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Abstract: Human communities living near nonhuman primate habitats often depend on wood from forests for their energy needs. Improving the efficiency of local cook stoves is a potential “win-win” solution that is commonly promoted to protect forests and improve human health and development. Despite the popularity of improved stove projects in primate conservation, few outcomes have been formally published. As a result, it is currently unclear whether this approach is a wise investment of limited conservation funds. This paper describes a pilot study conducted by the Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education Center to evaluate the potential for using improved stoves for the conservation of an important habitat for Grauer's gorillas and chimpanzees in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Community surveys and observations of human forest use revealed a heavy local reliance on forest-derived wood. Wood was the main source of fuel used in households, the most highly valued forest resource, and the primary resource extracted during forest observations. It was primarily collected by women and children. The use of traditional, inefficient three-stone hearths for cooking was also widespread. A 2-year campaign using a community-based social marketing approach resulted in an increase in improved stove installations from 18% to 78% of households in one village. After stove adoption, weekly household wood consumption was reduced by half. Campaign elements that showed promise include promotion using women's networks and intensive follow-up assessment and support. We conclude that, if scaled up, improved stoves may be a useful strategy for reducing encroachment into our target protected area but that successful implementation will require a significant long-term commitment with evaluation and oversight. It is recommended that before investing in improved stoves, primate conservation projects take long-term and evaluation requirements into consideration. © 2020 Wiley Periodicals LLC
Source title: American Journal of Primatology
DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23218
Link: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85097016357&doi=10.1002%2fajp.23218&partnerID=40&md5=db52c994f40689d3169785ad24c4d721
Correspondence Address: Kahlenberg, S.M.; Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education (GRACE) CenterDemocratic Republic Congo; email: sonyakahlenberg@gmail.com
Language of Original Document: English
Access Type: Article
Country: ; Democratic Republic of Congo ;
Protected area: Tayna
Main topic: Humans ; Biodiversity
Subtopic: Conservation initiatives ; Periphery / Management ; Governance / Policy ; Perceptions / Behaviors ; Income-generating activities ; Energy ; Animals ; Vertebrates ; Mammals ; Primates

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Abstract: Between 1998 and 2012, several scientific expeditions in Dzanga-Sangha Special Reserve and Dzanga-Ndoki National Park led to the collection of many Mantodea specimens from Central African Republic (CAR). Among these specimens, several males of an undescribed species were discovered. Morphologi-cally, this species most closely resembles to Chlidonoptera vexillum Karsch, 1892 and Chlidonoptera lestoni Roy, 1975. A new lineage was revealed by DNA barcoding. Therefore, a new species is described, Chlidonoptera roxanae sp. nov. Habitus images, genitalia illustrations and descriptions, measurement data, a key to species, natural history information, and locality data are provided. These results add to the evidence that cryptic species can be found in tropical regions, a critical issue in efforts to document global species richness. They also illustrate the value of DNA barcoding, especially when coupled with traditional taxonomic tools, in disclosing hidden diversity. © Nicolas Moulin.
Source title: ZooKeys
DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.917.39270
Link: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85081230631&doi=10.3897%2fzookeys.917.39270&partnerID=40&md5=9f63f67f309eefb3a8c7600b6551957e
Correspondence Address: Moulin, N.; Institut Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, UMR 7205, MNHN, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, EPHE, Universités des Antilles, CP50, 45 rue Buffon, France; email: nicolas.moulin@mnhn.fr
Language of Original Document: English
Access Type: Article
Country: ; Central African Republic ;
Protected area: Dzanga-Sangha ; Dzanga-Ndoki
Main topic: Biodiversity
Subtopic: Animals ; Invertebrates ; Taxonomy ; Biology / Ecology ; Genetics

