Timothy Khan Aikins

MPhil (University of Ghana)

John Day Building 1.02

Timothy has an interest in ornithology, particularly interactions between birds and their environment. He completed his undergraduate degree in Renewable Natural Resources Management at the University for Development Studies, Tamale, Ghana (2010). Timothy pursued a MPhil in Biodiversity Conservation at the Department of Animal Biology and Conservation Sciences, University of Ghana, which he completed in 2016. His project examined aspects of the community ecology of waterbirds at Mole National Park. His project specifically assessed the level of human disturbance to waterbirds and seasonal variation in species richness and abundance of waterbirds with emphasis on the implications for conservation and ecotourism.

Timothy is researching the costs and benefits of Sociable Weaver nests to their Camelthorn hosts at the Tswalu Kalahari Reserve and other potential sites. The project will take a multi-disciplinary approach at the line of the behavioural ecology of birds, plant-ecophysiology, soil nutrient ecology. His project aims to investigate questions that will centre around the costs and benefits of this interaction to the Camelthorn.

Thesis

Costs and benefits of Sociable Weaver nests to their Camelthorn hosts (Supervisors: Dr. Robert Thomson and Prof. Michael Cramer).

Selected Peer-reviewed Publications

Aikins, T.K., Cramer, M.D. and Thomson, R.L. 2023. Positive feedbacks between savanna tree size and the nutritional characteristics of “Islands of fertility” are amplified by sociable weaver colonies. Journal of Arid Environments 209. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2022.104903 

Aikins, T.K., Thomson, R.L. and Cramer, M.D. 2023. All savanna islands of fertility are not equal: colonial birds influence soil nutrient-stoichiometries with consequences for tree seedling growth. Plant Ecology 209. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-023-01333-1 

Mikula, P., Tomášek, O., Romportl, D., Aikins, T.K., Avendaño, J.E., Braimoh-Azaki, B.D., Chaskda, A., Cresswell, W., Cunningham, S.J., Dale, S., Favoretto, G.R., Floyd, K.S., Glover, H., Grom, T., Henry, D.A.W., Holmern, T., Hromada, M., Iwajomo, S.B., Lilleyman, A., Magige, F.J., Martin, R.O., Maximiano, M.F.de.A., Nana, E.A., Ncube, E., Ndaimani, H., Nelson, E., van Niekerk, J.H., Pienaar, C., Piratelli, A.J., Pistorius, P., Radkovic, A., Reynolds, C., Røskaft, E., Tejeiro-Mahecha, N., Thompson, M.L., Wamiti, W., Wilson, M., Tye, D.R.C., Tye, N.D., Vehtari, A., Tryjanowski, P., Weston, M.A., Blumstein, D.T. and Albrecht, T. 2023. Bird tolerance to humans in open tropical ecosystems. Nature Communications 14(1).  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-37936-5

Aikins, T.K. and Aikins, A.A. 2021. First sightings of House Sparrow Passer Domesticus indicus in Sunyani, Ghana. Malimbus 43: 72-74. 

Aikins, T.K., Gbogbo, F. and Owusu, E.H. 2018. Seasonal variation in species richness and abundance of waterbirds in Mole National Park, Ghana: Implication for conservation and ecotourism, Koedoe 60(1), a1466. https://doi.org/ 10.4102/koedoe.v60i1.1466

Holbech, L.H., Gbogbo, F. and Aikins, T.K. 2018. Abundance and prey capture success of Common Terns Sterna hirundo and Pied Kingfishers Ceryle rudis in relation to water clarity in south-east coastal Ghana. Avian Research 9(25), 1-13.

Aikins, T.K., Gbogbo, F. and Owusu, E.H. 2018. An evaluation of the level of human disturbance to waterbirds at Mole National Park in Ghana. Wetlands Ecology and Management. 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-018-9602-2

Aikins, T. K., Ziblim, A. I. and Tuga, A. 2017. A Whinchat Saxicola rubetra ringed in France recovered in Africa. Malimbus 39, 27-28.

Ziblim, A. I., Ansah, B. and Aikins, T.K. 2016. Comparison of Physical and Chemical Properties of Soils under Forested and Cropped Lands. J Agric. Res., 54(4):677-685 ISSN: Online: 2076-7897, Print:0368-1157.

Ziblim, A. I., Agyapong, R.A. and Aikins, T.K. 2015. Assessing the Biomass Production and Nutritive Value of Kenaf (Hibiscus Cannabinus) at various stages of Growth. UDS International Journal of Development. 2(2).