BackgroundVenomous snakes are among the most serious health hazards for rural people in tropical regions of the world. Herein we compare the monthly activity patterns of eight venomous snake species (Elapidae and Viperidae) with those of rural people in the Niger Delta area of southern Nigeria, in order to identify the periods of highest potential risk for persons, and the human group actually at greater risk of snakebite.ResultsWe documented that above-ground activity of all venomous snakes peaked in the wet season, and that high snake activity and high human activity were most highly correlated between April and August. In addition, we documented that women and teenagers were at relatively higher risk of encountering a venomous snake than adult males, despite they are less often in the field than men.ConclusionsOur results suggest that future programs devoted to mitigate the social and health effects of snakebites in the Niger Delta region should involve especially women and teenagers, with ad-hoc education projects if appropriate. We urge that international organizations working on social and health problems in the developing world, such as IRD, DFID, UNDP, should provide advice through specific programs targeted at especially these categories which have been highlighted in comparatively potential higher threat from snakebites than adult men.

Aspects of community structure and ecology of snakes were studied in the years [2004][2005][2006] in fields of oil palm trees (Elaeis guineensis) of three study areas in Southern Nigeria. A total of 284 individual snakes, belonging to twelve species of three families (seven Colubridae, four Elapidae, one Viperidae), were recorded, including both sighted and captured individuals (not including in this count the individuals that escaped before identification to species level could be made). All the study areas were nearly identical in terms of species composition. Most snakes (about 67%) were recorded during the dry season months, when the fruits of the oil palm ripe, thus attracting lots of organisms that are potential prey for snakes. The most important food items for oil palm snakes were Agama lizards, birds and rodents, but they also fed on skinks, geckos, fruit bats and tree frogs. Snakes were spotted climbing with peak frequencies occurring in the range of 16-18 m above the ground level. In general, oil palm trees within the range of 16-27 m high harboured higher number of snakes. Climbing snakes were nonrandomly positioned on the trees: the highest percentage of snakes (68%) was lodged between the leaf bases and oil palm fruit bunches. The general implications of the given data are discussed.Key words: community ecology, diet, Nigeria, oil palm tree, snake diversity hauteur la plus fréquentée étant entre 16 et 18 mètres au-dessus du sol. Ce sont en général les palmiers qui culminaient entre 16 et 27 mètres qui recelaient le plus grand nombre de serpents. Les serpents grimpeurs ne se répartissaient pas au hasard dans les arbres : le plus fort pourcentage (68%) d'entre eux se positionnaient entre la base des feuilles et le régime de fruits. Les implications générales des données sont discutées.

Termites are diverse, ubiquitous and abundant in tropical ecosystems and are major examples of soil-dwelling ecosystem service providers that influence the ecosystem functioning by physically altering their biotic and abiotic surroundings. With increasing development in the environment, there is a gradual loss of their habitat. This study was carried out to determine the subterranean termite species in Rivers State University campus and relate the species and prevalence to their soil types. The study area was divided into 10 zones and from each zone 3 stations were selected randomly for sampling. Samples were collected in January and February 2018. Samples were taken from available mounds and soil in each station and termites were sorted, identified and counted. The temperature, organic content, pH, soil particle analysis and moisture content were determined for the soil samples. Five termite species from two families were identified;Termitidae: Amitermes spp1, Amitermes spp2, and Globitermes spp; Macrotermitidae: Macrotermes gilvusand another Macrotermes spp. The Amitermes spp was the most abundant as it was found in all 10 zones, followed by Macrotermes spp and then the Globitermes spp being the least abundant. Termite abundance, moisture content and soil type were significantly different in the 10 zones (p < 0.05). Total Organic Content was negatively correlated with Macrotermes spp. The Amitermes were more abundant in residential areas as they are wood eating termites suggesting that most destructive aspect of termite behaviour on residential areas may be perpetuated by the Amitermes species. The Macrotermes spp were found only in cultivated areas and from soil with higher percentage of clay, and they are basically soil feeders. M. gilvus and Macrotermes spp were seen in reddish mounds with fresh soil at the peak (showing termite activity) giving it a cone shape whereas the mound Globitermes spp was black, no fresh soil at the peak and had a circular shape. Amitermes was found in abandoned reddish Macrotermes mounds in residential areas. This study has provided some information on the termites in the University community as their habitat is gradually being destroyed with new buildings resulting in biodiversity loss. Moisture and TOC appeared to affect abundance.

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Stomach flushing is one of the proposed techniques to study lizard diets. Apparently, it is ranged, together with direct observation and faecal analysis, as a non-harmful method for dietary studies. Some works explored the usefullness of stomach flushing, but we lack information about its effect on lizard's survival probabilities. In this paper we studied the effect of stomach flushing in an urban population of the rainbow lizard (Agama agama) from Calabar (Nigeria). During a period of five months of 2010, 147 lizards were noosed, sexed and individually marked. One group of lizards was stomach flushed only once, whereas the rest of lizards were not flushed. The flushed sample of lizards showed a lower survival than non-flushed lizards of all sex and age classes. In this study, the pictured diet from stomach flushing was very similar to results obtained with a faecal analysis of the same lizard population. Thus, both methods seem to be reliable to study the diet of the rainbow lizard. However, our results indicate that stomach flushing increases the probability of mortality (or at least emigration rates) in all age and sex classes, precluding its extensive use as a method to study lizard's diets.