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The village weaver (Ploceus cucullatus) is a common colonial nesting bird widespread throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. It is known to weave its nests from leaf strips from a variety of tree species (mainly coconuts trees, oil palm trees) associated with human settlement areas, grasses, and other available plants. In this regard, this bird was considered a pest for its impact on different economic activities. Although extensive literature is already available on the parasitic role of village weavers, there is still a lack of analytical data that outlines which tree species are used for nesting and in what proportion, as well as the related implications in terms of economic impacts. Here, we carried out the first comprehensive arrangement of trees used by this species for nesting in Southern Nigeria (West Africa), checking for possible different impacts on stakeholders. In April 2021, we searched for village weaver nesting in 95 sites in 77 communities from 24 local government areas in Southern Nigeria, during 14 field surveys. Within each site, we collected GPS coordinates and counted the number of active nests, nesting birds and occupied trees. We recorded a total of 5,776 nests and 2,140 birds in 94 plants belonging to 23 tree species selected for nesting. Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis; n = 45) was the most used tree species, as 2,990 (51.77%) nests and 873 (40.79%) birds were recorded. Our results indicate the preference for nesting on trees used by stakeholders belonging to agricultural (palm farmers), touristic (operators) and energy (gas flare stations) sectors with economic implications about the conflict with this pest species.

1. A survey of eight local earthen hand-dug ponds located within the freshwater swamps of a Niger Delta area (southern Nigeria) was conducted over a period of 3 months. A total of 4,313 fishes representing 19 species from 12 families were recorded.

Biological communities are structured by a variety of biotic and abiotic relationships, whose understanding forms the basis for effective conservation. Among the myriad factors influencing community dynamics, resource partitioning stands out, potentially enriching ecosystem complexity but also carrying risks for conservation if disregarded. In this study, we investigated intersexual and ontogenetic niche differences among populations of the West African softshell turtle Trionyx triunguis in Liberia, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana and Nigeria. We observed that these distinct populations exhibited similar habitat preferences, favouring large rivers with abundant riverbank and aquatic vegetation, and muddy substrates. Disparities in habitat preferences were evident among populations and across various life stages, indicating the adaptability of the species. We found that the species was active throughout the year, but most of our sightings and captures occurred during the wet season. In light of the species' vulnerability to overhunting, our research findings provide important data on the ecology of this species that can assist in its effective conservation across all life stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the agricultural technique shifting cultivation practiced in tropical regions which have become the primary cause of deforestation and threat to the wildlife. It also discusses the slash‐and‐burn agriculture in the humid forests of West Africa and deforestation caused by it, including the comparison of diversity metrics and community composition of reptiles for slash‐and‐burn agriculture sites and unburnt sites in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria.

The forest hingeback tortoises Kinixys homeana and Kinixys erosa are two of the most declining African chelonians. Although the population size trends of these species have received attention in some specific areas of West Africa, an overall perception of their declining trajectories are still largely unexplored. We used interviews with rural people (hunters, farmers and snail gatherers) in order to explore the general perception that these experienced people have on the population trends of these threatened tortoises. Overall, we interviewed over 2000 people in three West African countries (Côte d'Ivoire, Togo and Nigeria), which mostly supported the notion that these tortoises are heavily declining in Togo and Nigeria, but less so in Côte d'Ivoire. In addition, many respondents suggested that snail gatherers are the main providers of tortoises to the bushmeat trade. Indeed, our market surveys revealed that, in Nigeria, there was a significantly positive correlation between number of wild snails traded by individual sellers and numbers of sold tortoises in their 'shops'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The African spurred tortoise Centrochelys sulcata is the second largest terrestrial turtle, with a scattered distribution across the West African Sahel. This species is threatened and declining consistently throughout its range, but little is known about the causes of its decline. It has been hypothesized that the decline is attributable to (1) competition with domestic cattle, (2) wildfire, and (3) the international pet trade. We conducted a series of analyses to investigate these three causes. Hypotheses 1 and 2 were analysed using a spatially explicit approach, using a database of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and logistic regression modelling; hypothesis 3 was tested by analysing the CITES trade database for 1990–2010. We found a significant negative correlation between intensity of grazing (expressed as density of cattle, km−2) and the presence of spurred tortoises, and this negative effect increased when coupled with high fire intensity, whereas wildfires alone did not have a significant influence on the species’ distribution at the global scale. There was a decrease in the annual export of wild individuals for the pet trade after the introduction of export quotas by country and by year, but trade data must be considered with caution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lygodactylus conraui is the only green gecko species occurring in West Africa, and is also one of the smallest gecko species of the African continent. Here, some aspects of the natural history of this species are documented for Rivers State, southern Nigeria. In total, 108 L. conraui individuals were observed in 1996-2016 in southern Nigeria. Individuals of this species were mainly observed at originally forested sites that were heavily altered by human inclusion. In southern Nigeria, L. conraui may be a pioneer species that quickly colonises microhabitats at ecotonal sites of recently deforested or rapidly re-growing forest areas. In each site, the number of observed lizards was significantly positively influenced by the percent of available shade within each habitat type. These geckos were found most commonly at 0.8-3.2 m height. Their activity was especially concentrated during the wet season months. Mean distance between individuals in each demes was 1.35 m (range 0.70-3.2 m). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]