training on the identification of afrotropical syrphidae
Capacities for Biodiversity and Sustainable development’ or ‘CEBioS’ is a programme funded by the Directorate General for development Cooperation (DGD) and housed at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS). CEBioS carries out capacity building for partner countries of the Belgian Development Cooperation in the field of biodiversity conservation and sustainable development linked to poverty eradication.
In the light of this programme, Eugène Sinzinkayo (Burundian Office for the Protection of the Environment, BOPE/OBPE, Burundi (picture: left) has received a short term grants via the Global Taxonomy Initiative (GTI) of the RBINS, with support of the Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA, Belgium) to study the Afrotropical Syrphidae in the entomological collections of the RBINS and RMCA
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In the framework of the conservation of the biodiversity and the reinforcement of the taxonomic capacity in Burundi, the OBPE has launched a research project entitled “Study of the impact of natural ecosystems degradation on the abundance and diversity of pollinating Syrphidae in Burundi”. The overall objective of this project is to compile a checklist of the Syrphidae of Burundi and to increase our taxonomic knowledge of this group in central Africa. Specifically, the aim is to inventory and identify flower visiting Syrphidae species, and the plants visited, in both natural and agricultural ecosystems and to establish a reference collection of the Syrphidae of Burundi. This will result in a detailed description of their distribution, relative abundance and occurrence frequency on flowering plants. In addition, the effects of degradation of natural ecosystems on the diversity and abundance of pollinating Syrphidae will be studied. This project is a continuation of the recent research where 26 species of Syrphidae from 16 genera were identified in Burundi.
So far, more than 5,500 Syrphidae specimens has been collected of which approximately 1,000 will be identified during Eugène’s GTI visit to RBINS/RMCA from 15 June – 15 July 2018. The preliminary results of this study will be presented by Eugène at the 9th International Congress of Dipterology (Windhoek, Namibia, 25-30 November 2018; see pages 2-4 of this issue).
Promotor of the GTI-grant to Eugène Sinzinkayo is Wouter Dekoninck (RBINS) and co-promotor is Kurt Jordaens (RMCA). This research is financially supported by DGD and the JRS Biodiversity Foundation.