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Abstract: Within segments of the overlapping fields of political ecology and political geography, there is an emerging consensus that direct physical violence is over-studied, and that it cannot be analytically separated from other forms of violence. This article argues the opposite, namely, that direct physical violence remains understudied, and that analyzing it separately is warranted to grasp its specificities. To corroborate this argument, the article examines the study of green militarization and green violence. Whereas a substantial part of this literature discusses direct physical violence, most studies focus on broader conditions and discourses of violence, without empirically demonstrating how they feed into the production of direct physical violence. Consequently, these studies do not accurately map the entire “kill chain”. A case study of violence in Virunga National Park, in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, demonstrates the analytical merits of studying direct physical violence through a “microdynamics” approach, implying the detailed study of specific acts of violence and how they were committed. Far from distracting from broader conditions, structures and histories of violence, a microdynamics approach provides an entry point for understanding how these dimensions feed into the production of direct physical violence, and how this violence interacts with other forms of violence. In addition, it allows for a more accurate understanding of how the kill chain is constituted in time and space. The article concludes that acknowledging the particularities of different modalities of violence, instead of conflating them, will significantly advance the study of geographies of violence. © 2020
Source title: Political Geography
DOI: 10.1016/j.polgeo.2020.102153
Link: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85078672147&doi=10.1016%2fj.polgeo.2020.102153&partnerID=40&md5=04a7178ed88bb64d180a71f4a8919075
Correspondence Address:
Language of Original Document: English
Access Type: Article
Country: ; Democratic Republic of Congo ;
Protected area: Virunga
Main topic: Humans
Subtopic: Governance / Policy ; Armed conflicts ; Conservation initiatives ; Perceptions / Behaviors ; Periphery / Management

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Abstract: The future of primates depends on conservationists in primate range countries having the education and opportunities needed to facilitate conservation efforts. However, most primates are found in countries where conservation is underfunded. Rwanda is home to 14 primate species, with three being listed as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. Their remaining native habitats are scarce, highly fragmented, and surrounded by high human densities. Lacking education opportunities and the loss of qualified individuals following decades of political instability created a need for well-trained conservationists to tackle conservation challenges in Rwanda. The Memoirs Program, a science capacity-building partnership between Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund (DFGF), University of Rwanda (UR), the Rwanda Development Board, and Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, aims to train the next generation of Rwandan conservationists. Annually, the Memoirs Program provides 10–12 top students from the UR Conservation Biology undergraduate program the opportunity to conduct senior research projects (Memoirs) at DFGF addressing conservation issues in and around Rwanda's protected areas. Students receive one-on-one supervision by DFGF scientists and affiliates to supplement UR mentorship, along with targeted teaching modules that reinforce and complement UR curricula. In continuation of the Memoirs Program, participants are offered professional development, employment opportunities, and support to publish their research in peer-reviewed journals. Since inception of the Program in 2003, 123 students have participated with 83% being employed or pursuing higher education degrees in conservation-related fields in Rwanda and the region. Pre- and post-training comparison of oral presentation skills, one of the teaching modules, involving 22 students demonstrated increased post-training performance. The Memoirs Program represents an effective partnership between the government, an international conservation non-governmental organization, and a public higher-learning institution in a developing country to support high-performing students to become tomorrow's conservation leaders. This model could be replicated within Rwanda and in other regions of the world. © 2020 Wiley Periodicals LLC
Source title: American Journal of Primatology
DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23200
Link: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85091770077&doi=10.1002%2fajp.23200&partnerID=40&md5=a0639eeaa61cf168562318225e8df7d7
Correspondence Address: Eckardt, W.; Dian Fossey Gorilla FundRwanda; email: weckardt@gorillafund.org
Language of Original Document: English
Access Type: Article
Country: ; Rwanda ;
Protected area: Volcans ; Gishwati-Mukura ; Nyungwe
Main topic: Biodiversity ; Humans
Subtopic: Animals ; Vertebrates ; Mammals ; Primates ; Conservation initiatives ; Demography ; Governance / Policy ; Periphery / Management ; Perceptions / Behaviors

