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Preliminary Data on Amphibian Diversity of the Okapi Wildlife Reserve (RFO) in Democratic Republic of the Congo

Received: 4 July 2019     Accepted: 11 September 2019     Published: 10 October 2019
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Abstract

Amphibians are poorly known in the Okapi Wildlife Reserve (RFO) in DRC, and amphibians are identified as one of the most threatened animal taxa among vertebrates living on Earth. The aim of this study was to inventory amphibians in the Okapi Wildlife Reserve. To do this, amphibians were caught by hand during the day (between 06:00–08:00 hrs) and at night (between 18:00–20:00 hrs). All specimens were photographed, labelled, and preserved in ethanol (70%). Specimens were located by sight and sound. In two sessions of 10 days each, 692 specimens were caught, representing 53 species, 17 genera and 11 families. All the inventoried species belong to the Order Anura. Several specimens could not be identified to species. The family representation included Hyperoliidae (159 specimens: 22.97%), Pyxicephalidae (8 specimens (1.15%)), Arthroleptidae (54 individuals: 7.80%), Rhacophoridae (2 specimens: 0.28%), Hemisotidae (34 specimens: 4.91%), Dicroglossidae (123 specimens: 17.77%), Ranidae (174 individuals: 25.14%), Phrynobatrachidae (3 individuals: 0.43%), Ptychadenidae (22 specimens: 3.17%), Bufonidae (45 specimens: 6.5%) and Pipidae (68 individuals: 9.82%). The results of this research are preliminary, but they are very interesting because they will allow the Reserve authorities to know the amphibians of the RFO and to have a scientific basis for a possible drafting or implementation of the conservation plan and the protection of wetlands.

Published in American Journal of Zoology (Volume 2, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajz.20190203.11
Page(s) 38-43
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2019. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Biodiversity, Amphibians, Habitat Loss, Okapi Wildlife Reserve, Ituri Forest, Epulu, DRC

References
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[7] S. J. O. Hanlon et al., “Recent Asian origin of chytrid fungi causing global amphibian declines,” RESEARCH, vol. 627, no. May, pp. 621–627, 2018.
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[13] L. M. Jean-Pierre d’Huart, “Rapport de mission de suivi réactif de la réserve de faune à okapis en République Démocratique du Congo (RDC),” p. 30 pages, 2014.
[14] W. Delvingt, “Parcs & Réserves. Les aires Protégées de la République Démocratique du Congo,” in Revue trimestrielle de conservation de la nature et de gestion durable d’Ardenne et Gaume, vol. 68, no. 3, 2013, p. 52.
[15] G. Kambale, S., H. Kazadi, “Inventaire systématique des amphibiens de Kisangani (Zaire),” Ann. Fac. Sc. Unikis 10 137 - 146, vol. 10, pp. 137–146, 1994.
[16] O. S. G. Pauwels and M.-O. Rödel, “Amphibians and National Parks in Gabon western Central Africa Amphibien und Nationalparks in Gabun, westliches Zentralafrika,” Herpetozoa, vol. 19, pp. 135–148, 2007.
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Cite This Article
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    Franck Masudi Muenye Mali, Pionus Katuala Gatate Banda, Zacharie Chifundera Kusamba, Gabriel Badjedjea Babangenge, Jean Robert Kambili Sebe, et al. (2019). Preliminary Data on Amphibian Diversity of the Okapi Wildlife Reserve (RFO) in Democratic Republic of the Congo. American Journal of Zoology, 2(3), 38-43. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajz.20190203.11

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    ACS Style

    Franck Masudi Muenye Mali; Pionus Katuala Gatate Banda; Zacharie Chifundera Kusamba; Gabriel Badjedjea Babangenge; Jean Robert Kambili Sebe, et al. Preliminary Data on Amphibian Diversity of the Okapi Wildlife Reserve (RFO) in Democratic Republic of the Congo. Am. J. Zool. 2019, 2(3), 38-43. doi: 10.11648/j.ajz.20190203.11

