Mohammed Kasso - Profile on Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Mohammed Kasso

Impact of climate change on the distribution and predicted habitat suitability of two fruit bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus and Epomophorus labiatus) in Ethiopia: Implications for conservation

Ecology and Evolution

Fruit bats serve as crucial bioindicators, seed dispersers, pollinators, and contributors to food... more Fruit bats serve as crucial bioindicators, seed dispersers, pollinators, and contributors to food security within ecosystems. However, their population and distribution were threatened by climate change and anthropogenic pressures. Understanding the impacts of these pressures through mapping distribution and habitat suitability is crucial for identifying high‐priority areas and implementing effective conservation and management plans. We predicted the distribution and extent of habitat suitability for Rousettus aegyptiacus and Epomophorus labiatus under climate change scenarios using average predictions from four different algorithms to produce an ensemble model. Seasonal precipitation, population index, land‐use land cover, vegetation, and the mean temperature of the driest quarter majorly contributed to the predicted habitat suitability for both species. The current predicted sizes of suitable habitats for R. aegyptiacus and E. labiatus were varied, on average 60,271.4 and 85,176....

Ectoparasites play a vital role in the transmission of zoonotic diseases and are an essential com... more Ectoparasites play a vital role in the transmission of zoonotic diseases and are an essential component of the ecosystem. However, very few studies have been conducted on the ectoparasites of small mammals in Ethiopia, particularly in the Chilalo-Galama Mountains Range. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the species composition, prevalence, distribution, and small mammal host interaction of ectoparasites in the study area. Different traps were used to capture small mammals from where ectoparasites were recovered. The collected ectoparasites were identified to families, genera, and species levels. The parameters like prevalence (P), Abundance (A), mean abundance (MA), Relative Abundance (RA), mean intensity (MI) and constituent ratio (C) were used for the analysis. The study identified disease-carrying ectoparasites based on presence absence of parasite for public and domestic animal health risks. Out of the 204 small mammals examined, 150 were infected by one or more groups of...

Rodent diversity-buffer to core area

Four scripts used in this paper 1) interaction outcomes, 2) rodent abundance and 3) mole rat abun... more Four scripts used in this paper 1) interaction outcomes, 2) rodent abundance and 3) mole rat abundance in core area compared to the buffer zon

Rodent Abundance data

Results from rodent trappin

Ethiopian wolf-African wolf interaction-INT1

African wolf-Ethiopian wolf interaction: Key for each of activity is given in the second sheet of... more African wolf-Ethiopian wolf interaction: Key for each of activity is given in the second sheet of the excel

African wolf and Ethiopian wolf localities

Location of African wolf and Ethiopian wolf in respect to the buffer and core zone of the study a... more Location of African wolf and Ethiopian wolf in respect to the buffer and core zone of the study area, Guassa mountain

Journal of Natural History, 2019

A small collection of bats composed of six species from Dire Dawa area, eastern Ethiopia, is pres... more A small collection of bats composed of six species from Dire Dawa area, eastern Ethiopia, is presented. Besides three species previously known in the region, Rousettus aegyptiacus, Epomophorus minimus and Chaerephon pumilus, three bats were newly documented from the area, Rhinopoma microphyllum, R. cystops and Scotophilus leucogaster. R. microphyllum is here reported for the first time in Ethiopia. From molecular genetic comparisons Ethiopian R. cystops belongs to the Arabian subspecies lineage R. c. arabium, previously unknown from the African continent, raising interesting biogeographic questions.

Royal Society Open Science, 2019

African wolves (AWs) are sympatric with endangered Ethiopian wolves (EWs) in parts of their range... more African wolves (AWs) are sympatric with endangered Ethiopian wolves (EWs) in parts of their range. Scat analyses have suggested a dietary overlap between AWs and EWs, raising the potential for exploitative competition, and a possible conservation threat to EWs. However, in contrast to that of the well-studied EW, the foraging ecology of AWs remains poorly characterized. Accordingly, we studied the foraging ecology of radio-collared AWs ( n = 11 individuals) at two localities with varying levels of anthropogenic disturbance in the Ethiopian Highlands, the Guassa-Menz Community Conservation Area (GMCCA) and Borena-Saynt National Park (BSNP), accumulating 845 h of focal observation across 2952 feeding events. We also monitored rodent abundance and rodent trapping activity by local farmers who experience conflict with AWs. The AW diet consisted largely of rodents (22.0%), insects (24.8%), and goats and sheep (24.3%). Of the total rodents captured by farmers using local traps during peak...