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Abstract: —We surveyed snakes in the Patte d’Oie Forest Reserve (POFR), an urban forest remnant surrounded by the city of Brazzaville, Republic of Congo. We collected 96 specimens representing 17 species from 16 genera, nine subfamilies, and six families. Of these, the Spotted Night Adder, Causus maculatus (Viperidae), the Brown House Snake, Boaedon perisilvestris (Lamprophiidae), and the Stripe-backed Bush Snake, Philothamnus dorsalis (Colubridae), were the most abundant species. We found snakes primarily in terrestrial microhabitats (90%) but also in arboreal (7%) and aquatic (3%) ones. Comparison of the snake fauna of the POFR with other sites in Congo where surveys occurred indicates the snake fauna of POFR is most similar to the fauna from degraded habitat near the City of Pointe-Noire. We report here the first record of the Flower Pot Snake, Indotyphlops braminus, from Congo, though its presence is not surprising, and the first records from Brazzaville for the African Banded Snake, Chamaelycus fasciatus, and Dumeril’s Blind Snake, Letheobia caeca. © 2020. Ange Ghislain Zassi-Boulou All Rights Reserved.
Source title: Herpetological Conservation and Biology
DOI:
Link: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85084236746&partnerID=40&md5=19c5b5b88f59edd3c46f7fbd297c2034
Correspondence Address: Zassi-Boulou, A.G.; Département de Biologie, Institut National de Recherche en Sciences Exactes et Naturelles (IRSEN), Boite Postale 2400, Democratic Republic Congo; email: zabouangh2009@gmail.com
Language of Original Document: English
Access Type: Article
Country: ; Republic of Congo ;
Protected area: Patte d'Oie
Main topic: Biodiversity
Subtopic: Animals ; Vertebrates ; Reptiles ; Survey / Monitoring ; Diversity ; Abundance ; Biology / Ecology

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Abstract: Population monitoring is critical to effective conservation, but forest living taxa can be difficult to directly observe. This has been true of African forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis), for which we have limited information regarding population size and social behavior despite their threatened conservation status. In this study, we estimated demographic parameters using genetic capture-recapture of forest elephants in the southern Industrial Corridor of the Gamba Complex of Protected Areas in southwestern Gabon, which is considered a global stronghold for forest elephants. Additionally, we examined social networks, predicting that we would find matrilineal structure seen in both savanna and forest elephants. Given 95% confidence intervals, we estimate population size in the sampled area to be between 754 and 1,502 individuals and our best density estimate ranges from 0.47 to 0.80 elephants per km2. When extrapolated across the entire Industrial Corridor, this estimate suggests an elephant population size of 3,033 to 6,043 based on abundance or 1,684 to 2,832 based on density, approximately 40–80% smaller than previously suggested. Our social network analysis revealed approximately half of network components included females with different mitochondrial haplotypes suggesting a wider range of variation in forest elephant sociality than previously thought. This study emphasizes the threatened status of forest elephants and demonstrates the need to further refine baseline estimates of population size and knowledge on social behavior in this taxon, both of which will aid in determining how population dynamics in this keystone species may be changing through time in relation to increasing conservation threats. © Copyright: This is an open access article, free of all copyright, and may be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, built upon, or otherwise used by anyone for any lawful purpose. The work is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication.
Source title: PLoS ONE
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0231832
Link: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85084038616&doi=10.1371%2fjournal.pone.0231832&partnerID=40&md5=5bc79e72a3dacf91d775ae5fba731e23
Correspondence Address: Ting, N.; Department of Anthropology, University of OregonUnited States; email: nting@uoregon.edu
Language of Original Document: English
Access Type: Article
Country: ; Gabon ;
Protected area: Loango ; Moukalaba-Doudou
Main topic: Biodiversity
Subtopic: Animals ; Vertebrates ; Mammals ; Ungulates ; Elephants ; Abundance ; Survey / Monitoring ; Biology / Ecology

