Ojonugwa Ekpah
Other projects
15 Jan 2021
Survey of the Endangered Yellow Waxtail Damselfly (Ceriagrion citrinum) and Related Insects of Ecotourism in Sunmoge, Omo Forest Reserve, Nigeria
For the second time, the limited and deteriorating habitat of Ceriagrion citrinum will be surveyed with the aim of mobilising residents sharing the same habitat with the species to protect them. The Endangered Ceriagrion citrinum is not known from any other locations in the world except Nigeria and the Republic of Benin. The certainty of the current occurrence of the Endangered Ceriagron citrinum in Nigeria was speculative, with the last record from Sakpoba Forest in Edo state in 1972 (Kipping, 2009) until Ekpah et al. (2021) conducted a thorough survey of the species and found a few individuals. This time, the project extends from Igele-Sunmoge towards Okomu in Edo state through a search for the species.
Ojonugwa Ekpah at the river bank in Ijele-Sunmoge village. © Clifford Omonu.
Importantly, Ceriagrion citrinum is under pressure in Nigeria. Its only known locality in Nigeria is in Igele-Sunmoge; outside a protected area where anthropogenic activities are ongoing. There is a scarcity of efforts to protect biodiversity in Nigeria and areas where conservation interventions are initiated, they are usually targeted at ‘big’ species while the little insects (despite their ecotourism and ecological significance) are not given priorities. The present project therefore, has the following objectives:
1. Estimate the population of C. citrinum in Nigeria and record other Odonata species based on their spatial distribution.
2. Compute the Area of Occupancy of C. citrinum and infer its Extent of Occurrence
3. Enhance the habitat of C. citrinum in Igele-Sunmoge through tree planting activities
4. Mobilise and engage the residents living in close proximity with the Endangered C. citrinum through capacity-building workshops on environmental education and waste management.
The project is determined to use C. citrinum to tell the story of the small, marginalised community. This community is of central importance not only because of the presence of the Endangered C. citrinum, but also for the high assemblage of other Odonata species in the area. There is also a prospect of discovering new Odonata species in the area or recording an Odonata species new to science. For example, while on a monitoring visit to the Igele-Sunmoge in June 2024, Ekpah extended his visit to Oni in Ogun waterside (which is about 3 km away) where he recorded a single female Neurolestes species. Work is in progess to confirm whether the Neurolestes is new to science or solely a new record for Nigeria.