Abiodun Adedapo
Other projects
22 Mar 2023
Ecological Survey of the Threatened and Relict Damselflies on the Obudu Plateau, Nigeria
This project will foster more local community participation in the monitoring of threatened dragonflies and damselflies found in the Obudu montane region, Obanliku Local Government Area of Cross River State, Nigeria. This is aimed at promoting long-term monitoring of the species and their habitats. Through the already established Obudu Dragonfly and Damselfly Conservation Club, youths of the community will be trained on photographing odonates, identifying threatened ones, and sharing spatio-temporal data on the species’ occurrence and distribution to citizen science platforms.
The Critically Endangered Gamble's Flatwing Damselfly, Neurolestes nigeriensis resting on foliage. Location: Becheve Nature Reserve, Obudu Cattle Ranch © Photo Credit: Abiodun Matthew Adedapo
Hands-on training on water quality monitoring will also be conducted in the community, and a cohort of local enthusiasts would be empowered with resources to collect and report habitat quality data of the surface waters in the Obudu montane region over space and time. This project will also advance local conversations on protection plans for identified refugia of threatened odonates in Obudu. The overarching goal is to promote more local and in situ affinity for protecting the habitats of threatened odonates in the Obudu montane region, as more and more community members become acquainted with the world of dragonflies and damselflies through an all-inclusive stakeholder conservation approach.