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Abstract: The Kahuzi-Biega National Park (KBNP), situated mainly in the Eastern Highlands Ecoregion of the Upper Congo basin, is drained by the Lowa and Ulindi rivers, and some western affluents of Lake Kivu. In this study, the first list of the fish diversity of these systems is provided based on museum collections and complemented, for the Lowa River system and the western Lake Kivu affluents, with recently collected specimens (2013–2017). A total of 118 species are reported from the Lowa basin, 22 from the Ulindi basin and seven from these Lake Kivu affluents. Within the Lowa and Ulindi, respectively, five and one species, all cichlids, have been introduced. Currently, 51 species are reported from within the park, only two of which have been reported from the highlands, i.e., Amphilius kivuensis from the Luha, the source of the Luka River, and Clarias liocephalus from the headwaters of the Lake Kivu’ affluents. With a total of 30 species, Cyprinidae is by far the largest family, representing 25% of the total species diversity of the Lowa basin. It is followed by Mormyridae with 13 species (11%), Alestidae and Mochokidae with 10 species each (8%), Clariidae and Amphiliidae with eight species (7%), and Distichodontidae with six species (5%). Seven new species for science were discovered and 11 species were found to be endemic to the Lowa system. Although further exploration is needed, this underscores the importance of the KBNP in protecting the fish fauna of the Lowa basin but also highlights the park's limited coverage of the fish fauna of the Lowa basin. © 2020 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles
Source title: Journal of Fish Biology
DOI: 10.1111/jfb.14264
Link: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85081110315&doi=10.1111%2fjfb.14264&partnerID=40&md5=d799dccb94b685a3c9ba60b277b57f51
Correspondence Address: Kisekelwa, T.; Royal Museum for Central Africa, Vertebrates Section, IchthyologyBelgium; email: kisengoja@yahoo.fr
Language of Original Document: English
Access Type: Article
Country: ; Democratic Republic of Congo ;
Protected area: Kahuzi-Biega
Main topic: Biodiversity
Subtopic: Animals ; Vertebrates ; Fish ; Survey / Monitoring ; Diversity

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Abstract: Many global environmental agendas, including halting biodiversity loss, reversing land degradation, and limiting climate change, depend upon retaining forests with high ecological integrity, yet the scale and degree of forest modification remain poorly quantified and mapped. By integrating data on observed and inferred human pressures and an index of lost connectivity, we generate a globally consistent, continuous index of forest condition as determined by the degree of anthropogenic modification. Globally, only 17.4 million km2 of forest (40.5%) has high landscape-level integrity (mostly found in Canada, Russia, the Amazon, Central Africa, and New Guinea) and only 27% of this area is found in nationally designated protected areas. Of the forest inside protected areas, only 56% has high landscape-level integrity. Ambitious policies that prioritize the retention of forest integrity, especially in the most intact areas, are now urgently needed alongside current efforts aimed at halting deforestation and restoring the integrity of forests globally. © 2020, The Author(s).
Source title: Nature Communications
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3
Link: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85097296376&doi=10.1038%2fs41467-020-19493-3&partnerID=40&md5=0c696608fc3f81481a2550e028554f14
Correspondence Address: Grantham, H.S.; Wildlife Conservation Society, United States; email: hgrantham@wcs.org
Language of Original Document: English
Access Type: Article
Country: ; Central Africa ;
Protected area: Many
Main topic: Environment
Subtopic: Land use / cover ; Forests

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Abstract: Pastoralism is spreading in Central Africa, where many protected areas are under consideration to be opened for grazing, in particular hunting zones. Here we document the loss of biodiversity followed by an influx of transhumant pastoralism into previously uninhabited and virtually pristine habitat in the Central African Republic. Our track count and camera trap surveys of 2012, 2016 and 2017 evidence a reduction of apex predators, particularly Northern lions (Panthera leo leo) and African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus), of which about 95% and 80% were lost, respectively. While some large herbivores such as Western African buffalo (Syncerus caffer nanus) or Eastern giant eland (Tragelaphus derbianus gigas) were also strongly reduced, most herbivores remain at significant densities. Apex predator populations did thus not crash due to a lack of prey, but rather due to targeted killing by herders and accompanying merchants, as interviews confirmed. Our call-up survey suggests that lions were attracted by livestock outside of actively protected areas, were they got poisoned or shot. These findings exemplify the potential negative effects of pastoralism on wildlife even in large areas with intact habitat. We thus caution against the transformation of protected areas or hunting zones into pasture land, unless such a land-use change can be carefully managed and strictly controlled. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd
Source title: Biological Conservation
DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2019.108326
Link: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85075816182&doi=10.1016%2fj.biocon.2019.108326&partnerID=40&md5=24d0b2fb853aaf0e75ae53dc37f0bff8
Correspondence Address: Wegmann, D.; University of Fribourg, Department of Biology, Chemin du Musée 10, Switzerland; email: daniel.wegmann@unifr.ch
Language of Original Document: English
Access Type: Article
Country: ; Central African Republic ;
Protected area: Chinko
Main topic: Biodiversity ; Humans
Subtopic: Animals ; Vertebrates ; Vertebrates ; Mammals ; Carnivores ; Survey / Monitoring ; Abundance ; Agriculture ; Hunting / Poaching ; Perceptions / Behaviors ; Human-wildlife conflicts

