April 1998 
13 
relationship between the moths and parasitoid 
populations. 
Distribution and abundance of Odonata in relation to 
habitats (leaders: Rob Strachan, David Agassiz and 
Nick Riddiford) 
On the calm and sunny days we did dragonfly and butterfly 
counts along 5 m transects (six or nine transects in 
different habitats within the park. 
Aquatic invertebrate communities in relation to water 
quality (leaden Michelle Chapman) 
This involved collecting water samples from 15 different 
sampling points in the park and then identifying the 
invertebrates present. This was a way of assessing water 
quality. 
Marine biota baseline (leader: Emma Whittingham) 
The different types of marine flora and fauna were 
collected ran'doiqly at the marine site to establish a 
baseline of the marine biota found in the area around 
the park. 
Systematic light trapping for moths and insect 
reference collection (leaders: David Agassiz and 
Nick Riddiford) 
Moth traps were usually set out at night and different 
specie captured were counted and new species mounted 
in the reference collection. 
Participating in all these activities reminded me of my 
MSc Biology of Conservation course, but done in two 
weeks! 
Knowledge I gained from participation in the 
project 
This was my first time to travel out of my country. A 
number of the things I did during the project were also 
firsts for me, e.g. cycling (before going I had to learn to 
ride a bicycle) and mountaineering. Some of the activities 
1 had expected, but some I had never imagined. 
The project was quite helpful as I am also in the 
team of researchers at the Kenya Marine and Fisheries 
Institute that has been doing an inventory of the Mida 
Creek biodiversity. This project, funded by the Kenya 
Wildlife Service (KWS) is aimed at providing vital 
information for the management of the Watamu Marine 
ftirk of which the Creek is part. During the project I 
improved on identification of birds, insects, plants, etc. 
The identification of marine biota and aquatic 
invertebrates covered my area of work as a marine 
biologist and has greatly improved my working skills. I 
will share this knowledge with my co- researchers, e.g. 
using aquatic invertebrates in water quality assessment. 
There is no doubt that my appreciation for nature 
has increased and on any excursions I will encourage 
those accompanying me to appreciate nature too. I have 
also gained confidence in working with people from other 
countries and improved my international relations. 
Other experiences from the project 
While on the project 1 was able to make new friends and 
contacts with the team members, park staff and visitors 
residing both inside and outside the S'AIbufera Park. I 
was glad I met them and it was quite interesting to hear 
about their counties, and I was happy to exchange stories 
with them about Kenya. Everyone was quite helpful and 
entertaining, I never felt a stranger and was very at 
home. The park staff were also kind and caring and 
made us fed at home— I even had my first ever horse 
ride on the park horse “Brullo". The weather was most 
of the time just like home— sunny 
During our excursions, with I enjoyed very much, 
we visited the beautiful Monasteries and had spectacular 
views of the sea and country up the mountains The 
mountaineering was exciting, especially when we went 
up the mountains searching for the midwife load and 
even managed to find the tadpoles— I was thrilled! The 
sheep and goats with bells around their necks and the 
countryside covered with olive trees and pinewoods were 
intriguingly different from Kenya. Our visits to the 
markets (in Sa Pobla and Alcudia) were exciting too, 
with such a variety of things; I had a good time shopping 
and met other people from Africa. 
The meals we had were all delicious and I was able 
to taste some of the Spanish and traditional Mallorcan 
food. 1 even managed to copy some of the recipes. I 
learnt a few Spanish words, even species names. Our 
encounters with the tourists was interesting too as they 
had many questions to ask and I learned some German 
words too. 
On the second day after our arrival we were lucky to 
have a journalist to interview the Principal Investigator, 
Nick Riddiford and the man who stated the idea of the 
park. Max Nicholson. For the first time I had my name 
and photograph in a newspaper. 
At one time Rob had a mystery for us to solve. One 
day when he came from the mammal traps, he found 
that one mouse had gone into the trap, but five came 
out! One of the captured mice had delivered in the trap! 
This was amazing 
There were other adventures as well, like watching 
owls at night, visiting bat caves and many more 
wonderful things— truly thrilling experiences. 
Evaluation of the project 
I must say that there was nothing I did not like about the 
project. The only disappointment was when some of the 
team members had to leave early. Otherwise, I enjoyed 
every moment working on the project (and I was sad we 
it was all over). It was excellent and everything was 
well organised and ran smoothly. The right moment, 
right place and right team— it was great!!! 
1 was highly impressed by the immense knowledge of 
the Principal Investigator, Nick Riddiford and about the 
park and conservation issues. I was impressed by all the 
other scientists and volunteers in the team, too. 
Participating in the project was one of the best things 
to happen in my life. 
Esther Fondo, KMFRI, P.O. Box 95832 Mombasa, 
Kenya 
