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Research Goals of the BEATRA program
Specific Research Projects
The Albertine Rift is comprised of a number of high elevation areas that stretch for some 1200 km from the Lendu plateau, W of Lake Albert at 2° N to the Marungu Highlands at 7°30’ S. Our research focuses on better documenting the patterns and evolutionary history of the biotic diversity of the Rift. From north to south, these regions include: highlands West of Lake Albert, West of Lake Edward, the Virungas, the Ruwenzoris, Bwindi (=Impenetrable) forest, highlands west of Lake Kivu (=Kahuzi Biega National Park), Nyungwe forest (=Rugege), Idjwi Island, Itombwe, Bururi, Kabobo, Kungwe-Mahale, and the Marungu highlands.
- Biological Inventories of the Albertine Rift Mountains and Adjacent Lowland Forests
A primary legacy of this training program is to provide detailed biotic surveys of important montane regions of the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). These regions include: Idjwi Island, Kahuzi-Biega National Park, the Itombwe forest, DRC portions of the Virunga Mountains and several smaller highland areas in the DRC.
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| Participants and Instructor, Chifundera Kusimba, during the 2001 BEATRA training course on Idjwi Island. (© 2001 J. Bates) |
Inventories are carried out by program trainees in collaboration with instructors. The taxa being studied include mammals, birds, and plants for terrestrial projects. In each study area, we will establish sampling points in elevational transects (Fisher 1998, Goodman 1998) and in specific habitats (e.g, bamboo and montane swamps) to learn more about geographic variation in community structure in the Albertine Rift. These data will augment previous work in the region for birds (Prigogine 1985, Omari et al. 1999), but such data are not available for other groups.
- Genetic Diversity of the Albertine Rift
Outside of gorillas and chimpanzees, little is known about genetic structure of Albertine Rift animals. Several students, one Congolese, will be gathering material for their dissertation research on genetic diversity in birds and small mammals during the course of survey work. By studying patterns of genetic diversity in various study species, we will learn about the patterns of diversification in the Albertine Rift.
Citations
- Bober, S. O., M. Herremans, M. Louette, J. C. Kerbis Peterhans and J. M. Bates. 2001. Geographical and altitudinal distribution of endemic birds in the Albertine Rift. Ostrich Supplement 15 (July 2001):189-196.
- Fisher, B. L. 1998. Ant diversity patterns along an elevational gradient in the Réserve Spéciale d’Anjanaharibe-Sud and on the Western Masoala Peninsula, Madagascar. Pp. 39-68 in A floral and faunal inventory of the Réserve Spéciale d’Anjanaharibe-Sud, Madagascar: with special reference to elevational variation. Fieldiana: Zoology 90.
- Goodman, S. M. (ed.). 1998. A floral and faunal inventory of the Réserve Spéciale d’Anjanaharibe-Sud, Madagascar: with reference to elevational variation. Fieldiana: Zoology 90.
- Omari, I., Hart, J., Butynski, T., Upoki, A., Bengana, F., Bashonga, G., Yuma, M., Birashimwa, R., and Bagurubumwe, N. 1999. The Itombwe Massif, Democratic Republic of Congo: Biological surveys and conservation with an emphasis on Grauer’s gorilla and birds endemic to the Albertine Rift. Oryx 33:301-322.
- Prigogine, A. 1985. Conservation of the avifauna of the forests of the Albertine Rift. Pp. 277-295 in A. W. Diamond and T. E. Lovejoy (eds.), Conservation of tropical forest birds. Tech. Bull. No. 4. International Council for Bird Preservation,Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Continue to Learn about Research Projects
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