Titles and abstracts of field projects completed by participants in the fall 1998 ACM Tanzania Program. These papers are not available for distribution.

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Insects of Serengeti National Park. Sarah J. Baumeister, Colorado College.

I studied insects on Serengeti National Park, where few entomological studies had previously been conducted. I made a collection from mid October through mid November. I collected at five different sites and identified the specimens to family at UDSM. The data collected are inconclusive due to inconsistencies in collection methods. 

Leopard Tortoises in Serengeti National Park. Kiera Fehringer, Beloit College. 

Despite their wide distribution, little is known about the leopard tortoise. This study focused on when, where, and how to find leopard tortoises in the hopes of making  that task easier for researchers in the future. When a tortoises was located, its activity, general location, GPS location, habitat, weather and time were recorded. Compilation of the data showed that tortoises are most easily located in woodlands between 9:00-11:00 and 15:00-17:00 hours when they are most active. They were found most frequently in the road or short grass when it was sunny.

Macromammalian Size in Relation to Habitat Aridity. Matt Benoit, Carleton College.

I complied graphs and tables to discern a pattern between the habitat of large mammals and their size. There is no direct relationship between size and habitat that encompassed all of the 61 species included in this study. However, there are several relationships discernable within closely related species or subspecies.

Morphometric Relationships of the Tropical Leopard Tortoise (Geochelone pardalis babcocki) in the Seronera Region of the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania.  Claudia Branton, University of Chicago. Co-Researcher: Kiera Fehringer, Beloit College. 

The tropical leopard tortoise (Geochelone pardalis babcocki) is sexually dimorphic in certain carapacial to differing degrees based on geographical location. I compared the Hargeisa (Somaliland) leopard tortoise study with those conducted in the Serengeti and Arusha regions of Tanzania. Carapace characteristics are correlated. The strongest correlations are isometric  relationships between straight line carapace length to both height and width. There is a significant difference between the sexes in the composition of anal scute widths. This is considered to be one of the most diagnostic and earliest apparent sexually dimorphic characteristics.

Behavior of Male Olive Baboons (Papio hamadryas anubis) in Seronera Staff Village, Serengeti National Park. Jessica Deitrick, Beloit College. 

I examined behavior patterns of male olive baboons (Papio hamadryas anubis) at Serengeti National Park staff village, Seronera. I collected ad libitum data for a peroid of four weeks. The behavior of male baboons in village may lead to an increase in observed homosexual behavior and caring for infants by males.

Ethnobotany and Ecological Analysis of Maasai Traditional Medicine in the Endulen/Laetoli Region of Tanzania.  Ramona Butz,  St. Olaf.

I conducted an inventory and preliminary habits analysis of the medicinal plants their uses, and preparations as explained by the Maasai of Tanzania in the area served be the Endulen Hospital. Thirty Angiosperms are listed along with a comparative analysis of a burned and non burned locality for dominant species, density and distribution of medicinals.

Canine distemper monitoring programs in Serengeti Park Tanzania.  Donald Delaney, Lawrence University.

The 1994Canine Distemper (CDV) epidemic in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania inspired the monitoring of lions and the vaccination of domestic dogs against CDV be Project Lifelion, the Serengeti Wildlife Veterinary Department, and the Serengeti Lion Project. The reasons for the severity of the 1994 epidemic, the effectiveness of the three programs and the probability of a future epidemic are examined.

Small Birds in three habitats of Serengeti National Park.  Katherine Doherty, Carleton College.

I observed small birds in three habits. Masai kopjes, Nyani camp and near the Wandamu River. Species present variety between habitats. Many species were seen only on the kopjes, supporting the concept of kopjes as island environments. The quantity and variety of birds observed indicates that future study would be productive for education, conversation and park management.

Traditional medicine of the Maasai in Endulen region, Northern Tanzania: a focus on malaria medicinals.  Andrew G. Evens, University of Chicago. 

We conducted an ethnobotanical survey among the Maasai within the region of Endulen, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania. Thirty species, compromising 21 distinct families, are presented along with their traditional preparations and uses. Particular emphasis is placed on the use of botanicals for the treatment of malaria. In total, 13 vernacular names are recorded as malarial remedies, 9 of which are identified. The most frequently reported plants among these are: Acacia mellifera, Albizia anthelmintica, Boscia mossambicensis and Salvadora persica. A review of the ethnobotanical and athnopharmacological literature for Tanzania and eastern Africa is included for them in order to supplement the documentation of their traditional use.

Excavation and Analysis of Rodentia and Lagomorpha at Laetolil Locaity 8, Upper Laetolil Beds: Implications for Paleoenvironment and Pleohabitat.  Neil Gipson, Grinnell College. 