Journal of the Saudi Society of Agricultural Sciences, 2016

The assessment on the causes of post-harvest loss and quality deterioration of horticultural crop... more The assessment on the causes of post-harvest loss and quality deterioration of horticultural crops was carried out in Dire Dawa Administration from March 2011 to December 2012 in the eleven randomly selected representatives Peasant Associations. Stratified and multi stage random sampling techniques were used to sample representative Peasant Associations and respondents (n = 296). Both qualitative and quantitative data were gathered through questionnaire, focus group discussions, interview and observations. Data were analyzed using appropriate descriptive statistics. Climate and weather conditions, harvesting and handling techniques, packaging, storage and transportation facility, market situation, dust from cement factory, disease and pest animals were recorded as major causes for post-harvest loss. The severe post-harvest loss and quality deterioration of horticultural crops mainly occurred during harvesting followed by marketing, transporting and storage. Poor quality equipment and materials usage caused tremendous mechanical, physiological and pathological damages on horticultural crops. To minimize losses, different traditional methods were practiced by the local community. The highest post-harvest loss was recorded for tomato (45.32%) followed by mango (43.53%), whereas the least post-harvest loss was recorded for coffee (15.75%). Post-harvest loss ranging from 20% to 50% was recorded in between marketing and consumption. This can be used as a good indication as all concerned bodies should aim for development of effective and efficient policies and strategies to solve existing problems.

African Journal of Ecology, 2010

A study on the ecology of rodents and insectivores on Mount Chilalo and the Galama Mountain range... more A study on the ecology of rodents and insectivores on Mount Chilalo and the Galama Mountain range was conducted during August, 2007-April, 2008. Study grids were marked in nine randomly selected habitats. Sherman live traps and snap traps were used to capture the small mammals. A total of 2525 (including recaptures) individual rodents and insectivores were captured in 5488 (Sherman) and 1590 (snap) trap-nights. Among the livetrapped animals, 2037 (96.2%) and 80 (3.8%) were rodents and insectivores, respectively, that comprised 17 species. These were as follows: Arvicanthis abyssinicus, Arvicanthis blicki, Arvicanthis dembeensis, Lophuromys flavopunctatus, Lophuromys melanonyx, Mastomys natalensis, Mus mahomet, Otomys typus, Rattus rattus, Stenocephalemys albipes, Stenocephalemys albocaudata, Stenocephalemys griseicauda, Crocidura glassi, Crocidura flavescens and Crocidura thalia. Tachyoryctes splendens and Hystrix cristata were sighted but not captured. Endemics to Ethiopia constituted 60% of the trapped small mammals. Lophuromys flavopunctatus was the most abundant and widely distributed rodent species, while M. mahomet was the least. The altitudes between 3301 and 3400 m asl had the highest species composition and abundance although it is second in number of catches per trap-nights. The majority of rodents and insectivores were associated with montane forest habitat, whereas the least were in the shrubland. Anthropogenic effects were witnessed affecting the distribution of small mammals.

Molecular phylogenetics and evolution, Jan 27, 2017

The Ethiopian highlands are the most extensive complex of mountainous habitats in Africa. The pre... more The Ethiopian highlands are the most extensive complex of mountainous habitats in Africa. The presence of the Great Rift Valley (GRV) and the striking elevational ecological gradients inhabited by recently radiated Ethiopian endemics, provide a wide spectrum of model situations for evolutionary studies. The extant species of endemic rodents, often markedly phenotypically differentiated, are expected to possess complex genetic features which evolved asa consequence of the interplay between geomorphology and past climatic changes. In this study, we used the largest available multi-locus genetic dataset of the murid genus Stenocephalemys (347 specimens from ca 40 localities across the known distributional area of all taxa) to investigate the relative importance of disruptive selection, temporary geographic isolation and introgression in their adaptive radiations in the Pleistocene. We confirmed the four main highly supported mitochondrial (mtDNA) clades that were proposed as four speci...

