February 2024 | Issue #15 | |
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In this month's issue:
- Letter from the Executive Director
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Featured Project: Kenya Long-term Exclosure Experiment
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Researcher Highlight: Mary Waithira
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Mpala in the News: Mpala researchers honoured in the 2024 Class of the Explorers Club 50
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Publication Spotlight: Fire and Herbivory Interactively Suppress the Survival and Growth of Trees in an African Semiarid Savanna
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Ambassador Meg Whitman and Dr. Winnie Kiiru. They attended the inaugural Princeton alumni event in Nairobi, Kenya. | |
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Dear Mpala Community,
It’s hard to believe that February is already almost over. As usual, there has been a lot going on at Mpala. From research work to infrastructure updates, Mpala is constantly working hard to ensure researchers, students, and staff are well taken care of.
The Mpala family started February on a high note after an exciting visit by the Princeton University Provost, Jennifer Rexford. She was accompanied by Andrea Goldsmith, Dean of Engineering and Applied Science; Kevin Heaney, Vice President for Advancement; Jim Matteo Vice President for Finance and Treasurer; Aly Kassam-Remtulla, Vice Provost for International Affairs and Operations and the chair of the Mpala Board, and other chief officers from Princeton. They participated in a fantastic cultural event and ground breaking ceremony for our new staff housing, generously funded by Princeton. The team met our research teams, visited a neighbouring village, and got to see the endangered African wild dogs who have been denning at a site in Mpala since the beginning of the year.
The visit ended with a Princeton alumni event held in Nairobi where Jennifer Rexford gave an update on the state of the university. A fireside chat between Ambassador Meg Whitman and myself was a great way to end the evening.
The Kenya Long-term Exclosure Experiment (KLEE) started its prescribed burns on 26th February. The purpose of these burns is to reveal complex interactions among rangeland drivers, including clear demonstration of strong synergy between fire and herbivory and subsequent trophic cascade involving both livestock and native biodiversity. On the permit side, PhD student Dedan Ngatia received his permit for his research on African wild dogs in Northern Kenya. The Baboon Research Program has also been granted capture permits, and they are now working with Kenya Wildlife Service to start collaring.
There have been researchers visiting from the University of Manchester, University of Nairobi, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Smithsonian Institution, National Museums of Kenya, Bomet University and many more. Mpala continues to host a wide variety of researchers.
We look forward to what March has in store and hope to see many of you on campus soon.
Warm regards,
Dr, Winnie Kiiru, Executive Director
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Featured Project: Kenya Long-term Exclosure Experiment | |
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Most of Africa’s wildlife lives outside of national parks and reserves, on a land that they share with livestock. The Kenya Long-term Exclosure Experiment (KLEE) was established in 1995 by Dr. Truman Young of the University of California at Davis to study the interactions between wildlife and cattle and the resulting impact on the ecosystem. The KLEE experiment consists of 18 four-hectare plots in three replicate blocks. In each block, we use different semi-permeable barriers to exclude six combinations of cattle, wildlife, and mega-herbivores (elephants and giraffes).
Fundamentally, KLEE asks:
- How do different rangeland use regimes impact the ecosystem?
- What happens when different wildlife and livestock species are lost from the ecosystem?
Using KLEE, we have been able to unravel complex and fascinating relationships between livestock and wildlife within the myriad of biodiversity in Laikipia. In particular, we are revealing that interactions between livestock and wildlife are not uniformly negative, they include many positive feedbacks. For example, although cattle and wildlife do compete during the dry periods, both cattle and wildlife can benefit from each other’s presence during wet periods. Additionally, the removal of either cattle or wildlife leads to large increases in the population of rodents, along with their disease vectors (ticks and fleas) and many human and livestock pathogens. Surprisingly, elephants appear to reduce many of the negative effects of cattle on wildlife and soil properties, in part by reducing forage uptake by cattle. Our research was the first to demonstrate how abandoned cattle corrals produce long-lived ecosystem “hotspots” of increased quality and productivity of forage. This knowledge is changing livestock management in Laikipia by contributing to greater controlled grazing and restoration of degraded habitat patches.
KLEE includes many Kenyan and U.S. collaborators such as Drs. Kari Veblen, Wilfred Odadi, Duncan Kimuyu, Corinna Riginos, Lauren Porensky, Lauren Hallet, Amy Wolf, and Ryan Sensenig. Our research assistants, Mathew Namoni, Jackson Ekadeli, Julius Lengais, Fredrick Errii, and John Lochkuya, have contributed immensely to the success of this project. Over the years, 30 masters and PhD theses have been written from research conducted in KLEE. With nearly 200 peer-reviewed and outreach publications, KLEE has become the most successful research study ever carried out in Africa
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Mpala Researcher Highlight: Mary Waithira, KLEE | |
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Tell us about yourself.