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Abstract: To determine the effectiveness of conservation strategies, not only should we monitor biological variables, such as population size and levels of illegal activity, but also we should examine changes in attitudes and behavior of local community members. Here, I use semistructured interviews of employees at two field sites, in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda and Loango National Park, Gabon, to understand if their employment influenced their attitude towards gorillas and conservation and led to behavior change. In contrast to western views of gorillas as “gentle giants,” staff viewed gorillas as dangerous animals before working for these projects. Overall, employment leads to viewing conservation and gorillas more positively, and in many cases, viewing the gorillas as kin. The most common value attributed to the gorillas was economic, yet intrinsic and non-use existence values were frequently mentioned. Loango staff, but not Bwindi staff, reported behavior change related to hunting and bushmeat consumption, which likely is related to bushmeat consumption being commonplace in Gabon but not in Uganda. The Bwindi staff seemed to have a more positive and broader outlook toward conservation than the Loango staff, possibly because they had more years of formal education, they worked with gorillas longer, there is more history of conservation activities in Bwindi, and/or they have been less directly affected by negative consequences of conservation (e.g., crop raiding). This study shows the importance of explaining that gorillas are not dangerous if not provoked and using their human-like characteristics as a means to change conservation values and interest of local communities, while concurrently recognizing that providing economic benefits and reducing negative effects of wildlife are a reality for conservation buy-in. © 2020 The Authors. American Journal of Primatology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC
Source title: American Journal of Primatology
DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23191
Link: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85090302700&doi=10.1002%2fajp.23191&partnerID=40&md5=80420176ecb8019dd76df292ac772295
Correspondence Address: Robbins, M.M.; Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyGermany; email: robbins@eva.mpg.de
Language of Original Document: English
Access Type: Article
Country: ; Gabon ;
Protected area: Loango
Main topic: Humans ; Biodiversity
Subtopic: Perceptions / Behaviors ; Conservation initiatives ; Tourism ; Hunting / Poaching ; Human-wildlife conflicts ; Animals ; Vertebrates ; Mammals ; Primates

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Abstract: Accurate assessment of great ape populations is a prerequisite for conservation planning. Indirect survey methods using nest and dung, and a set of conversion parameters related to nest decay rates, are increasingly used. Most surveys use the standing crop nest count (SCNC) method, whereby nests are counted along transects and the estimated nest density is converted into chimpanzee density using an often non-local nest decay rate. The use of non-local decay rate is thought to introduce substantial bias to ape population estimates given that nest decay rates vary with location, season, rainfall, nest shape, and tree species used. SCNC method has previously been applied in Mbam-Djerem National Park (MDNP) in Cameroon, for chimpanzee surveys using a non-local nest decay rate. This current study aimed to measure a local nest decay rate for MDNP and implications for chimpanzee population estimates in the MDNP. The mean nest decay rate estimated using a logistic regression analysis was 127 [95% CI (100–160)] days. Moreover, the results suggested that rainfall strongly influenced the nest decay rate over the early stage of the lifetime of the nests. The study confirms that estimates of chimpanzee density and abundance using non-local decay rates should be treated with caution. Our research emphasized the importance of using local nest decay rates and other survey methods which do not depend on decay rates to obtain more accurate estimates of chimpanzee densities in order to inform conservation strategies of these great apes in MDNP. © 2019, The Author(s).
Source title: Primates
DOI: 10.1007/s10329-019-00768-3
Link: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85074669830&doi=10.1007%2fs10329-019-00768-3&partnerID=40&md5=63aef7696361914d699bd5e664c4dae8
Correspondence Address: Kamgang, S.A.; Garoua Wildlife School, Face aéroport International de Garoua, PO Box 271, Cameroon; email: sergekamgang@gmail.com
Language of Original Document: English
Access Type: Article
Country: ; Cameroon ;
Protected area: Mbam Djerem
Main topic: Biodiversity
Subtopic: Animals ; Vertebrates ; Mammals ; Primates ; Survey / Monitoring ; Abundance

