Prince Kaleme

MSc Conservation Biology, Percy FitzPatrick Institute, UCT

My project is “Habitat fragmentation and patterns of diversity and distribution of selected small mammals in the Albertine Rift”. Four species complexes will be included: Praomys jacksoni, Hylomyscus denniae, Colomys goslingi and Malacomys longipes, subfamily Murinae (Muridae, Rodentia). Apart from Malacomys, all the genera belong to the Praomys group within which taxonomic relationship are unclear. Importantly, the genera included here are morphologically cryptic. My research will combine morphological and molecular techniques and represent the first broad scale study that incorporates multiple techniques in an attempt to resolve some of the taxonomic uncertainties within the Albertine Rift.

The aim of my study is to determine the impact of habitat fragmentation on species richness and distribution using effective population size. My findings will be used to formulate conservation priorities for various regions with the Albertine Rift; special emphasis will be placed on areas that are currently without any conservation status.

Background

After completing my BSc, I worked as a researcher at “Centre de Recherche en Sciences Naturelles, (CRSN)”, a DRCongo governmental research centre. My work was on the ecology, ethology and conservation of primates (phenology of ape-food plant) in a collaborative project with Kyoto University (Japan). In 1999, I received training at Makerere University (Kampala – Uganda) with a follow-up course at the Field Museum in Chicago in 2001. I obtained my MSc from the University of Cape Town in 2003. Following this, I rejoined the CRSN. In 2004, I was contracted by a conservation NGO, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), as consultant, senior field leader (for inventories) and project leader for the Itombwe Massif and Kahuzi – Biega NP. I resigned in December 2006 after notification of funding for a PhD program at Stellenbosch University but kept my affiliation with the governmental research centre.

My interest in small mammals primarily stems from the fact that despite higher species richness and abundances within the Albertine Rift, these taxa have consistently received inadequate attention. Although the Albertine Rift is biologically rich, it is surprisingly undocumented. It has sites which has never been assessed, while others have been sampled only once.

Department of Botany and Zoology University of Stellenbosch Private Bag X1 Matieland 7602 South Africa

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