I hold a bachelor's degree in Wildlife Management, a field that has ignited my lifelong passion for conservation and the environment. My journey at Mpala began as a fresh graduate eagerly interviewing for an internship with the Vulturine Guineafowl Project, which I had discovered through a friend’s recommendation. At the time, I was actively seeking internship opportunities all over and being selected for the position at Mpala was immensely gratifying.
After completing a year-long internship, I seamlessly transitioned into the role of a research assistant within the same project. Through this experience, I had the opportunity to interact with other projects, broadening my understanding of conservation research happening at Mpala. It was during this period that I became aware of an exciting opportunity within the Kenya Long-term Exclosure Experiment (KLEE) project—a scholarship for an MSc. program. Recognizing the chance to further my education while making meaningful contributions to impactful research, I applied and was fortunate to secure the scholarship.
What project do you currently work on at Mpala?
Currently, I am a PhD student within the Kenya Long-term Exclosure Experiment (KLEE), under the guidance of Professor Truman Young and Dr. Duncan Kimuyu. My doctoral research focuses on examining the impact of ecological drivers on soil microbial composition. Specifically, I am investigating the individual and interactive effects of termites, fire, and herbivory on bacteria and fungi communities. Through this study, I aim to enhance our understanding of ecological drivers and contribute valuable insights to savanna ecosystem management and conservation efforts.
What is one of your favorite things about working at Mpala?
I love the fact that I am involved with a long-term experiment that was established decades ago (1995). Such an experiment is rare and usually found in places like national parks. Understanding the interaction of different drivers and their influence on savanna ecosystems remains amazing to me. Additionally, I have had opportunities to meet and interact with some brilliant minds and experienced researchers from all corners of the globe over coffee and roundtable discussions, gaining insights and ideas that ignite my passion for discovery. Moments like these make every day at Mpala truly exhilarating!
What impact do you believe your time at Mpala will have on your professional career?
My time at Mpala has been transformative for my professional career in numerous ways. As I immersed myself in its vibrant community of scientists and scholars, Mpala profoundly shaped and transformed my professional trajectory. Engaging in various projects, working alongside seasoned researchers and accessing the facilities has equipped me with skills and knowledge for advancing my career. Through Mpala, I met exceptional mentors whose supportive guidance continues to be instrumental. I consider myself to be in the best mentorship program, and I am immensely grateful for the opportunities it has provided and the solid foundation it has laid for my career. Mpala has and will continue serving as a catalyst for my growth and career development.
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We are pleased to share that Dr. Michelle Gadd and Dr. Tobey Kiers were elected to the 2024 Class of the Explorers Club 50. Dr. Gadd is the the head of global conservation at The Walter Family Conservation Fund; she did her doctoral research at Mpala. Dr. Kiers is a professor of evolutionary biology at the Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam and is the executive director of the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks (SPUN); she is a collaborator on the Mpala ant and microbial teams. | |
Featured Publication: Fire and Herbivory Interactively Suppress the Survival and Growth of Trees in an African Semiarid Savanna | | |
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Fire, Volume 5, Issue 5, October 2022 p
Co-authors: Mary W. Ngugi, Duncan M. Kimuyu, Ryan L. Sensenig, Wilfred O. Odadi, Samuel K. Kiboi, Joyce K. Omari and Truman P. Young.
Interest in how fire and herbivory influence woody vegetation dynamics in savanna ecosystems is long-standing. However, experiments looking at how different fire regimes interact with different groups of herbivores are rare. The authors tested the effects of repeated and single burns, in conjunction with six replicated herbivore treatments, on the mortality and growth of woody vegetation in the Kenya Long-term Exclosure Experiment (KLEE) plots. Burned plots experienced higher tree mortality overall, but differences between burns and non-burns were only significant in plots excluding all wild herbivores and in plots accessible to megaherbivores. Cattle mitigated the negative effects of repeat burns on tree mortality, by potentially limiting fuel supply. Across all herbivore treatments, trees had a reduced height within the first two years after fire, which was followed by a gradual recovery. Young trees and stumps subjected to repeated burns regrew faster than those that were burned once, except in the presence of megaherbivores. This study highlights strong context-dependent interactions between fire and different herbivore groups, and extends previous approaches to understanding fire–herbivory interactions, which have tended to lump the effects of different herbivore groups, or study them separately.
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