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    AMA Style

    Franck Masudi Muenye Mali, Pionus Katuala Gatate Banda, Zacharie Chifundera Kusamba, Gabriel Badjedjea Babangenge, Jean Robert Kambili Sebe, et al. Preliminary Data on Amphibian Diversity of the Okapi Wildlife Reserve (RFO) in Democratic Republic of the Congo. Am J Zool. 2019;2(3):38-43. doi: 10.11648/j.ajz.20190203.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajz.20190203.11,
      author = {Franck Masudi Muenye Mali and Pionus Katuala Gatate Banda and Zacharie Chifundera Kusamba and Gabriel Badjedjea Babangenge and Jean Robert Kambili Sebe and Albert Lotana Lokasola and Corneille Ewango and Guy Crispin Gembu Tungaluna and Dudu Akaibe},
      title = {Preliminary Data on Amphibian Diversity of the Okapi Wildlife Reserve (RFO) in Democratic Republic of the Congo},
      journal = {American Journal of Zoology},
      volume = {2},
      number = {3},
      pages = {38-43},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajz.20190203.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajz.20190203.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajz.20190203.11},
      abstract = {Amphibians are poorly known in the Okapi Wildlife Reserve (RFO) in DRC, and amphibians are identified as one of the most threatened animal taxa among vertebrates living on Earth. The aim of this study was to inventory amphibians in the Okapi Wildlife Reserve. To do this, amphibians were caught by hand during the day (between 06:00–08:00 hrs) and at night (between 18:00–20:00 hrs). All specimens were photographed, labelled, and preserved in ethanol (70%). Specimens were located by sight and sound. In two sessions of 10 days each, 692 specimens were caught, representing 53 species, 17 genera and 11 families. All the inventoried species belong to the Order Anura. Several specimens could not be identified to species. The family representation included Hyperoliidae (159 specimens: 22.97%), Pyxicephalidae (8 specimens (1.15%)), Arthroleptidae (54 individuals: 7.80%), Rhacophoridae (2 specimens: 0.28%), Hemisotidae (34 specimens: 4.91%), Dicroglossidae (123 specimens: 17.77%), Ranidae (174 individuals: 25.14%), Phrynobatrachidae (3 individuals: 0.43%), Ptychadenidae (22 specimens: 3.17%), Bufonidae (45 specimens: 6.5%) and Pipidae (68 individuals: 9.82%). The results of this research are preliminary, but they are very interesting because they will allow the Reserve authorities to know the amphibians of the RFO and to have a scientific basis for a possible drafting or implementation of the conservation plan and the protection of wetlands.},
     year = {2019}
    }
    

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    T1  - Preliminary Data on Amphibian Diversity of the Okapi Wildlife Reserve (RFO) in Democratic Republic of the Congo
    AU  - Franck Masudi Muenye Mali
    AU  - Pionus Katuala Gatate Banda
    AU  - Zacharie Chifundera Kusamba
    AU  - Gabriel Badjedjea Babangenge
    AU  - Jean Robert Kambili Sebe
    AU  - Albert Lotana Lokasola
    AU  - Corneille Ewango
    AU  - Guy Crispin Gembu Tungaluna
    AU  - Dudu Akaibe
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    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajz.20190203.11
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    JF  - American Journal of Zoology
    JO  - American Journal of Zoology
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    EP  - 43
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
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    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajz.20190203.11
    AB  - Amphibians are poorly known in the Okapi Wildlife Reserve (RFO) in DRC, and amphibians are identified as one of the most threatened animal taxa among vertebrates living on Earth. The aim of this study was to inventory amphibians in the Okapi Wildlife Reserve. To do this, amphibians were caught by hand during the day (between 06:00–08:00 hrs) and at night (between 18:00–20:00 hrs). All specimens were photographed, labelled, and preserved in ethanol (70%). Specimens were located by sight and sound. In two sessions of 10 days each, 692 specimens were caught, representing 53 species, 17 genera and 11 families. All the inventoried species belong to the Order Anura. Several specimens could not be identified to species. The family representation included Hyperoliidae (159 specimens: 22.97%), Pyxicephalidae (8 specimens (1.15%)), Arthroleptidae (54 individuals: 7.80%), Rhacophoridae (2 specimens: 0.28%), Hemisotidae (34 specimens: 4.91%), Dicroglossidae (123 specimens: 17.77%), Ranidae (174 individuals: 25.14%), Phrynobatrachidae (3 individuals: 0.43%), Ptychadenidae (22 specimens: 3.17%), Bufonidae (45 specimens: 6.5%) and Pipidae (68 individuals: 9.82%). The results of this research are preliminary, but they are very interesting because they will allow the Reserve authorities to know the amphibians of the RFO and to have a scientific basis for a possible drafting or implementation of the conservation plan and the protection of wetlands.
    VL  - 2
    IS  - 3
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Ecology and Biodiversity of Earth Resources, Centre de Surveillance de la Biodiversité of the University of Kisangani, Kisangani, Democratic Republic of the Congo

  • Department of Ecology and Animal Management, Faculty of Science, University of Kisangani, Kisangani, Democratic Republic of the Congo

  • Department of Biology, Centre de Recherche en Sciences Naturelles de Lwiro, Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo

  • Department of Ecology and Aquatic Biodiversity, Biodiversity Monitoring Centre, University of Kisangani, Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo

  • Institut Supérieur de Développement Rural d’Amadi, Poko City, Democratic Republic of the Congo

  • Reserve Naturelle de Kokolopori (BCI Conservation), Mbandaka City, Democratic Republic of the Congo

  • Department of Ecosystem Management, Faculty of Management of Renewable Natural Resources, University of Kisangani, Kisangani City, Democratic Republic of the Congo

  • Department of Ecology and Biodiversity of Earth Resources, Centre de Surveillance de la Biodiversité of the University of Kisangani, Kisangani, Democratic Republic of the Congo

  • Department of Ecology and Animal Management, Faculty of Science, University of Kisangani, Kisangani, Democratic Republic of the Congo

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