Surveys of the East Coast Akalat, Sheppardia gunningi, in Arabuko-Sokoke Forest, 2005-2011

Study Extent

The surveys were carried out along transects located in the known preferred habitat for East Coast Akalats, namely the Mixed Forest in the eastern section of the forest and Cynometra forest and thicket to the west and north (Matiku, Bennun, & Nemeth, 2000). Surveys were carried out over a single, approximately two week period in 2005 and annually from 2007 to 2011.

Sampling

Point counts of the S. gunningi were conducted using a call playback sampling protocol in the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest in the years 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010, and 2011. The counts were conducted along permanently established long-term transects located in the Mixed Forest and Cynometra and not in the Brachystegia because the East Coast Akalat is known not to occur in Brachystegia (Matiku et al., 2000). The counts were conducted in the breeding season of each year, spanning November to January, when birds are more prone to call and respond to a playback. The exception was the first survey in 2005 carried out in June. The call was played using a portable speaker system at set point counts along the 2 km transects. The distance between points was 200 metres to avoid the possibility of double counting individuals because akalats will not respond to playback calls at a distance greater than 100 metres (Nemeth & Bennun, 2000). Upon arriving at a transect an appropriate period of time was taken to allow the birds to quiet down and become accustomed to the presence of the observer. At each set point, the call was played on the speakers for a total of 30 seconds to one side of the track. The observer then listened for 4.5 minutes, recording any birds seen or heard. The observer also estimated and recorded the distance and direction of each individual when first detected. Any distances greater than 10 metres were rounded to the nearest five metre interval. This process was then repeated for the other side of the transect. Akalats which were seen or heard between the points or outside of the time frame were recorded but were not included in the count data or the analysis.

Quality Control

The fieldwork was carried out involving the same observer in all surveys to avoid differences in field skills and distance estimation between different observers. The data were then entered into excel spreadsheets in a variety of methods but later converted to the Darwin Core standard format for uploading to GBIF. GPS locations for each point count were mapped in both QGIS and on Google Earth to ascertain their accuracy. Some were noted to have an offset error and were adjusted to align with other correct locations. The data were then verified by CHWJ who assisted oversight of the project.

Method steps

1. Ten set points (marked with GPS) 200 m apart were used along a 2 km transect to sample for East Coast Akalats. The transects were distributed in habitat preferred by the akalat. Half a minute of playback of the akalat song was used to elicit a response from any Akalats within hearing followed four and a half minutes of focused observing. This was repeated facing the opposite side to total 10 minutes of survey at each point. Birds calling were estimated by the same observer as to how far from the point they were and rounded to 5 m bands from the central point. Data were recorded on field data sheets and later transcribed to excel spreadsheets. Later they were converted to GBIF format for publishing.

The data is of East Coast Akalat recorded within the boundaries of Arabuko-Sokoke Forest.

1. Sheppardia gunningi Haagner, 1909
   common name: East Coast Akalat rank: species

The data is of East Coast Akalat recorded within the boundaries of Arabuko-Sokoke Forest.Latitude of 3° 20’ S, Longitude 39° 50’ E