To what extent birds provide the ecosystem service of pest control in subsistence farms, and how this service might depend on retained natural habitats near farmlands is unexplored in West Africa. To fill this knowledge gap, we placed plasticine mimics of insect pests on experimentally grown crops on the Mambilla Plateau, South Eastern Nigeria. We recorded bird attacks on the mimics and the proportion of mimics removed by birds. We also determined the influence of distance of crops from forest fragments on both attack and removal rates. We placed 90 potted plants of groundnut (Arachis hypogea) and bambara nut (Vigna subterranea) along 15 transects running 4.5 km from forest edge into open grassland. Each plant had six of the 540 mimics in total placed on their leaves. We inspected the potted plants weekly for 12 weeks to record (i) the presence of bird beak marks on mimics, and (ii) the number of missing mimics. Once a week we collected all the mimics from the plants and counted the number of assumed beak marks. After counting we replaced the mimics on the plants, mark free. We found a strong positive correlation between the abundance of insectivorous birds and the mean number of missing mimics and/or bird attack marks on mimics. However, this positive effect of insectivorous bird abundance on prey mimic attack/removal became less strong the farther they were from a forest fragment. We found increased predation rates and abundance of insectivorous birds closer to forest fragments. Our data suggest that pest predation may be a key ecosystem service provided by insectivorous birds on Nigerian farmlands. Farmlands that are closer to forest fragments may experience a higher rate of pest control by insectivorous birds than those further away, suggesting that retaining forest fragments in the landscape may enhance pest control services in sub-Saharan subsistence farms.

Global conversion of patches of natural vegetation into agricultural land is reducing the ecosystem services provided by natural patches dwelling species to farmers. For sub-Saharan African subsistence farmers, such a reduction in pest control services by birds may be a significant disadvantage. Here we explored to what extent birds provide pest control services to the staple crop maize (Zea mays) on small subsistence farms on the Mambilla Plateau of Taraba State, Nigeria. We used exclosure experiments (maize crops with and without birds) to model how birds influenced crop yield. We found that excluding birds from maize significantly reduces crop yield, although the lack of a direct correlation between bird abundance and crop yield suggests that other taxa, such as bats, may also be important pest predators. Our results suggest that in this subsistence farming landscape, natural pest control of maize from vertebrates does occur, but further research is needed to understand the specific control agents and the role of patches of natural vegetation as habitat for them.

Aims: The aim of the study is to investigate the abundance and diversity of snails along Kwadom stream, Gombe state, Nigeria. Study Design:  Snails were collected using a benthic scoop net with mesh size of 0.2 mm and hand picking from three sampling stations (home, farmlands, and fishponds sites) along Kwadom stream; between 6:30 am to 11:00 am weekly. In addition, physicochemical parameters (temperature, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, alkalinity, water depth and pH) were measured fortnightly to determine their effect on the diversity of snail species. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted along Kwadom stream in Yamaltu Deba Local Government Area of Gombe State, Nigeria from March to July 2021. Methodology: Snails were collected from each of the three stations and identified to species level using hand lens and taxonomy keys. Water physicochemical parameters: temperature, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, alkalinity, water depth and pH were measured using standard method. General linear models (GLM) were used to compare the abundance and diversity of the snails across the sampling station, as well as the effect of physicochemical parameters on the diversity of snails. Results: 160 individual snails were recorded from 11 species, including Biomphalaria pfeifferi– the intermediate host of Schistosoma mansoni. The result showed there was a significant difference in the abundance of snails (p<0.01) across the three study sites – home site 68 (42.5%), farmlands site 56 (35%) and fishpond site 36 (22.5%). The home site had a higher diversity of snail species (p<0.01) relative to the farmlands and fishponds sites. Temperature, conductivity, and alkalinity had a significant effect on the diversity of snails. Conclusion: Overall, Kwadom stream harbors many individual snail species, suggesting the need for educating the public on the mode of transmission of diseases that are caused by these snails.