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Abstract: The importance of cultural processes to behavioural diversity in our closest living relatives is central to revealing the evolutionary origins of human culture. However, the bonobo is often overlooked as a candidate model. Further, a prominent critique to many examples of proposed animal cultures is premature exclusion of environmental confounds known to shape behavioural phenotypes. We addressed these gaps by investigating variation in prey preference between neighbouring bonobo groups that associate and overlap space use. We find group preference for duiker or anomalure hunting otherwise unexplained by variation in spatial usage, seasonality, or hunting party size, composition, and cohesion. Our findings demonstrate that group-specific behaviours emerge independently of the local ecology, indicating that hunting techniques in bonobos may be culturally transmitted. The tolerant intergroup relations of bonobos offer an ideal context to explore drivers of behavioural phenotypes, the essential investigations for phylogenetic constructs of the evolutionary origins of culture. © 2020, Samuni et al.No human culture is quite like the next. Societies around the world show exceptional variety in their social norms, beliefs, customs, language and, of course, food. However, the origins of human culture still remain elusive. Studying humans’ closest living relatives, the great apes, is one way to explore how human culture first appeared. Chimpanzees are often studied for this purpose, but other great apes, such as bonobos, are often overlooked. Yet bonobos are less territorial and more tolerant to others than chimpanzees, with different bonobo groups sharing feeding spots and hunting grounds. These traits actually make bonobos an ideal animal for investigating whether differences in group behaviour, such as feeding habits, are distinct cultural trends or just a result of their surrounding environments. With this in mind, Samuni et al. studied the hunting and feeding patterns of two groups of wild bonobos in the Kokolopori Bonobo Reserve in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The two groups share approximately 65% of their home territory, allowing Samuni et al. to examine whether any differences in hunting preferences persisted when the two groups looked for prey in the same environment. The analysis would reveal whether social factors or environmental conditions influenced the hunting and feeding habits of each group. Samuni et al. found the first bonobo group specialized in hunting duiker, a type of antelope, whereas the second group preferred to hunt tree-gliding rodents. However, the location and timing of the bonobo’s hunts did not determine which types of prey they hunted. Across their territory, and regardless of group size or the dynamics between males and females, the groups continued to hunt their preferred prey. This means ecology alone cannot explain bonobo feeding habits and instead, the findings provide a strong indication for cultural variation between the two groups. Since social learning is a part of cultural development, the next challenge will be to determine if and how these group hunting preferences are learned by young bonobos in their social group. For now, these findings provide a glimpse into the emergence of group culture.
Source title: eLife
DOI: 10.7554/eLife.59191
Link: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85090107704&doi=10.7554%2feLife.59191&partnerID=40&md5=e0623effeac33e0deef70a1d1f7f71af
Correspondence Address:
Language of Original Document: English
Access Type: Article
Country: ; Democratic Republic of Congo ;
Protected area: Kokolopori Bonobo Reserve
Main topic: Biodiversity
Subtopic: Animals ; Vertebrates ; Mammals ; Primates ; Biology / Ecology

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Abstract: [No abstract available]
Source title: African Journal of Ecology
DOI: 10.1111/aje.12825
Link: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85096723868&doi=10.1111%2faje.12825&partnerID=40&md5=a830e9f0612b25a8e8e5141988051cbd
Correspondence Address: Murhabale, B.C.; Département de Biologie, Democratic Republic Congo; email: bertinmurhabale@gmail.com
Language of Original Document: English
Access Type: Article
Country: ; Democratic Republic of Congo ;
Protected area: Itombwe
Main topic: Biodiversity
Subtopic: Animals ; Vertebrates ; Birds ; Diversity ; Survey / Monitoring ; Biology / Ecology