Royal Society open science, 2018

Carnivore populations are declining globally due to range contraction, persecution and prey deple... more Carnivore populations are declining globally due to range contraction, persecution and prey depletion. One consequence of these patterns is increased range and niche overlap with other carnivores, and thus an elevated potential for competitive exclusion. Here, we document competition between an endangered canid, the Ethiopian wolf (EW), and the newly discovered African wolf (AW) in central Ethiopia. The diet of the ecological specialist EW was dominated by rodents, whereas the AW consumed a more diverse diet also including insects and non-rodent mammals. EWs used predominantly intact habitat, whereas AWs used mostly areas disturbed by humans and their livestock. We observed 82 encounters between the two species, of which 94% were agonistic. The outcomes of agonistic encounters followed a territory-specific dominance pattern, with EWs dominating in intact habitat and AWs in human-disturbed areas. For AWs, the likelihood of winning encounters also increased with group size. Rodent spe...

Data from: Competition between sympatric wolf taxa: an example involving African and Ethiopian Wolves

Carnivore populations are declining globally due to range contraction, persecution and prey deple... more Carnivore populations are declining globally due to range contraction, persecution and prey depletion. One consequence of these patterns is increased range and niche overlap with other carnivores, and thus an elevated potential for competitive exclusion. Here we document competition between an endangered canid, the Ethiopian wolf (EW), and the newly discovered African wolf (AW) in central Ethiopia. The diet of the ecological specialist EW was dominated by rodents whereas the AW consumed more diverse diet also including insects and non-rodent mammals. EWs used predominantly intact habitat whereas AWs used mostly areas disturbed by humans and their livestock. Still, we observed 82 encounters between the two species, of which 94% were agonistic. The outcomes of agonistic encounters followed a territory-specific dominance pattern, with EWs dominating in intact habitat and AWs in human-disturbed areas. For AWs, the likelihood of winning encounters also increased with group size. Trapping data indicated that rodent species consumed by EWs were also available in the human-disturbed areas, suggesting that these areas could be suitable habitat for EWs if AWs were not territorially dominant there. Increasing human encroachment not only affects the prey base of EWs, but also may impact their survival by intensifying competition with sympatric AWs

Supplementary Figure and tables from Foraging ecology of African wolves (Canis lupaster) and its implications for the conservation of Ethiopian wolves (Canis simensis)

Figure S1: Difit amidst crops on farmland near GMCCA. The tip of the rope is tied to the barley (... more Figure S1: Difit amidst crops on farmland near GMCCA. The tip of the rope is tied to the barley (stem with seed). As the rodent feeds on the barley seed, the rope eventually breaks and the rock that is released kills the rodent.; Table S1: Diet of African wolves (total attempts and proportion that are successful recorded during tracking of 11 collared AWs at GMCCA and BSNP) based on focal follows (sus = successful, unsuc = unsuccessful, sc = scavenging).; Table S2: Area of farmland assessed and rodents captured by difit. From 25 selected farmlands each day, five farmlands assessed, recording area and number of rodents captured. Finally average area and average rodents from five farmlands was taken each day.; Table S3: The differences of the frequency of food items between GMCCA and BSNP (food items as response variable, localities as fixed effect and individual collared animals as random samples).

Tables S1 - S3 from Competition between sympatric wolf taxa: an example involving African and Ethiopian wolves

Impact of the number of individuals of each wolf species present on the outcome of interactions.;... more Impact of the number of individuals of each wolf species present on the outcome of interactions.;Estimates, standard errors (SE) and P-values from a linear mixed effects model with Shannon diversity index (H) as the response variable, Grids as the random effect and habitat (buffer zone or core area) as the fixed effect.;Estimates of mole rat abundance in the buffer zone

Assessment and Identification of Insect Pests on Sweet Oranges (Citrus sinensis)

Copyright © 2014 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Com... more Copyright © 2014 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. ABSTRACT: Aims: This study focused on the assessment and identification of key insect pests on sweet oranges (Citrus sinensis) plantation in Tony farm of Dire Dawa town. It was also explain the abundance of key pests and effective controlling methods. Methodology and Results: The farm lands of sweet oranges stratified in to nursery stage and adult stage by using stratification method technique. Then random sampling method of data collection was carried out in both strata. By this method direct observations were taken place and the data collected from this area were analyzed. The larvae and adult stages of key insect pests of sweet oranges were identified by using the dissecting microscope. Citrus leaf miners, leaf dogs and cottony cushion s...

