimming behaviours linked to rapid dispersal of hatchling sea turtles. Rebecca Scott, Arne Biastoch, Christian Roder, Victor A. Stiebens & Christophe Eizaguirre, 2014. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 281; http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2014.1209
ABSTRACT Dispersal during juvenile life stages drives the
life-history evolution and dynamics of many marine vertebrate
populations. However, the movements of juvenile organisms, too small to
track using conventional satellite telemetry devices, remain enigmatic.
For sea turtles, this led to the paradigm of the ‘lost years' since
hatchlings disperse widely with ocean currents. Recently, advances in
the miniaturization of tracking technology have permitted the
application of nano-tags to track cryptic organisms. Here, the novel
use of acoustic nano-tags on neonate loggerhead turtle hatchlings
enabled us to witness first-hand their dispersal and behaviour during
their first day at sea. We tracked hatchlings distances of up to 15 km
and documented their rapid transport (up to 60 m min−1) with surface
current flows passing their natal areas. Tracking was complemented with
laboratory observations to monitor swimming behaviours over longer
periods which highlighted (i) a positive correlation between swimming
activity levels and body size and (ii) population-specific swimming
behaviours (e.g. nocturnal inactivity) suggesting local oceanic
conditions drive the evolution of innate swimming behaviours. Knowledge
of the swimming behaviours of small organisms is crucial to improve the
accuracy of ocean model simulations used to predict the fate of these
organisms and determine resultant population-level implications into
adulthood.
[SCVZ EDITOR’S NOTE: Research on dispersal behaviour of loggerhead turtle Caretta caretta hatchlings in Boa Vista. For a news article & video, see the International New York Times of 27 October 2014.]
Biochemical indices and life traits of loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) from Cape Verde Islands. Sara Vieira, Samir Martins, Lucy A. Hawkes, Adolfo Marco & M. Alexandra Teodósio, 2014. PLoS One 9(11): e112181; http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0112181
ABSTRACT The loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta)
is an endangered marine reptile for whom assessing population health
requires knowledge of demographic parameters such as individual growth
rate. In Cape Verde, as within several populations, adult female
loggerhead sea turtles show a size-related behavioral and trophic
dichotomy. While smaller females are associated with oceanic habitats,
larger females tend to feed in neritic habitats, which is reflected in
their physiological condition and in their offspring. The ratio of
RNA/DNA provides a measure of cellular protein synthesis capacity,
which varies depending on changes in environmental conditions such as
temperature and food availability. The purpose of this study was to
evaluate the combined use of morphometric data and biochemical indices
as predictors of the physiological condition of the females of distinct
sizes and hatchlings during their nesting season and how temperature
may influence the physiological condition on the offspring. Here we
employed biochemical indices based on nucleic acid derived indices
(standardized RNA/DNA ratio-sRD, RNA concentration and DNA
concentration) in skin tissue as a potential predictor of recent growth
rate in nesting females and hatchling loggerhead turtles. Our major
findings were that the physiological condition of all nesting females
(sRD) decreased during the nesting season, but that females associated
with neritic habitats had a higher physiological condition than females
associated with oceanic habitats. In addition, the amount of time
required for a hatchling to right
itself was negatively correlated with its physiological condition (sRD)
and shaded nests produced hatchlings with lower sRD. Overall, our
results showed that nucleic acid concentrations and ratios of RNA to
DNA are an important tool as potential biomarkers of recent growth in
marine turtles. Hence, as biochemical indices of instantaneous growth
are likely temperature-, size- and age-dependent, the utility and
validation of these indices on marine turtles stocks deserves further
study.
Weight-length
and length-length relationships for reef fish species from the Cape
Verde Archipelago (tropical north-eastern Atlantic). M.T. Oliveira, M.N. Santos, R. Coelho, V. Monteiro, A. Martins & P.G. Lino, 2014. Journal of Applied Ichthyology; http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jai.12497
ABSTRACT This study reports weight-length and length-length
relationships for selected coastal reef fish species of the Cape Verde
Archipelago (tropical north-eastern Atlantic). Specimens were caught
with different types of gear (long-lines, handlines, purse-seines and
traps) during commercial fishing activities and sampled during fish
market operations. A total of 8328 individuals were sampled,
representing 29 species from 14 Families. This study provides the first
references on weight–length and length–length relationships for five
and 23 fish species worldwide, for 10 and 24 species for the Eastern
Atlantic and for 12 and 26 species for Cape Verde Archipelago,
respectively. Additionally, it provides revised weight-length
relationships for 11 species from Cape Verde waters.
De Cabo Verde para Lisboa: Cartas e
Remessas Científicas da Expedição Naturalista de João da Silva Feijó
(1783-1796). Vol. I – Documentação do Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino. Ana Cristina Roque & Maria Manuel Torrão (eds.), 2013. Instituto de Investigação Científica Tropical, Lisboa. 120 pp. ISBN 978-989-742-012-1.
De Cabo Verde para Lisboa: Cartas e
Remessas Científicas da Expedição Naturalista de João da Silva Feijó
(1783-1796). Vol. II – Documentação da Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal
e do Arquivo Histórico do Museu Nacional de História Natural e da
Ciência da Universidade de Lisboa. Ana Cristina Roque & Maria Manuel Torrão (eds.), 2014. Instituto de Investigação Científica Tropical, Lisboa. 120 pp. ISBN 978-989-742-012-2.