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Abstract: Passive acoustic monitoring is rapidly gaining recognition as a practical, affordable and robust tool for measuring gun hunting levels within protected areas, and consequently for its potential to evaluate anti-poaching patrols' effectiveness based on outcome (i.e., change in hunting pressure) rather than effort (e.g., kilometres patrolled) or output (e.g., arrests). However, there has been no report to date of a protected area successfully using an acoustic grid to explore baseline levels of gun hunting activity, adapting its patrols in response to the evidence extracted from the acoustic data and then evaluating the effectiveness of the new patrol strategy. We report here such a case in Cameroon's Korup National Park, where anti-poaching patrol effort was markedly increased in the 2015-2016 Christmas/New Year holiday season to curb the annual peak in gunshots recorded by a 12-sensor acoustic grid in the same period during the previous 2 years. Despite a three-to five-fold increase in patrol days, distance and area covered, the desired outcome-lower gun hunting activity-was not achieved under the new patrol scheme. The findings emphasize the need for adaptive wildlife law enforcement and how passive acoustic monitoring can help attain this goal, and they warn about the risks of using effort-based metrics of anti-poaching strategies as a surrogate for desired outcomes. We propose ways of increasing protected areas' capacity to adopt acoustic grids as a law enforcement monitoring tool. © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Foundation for Environmental Conservation.
Source title: Environmental Conservation
DOI: 10.1017/S0376892920000193
Link: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85087172053&doi=10.1017%2fS0376892920000193&partnerID=40&md5=03df5557ce35cda3fbc3e0938bf2af24
Correspondence Address: Astaras, C.; Forest Research Institute, Hellenic Agricultural Organization 'Demeter'Greece; email: christos.astaras@fri.gr
Language of Original Document: English
Access Type: Article
Country: ; Cameroon ;
Protected area: Korup
Main topic: Humans
Subtopic: Hunting / Poaching ; Conservation initiatives

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Abstract: Scholarly attention to the militarization of conservation efforts globally is now being further explored through attention to the specific dynamics around “green militarization” in places where violent conflict is endemic, as in this special issue. Scholars have tracked the governance and economic effects of these developments. In this paper we look at a different level of political effect, namely that of individual tracker-guards as they navigate their careers in arms-carrying work. Existing research on tracker-guards focuses on them in their capacity as anti-poachers and looks at one site only. In contrast, we take a biographical, historical, and regional approach to show how anti-poaching jobs play into broader markets for arms-carrying work and the ways that men navigate them in search of social status and employment stability. The paper spans two adjacent but nationally distinct sites: eastern Chad (primarily in and around Zakouma National Park) and northeastern Central African Republic (primarily in and around Bamingui-Bangoran and Manovo-Gounda St. Floris National Parks). Focusing on the lives of three tracker-guards, we show that even within the same region the status and relational opportunities associated with anti-poaching vary depending on wider contexts encompassing evolving demands for skilled men in arms, and as a result so do the trajectories of people trying to make their way professionally in these realms. This finding demonstrates the usefulness of understanding the personal politics (social and relational factors and what counts as success) into which anti-poaching work plays. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd
Source title: Political Geography
DOI: 10.1016/j.polgeo.2019.102131
Link: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85078196319&doi=10.1016%2fj.polgeo.2019.102131&partnerID=40&md5=4d72ab5e45376cf7e293c868b34a68f0
Correspondence Address: Lombard, L.; Yale UniversityUnited States; email: louisa.lombard@yale.edu
Language of Original Document: English
Access Type: Article
Country: ; Chad ; Central African Republic ;
Protected area: Zakouma ; Bamingui-Bangoran ; Manovo-Gounda-Saint Floris
Main topic: Humans
Subtopic: Hunting / Poaching ; Armed conflicts ; Conservation initiatives ; Governance / Policy ; Perceptions / Behaviors