Animal Ecology TYPE (METHOD/APPROACH)

The information on the local communities ’ (n=174) perception on key pest animals and their manag... more The information on the local communities ’ (n=174) perception on key pest animals and their management by cultural methods in Dire Dawa Administration was carried out from March 2010 to September 2010. Both qualitative and quantitative data was gathered through observation, questionnaire, interview and focus group discussion. Information on perceived key pest animals and their level of damage and cultural methods for their managements were collected from each respondent. As a group 35 key pest animals were recorded out of that cockroach was dominant. Pest animals caused high impacts on household, agriculture and trade items and human health. Most respondents prefer to use both cultural and modern methods to control pest animals. For the majority of respondents the reasons of preference for cultural methods were associated to its low cost. The traditional methods used were organic pesticide, poisoned bait, field burning, breeding site and food sources elimination, trapping, hunting, ...

Pest Rodent Species Composition, Level of Damage and Mechanism of control in

Copyright © 2013 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Com... more Copyright © 2013 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. ABSTRACT: The assessment on the current information on the species composition of pest rodents and the local communities ’ perception on their pest status was carried out in Dire Dawa Administration from March 2010 to September 2011. Stratified and multistage random sampling techniques were used to sample representative villages (urban and rural) and respondents (n=150). Both qualitative and quantitative data were gathered through trapping, observation, questionnaire and interview. The collected data were tabulated and organized and appropriate statistical analysis like frequency distribution, percentage and chi-square test were used. For the survey of species composition and relative abundance of pest rodents Sherman live-traps and snap tr...

Rodents of the Afar Triangle (Ethiopia): geographical isolation causes high level of endemism

Biodiversity and Conservation

Impact of climate change on the distribution and predicted habitat suitability of two fruit bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus and Epomophorus labiatus) in Ethiopia: Implications for conservation

Ecology and Evolution

Rodent diversity-buffer to core area

Rodent Abundance data

Results from rodent trappin

Ethiopian wolf-African wolf interaction-INT1

African wolf and Ethiopian wolf localities

Journal of Natural History, 2019

Royal Society Open Science, 2019

Journal of the Saudi Society of Agricultural Sciences, 2016

African Journal of Ecology, 2010

Molecular phylogenetics and evolution, Jan 27, 2017

Royal Society open science, 2018

Data from: Competition between sympatric wolf taxa: an example involving African and Ethiopian Wolves

Carnivore populations are declining globally due to range contraction, persecution and prey deple... more Carnivore populations are declining globally due to range contraction, persecution and prey depletion. One consequence of these patterns is increased range and niche overlap with other carnivores, and thus an elevated potential for competitive exclusion. Here we document competition between an endangered canid, the Ethiopian wolf (EW), and the newly discovered African wolf (AW) in central Ethiopia. The diet of the ecological specialist EW was dominated by rodents whereas the AW consumed more diverse diet also including insects and non-rodent mammals. EWs used predominantly intact habitat whereas AWs used mostly areas disturbed by humans and their livestock. Still, we observed 82 encounters between the two species, of which 94% were agonistic. The outcomes of agonistic encounters followed a territory-specific dominance pattern, with EWs dominating in intact habitat and AWs in human-disturbed areas. For AWs, the likelihood of winning encounters also increased with group size. Trapping data indicated that rodent species consumed by EWs were also available in the human-disturbed areas, suggesting that these areas could be suitable habitat for EWs if AWs were not territorially dominant there. Increasing human encroachment not only affects the prey base of EWs, but also may impact their survival by intensifying competition with sympatric AWs

Supplementary Figure and tables from Foraging ecology of African wolves (Canis lupaster) and its implications for the conservation of Ethiopian wolves (Canis simensis)

Tables S1 - S3 from Competition between sympatric wolf taxa: an example involving African and Ethiopian wolves

Assessment and Identification of Insect Pests on Sweet Oranges (Citrus sinensis)

Animal Ecology TYPE (METHOD/APPROACH)

Pest Rodent Species Composition, Level of Damage and Mechanism of control in

Rodents of the Afar Triangle (Ethiopia): geographical isolation causes high level of endemism

Biodiversity and Conservation