The goal of this project is to clarify the paleoenvironment of the Upper Laetolil Beds of the Laetoli Lominid site through excavation and analysis of fossil remains of Rodentia and Lagomorpha. Previous work on this topic strongly suggests a generally semi-arid savanna environment; however, consensus has not been reached regarding the specifics of the landscape. It is hypothesized that a study with a finer resolution than previous work may reveal a patchwork mosaic of habitats within the general paleoenvironment already identified. Therefore this study will focus on fossil remains of Rodentia and Lagomorpha from a single locality and their implications.

Paraxerus and the Paleoenvironment at Laetoli Tanzania.  Neil Gipson, Grinnell College. 

I used data on small mammals to model the paleoenvironment of the Pliocene hominid site in northern Tanzania. However, at least one genus does not accord with the reconstructed environments, and Denys (1987) suggests that perhaps a predator hunted them in their original habitats and then deposited them at Laetoli. In this paper I test her hypothesis by examining the predators recovered from Laetoli and their likely hunting behaviors and habitats preferences. I concluded that the original hypothesis remains a possible–though not likely–explanation, and propose an alternative hypothesis. 

Stratigraphy and Invertebrate Paleontology of the Upper Laetolil Beds, Laetoli, Tanzania.  Megan Hicks, Beloit College. 

The upper Laetolil Beds are composed of air-fall tuff and water-woked tuff that are 45-60m thick. The Upper Laetolil Beds have nepheline-phonolite or a melilitite-carbonatite composition representing volcanic eruptions of low-silica magma. Thin paleosol surfaces, located within the uppermost portions of air-fall tuffs, footprints. Termitidate ichnofossils, Hymenoptera brood sell and cocoon inchofossils and Enidae, Subulnidae, Achatinidae, Urocyclidae body fossils are abundant. Upper Laetolil Bed sedimentology, lithology, and invertebrate paleontolgy suggest s moister, more productive paleoenvironment during the Pliocene than today.

Raptors of the Serengeti National Park. Anna Mosser, University of Chicago. 

In studying the distributions and general ecology of raptors in the Serengeti National Park, Ifound the distribution to coorrespond with the species' ecological characteristics. Tropical savanna, such as this is richest of all environments in birds of prey, and results and literature were useful for a better understanding of the Serengeti ecosystem as well as for conservation of many threatened raptor species.

Estrus swelling in Female Olive Baboons (Papio hamadryas anubis) with suckling infants.  Kate Muchisky, Knox College. 

I studied postpartum amenorrhea for a baboon troop in Seronera Staff Villiage, Serengeti National Park, for four weeks. I collected data via ad libitum samples and field notes. I discuss possibilities for future comparative studies between troops in the wild and troops living areas of human disturbances.

Traditional Medicine of the Maasai of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.  Rebecca A. Peters, Grinnell College. 

This study was performed to provide a preliminary survey of the Maasai ethnopharmacopeia with an emphasis on medicines used for women's reproductive health. Semistructured interview methods  wee used to collect information in 6 regions of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania. Voucher specimens were collected an the identified at the herbarium in the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Thirty plant species were identified, with 15 of them commonly used in obstetrics. Sixteen of the 30 species were cited in the existing literature.  The results of this study illustrate the need for further research.

Waterbirds of the Seronera and Wandamu Rivers. Meghan O'Neal Rudd, Colorado College. 

Tanzania leads Africa i the list of the threatened birds species. During the period of September 18th through November 12th 1998, Iobserved and counted waterbirds of the Seronera and Wandamu Rivers of the Serengeti National Park. Data collected included common residents and seasonal migrants of Rift Valley lakes. The finding of the study will be used for the conservation education.

The Laetoli Hominid Pedestal Restoration Project. Ryan Schaub, Beloit College. 

The project focuses on the condition of the Laetoli hominid pedestals. Many pedestals have deteriorated overt time from anthropogenic and natural processes. Felix Ndunguru and I restored some of these pedestals using a variety of methods, trenching retaining walls etc. and made them presentable to people.

Total Station Survey of Selected localities at Laetoli Tanzania.  David M. Sisul, University of Chicago. 

In order to effectively excavate the abundant fossil animal remains at the archeological/paleontological site of Laetoli, accurate large-scale maps should be used. I helped to initiate large-scale locality mapping at Laetoli via an SDM3E Total Station machine, which implements the coordination of points around the perimeter of each locality. After plotting the points onto graph paper, the locality's areas of exposed tuffs were sketched and the maps are now ready to be used by scientists. 

Updated 5/25/07