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Abstract: For most of the Democratic Republic of the Congo quantitative data on bushmeat exploitation are scarce. We conducted focus group discussions on preferred species for household consumption and income generation in 24 villages around Lomami National Park, created in 2016. We also carried out a bushmeat market survey in Kindu, a major town in the study area, to estimate annual sales volumes and retail values. Villagers reported household consumption of 22 mammal species, with the most important being the African brush-tailed porcupine, Peters's duiker, bay duiker and red river hog. The latter three were also the most important for income generation. A greater number of smaller species were consumed at the household level, compared with those traded. A total of 17 mammal and one reptile species were traded in Kindu. Those traded in greater numbers were the African brush-tailed porcupine, blue and bay duiker, red river hog, red-tailed monkey and the sitatunga. We estimated > 40,000 carcasses were traded in Kindu annually, with a retail value of USD 725,000. Several species of conservation concern, such as the bonobo, were mentioned or observed. Few rodents and numerous large animals were traded in Kindu, suggesting resources have not yet been depleted. However, both villagers and urban vendors perceived a decline of many species and reported an increase in the use of firearms and the number of foreign hunters in the area. Among other interventions, we discuss how local communities could be encouraged to help preserve wildlife in the Park's buffer zone. Copyright © Fauna & Flora International 2020.
Source title: ORYX
DOI: 10.1017/S0030605319001017
Link: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85082036945&doi=10.1017%2fS0030605319001017&partnerID=40&md5=ab6573c99955816a45b14cb963948596
Correspondence Address: Cuni-Sanchez, A.; York Institute for Tropical Ecosystems, Department of Environment and Geography, University of YorkUnited Kingdom; email: a.cunisanchez@york.ac.uk
Language of Original Document: English
Access Type: Article
Country: ; Democratic Republic of Congo ;
Protected area: Lomami National Park
Main topic: Humans ; Biodiversity
Subtopic: Hunting / Poaching ; Perceptions / Behaviors ; Income-generating activities ; Periphery / Management ; Animals ; Vertebrates ; Mammals ; Rodents ; Ungulates ; Primates ; Reptiles

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Abstract: Most primates experience seasonal fluctuations in the availability of food resources and face the challenge of balancing energy expenditure with energy gain during periods of resource scarcity. This is likely to be particularly challenging in rugged, montane environments, where available energy is relatively low and travel costs are high. Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) show extensive behavioral diversity across study sites. Yet, as most research has focused on low- and mid-elevation sites, little is known on how chimpanzees respond to periods of low fruit availability in harsh montane environments. We use focal follow and phenology data to investigate how fruit availability influences daily path length and monthly home range in chimpanzees living in Nyungwe National Park, a montane forest in Rwanda. Nyungwe chimpanzees decreased their daily travel distances during periods of fruit scarcity. However, this decrease in travel effort did not correspond with a decrease in foraging area. Instead, monthly homes ranges shifted location across the study period. Nyungwe chimpanzees occupy a relatively wide altitudinal range and the shifts in monthly home range location may reflect differences in the altitudinal distribution of food resources. Chimpanzee monthly diet was often dominated by one or two species and each of these species were confined to different elevation zones. One important species, Podocarpus latifolius, grew only at high elevations (2,600–2,950 m) and chimpanzees ranged at the altitudinal peak of their range for 2 consecutive months while feeding on this species. Thus, while high elevations are often thought to be harsh environments for primates, they can be an important part of a species’ home range when they provide a refugium for densely distributed, important food species. © 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Source title: American Journal of Primatology
DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23119
Link: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85081961434&doi=10.1002%2fajp.23119&partnerID=40&md5=85f0d9d76a43f047e43b1936d5a85b60
Correspondence Address: Green, S.J.; School of Human Sciences, The University of Western Australia, UWA Africa Research Engagement Centre, The University of Western AustraliaAustralia; email: samantha.green@research.uwa.edu.au
Language of Original Document: English
Access Type: Article
Country: ; Rwanda ;
Protected area: Nyungwe
Main topic: Biodiversity
Subtopic: Animals ; Vertebrates ; Mammals ; Primates ; Survey / Monitoring ; Biology / Ecology

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Abstract: As a keystone megafaunal species, African forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis) influence the structure and composition of tropical forests. Determining the links between food resources, environmental conditions and elephant movement behavior is crucial to understanding their habitat requirements and their effects on the ecosystem, particularly in the face of poaching and global change. We investigate whether fruit abundance or climate most strongly influence forest elephant movement behavior at the landscape scale in Gabon. Trained teams of “elephant trackers” performed daily fruit availability and dietary composition surveys over a year within two relatively pristine and intact protected areas. With data from 100 in-depth field follows of 28 satellite-collared elephants and remotely sensed environmental layers, we use linear mixed-effects models to assess the effects of sites, seasons, focal elephant identification, elephant diet, and fruit availability on elephant movement behavior at monthly and 3-day time scales. At the month-level, rainfall, and to a lesser extent fruit availability, most strongly predicted the proportion of time elephants spent in long, directionally persistent movements. Thus, even elephants in moist tropical rainforests show seasonal behavioral phenotypes linked to rainfall. At the follow-level (2–4 day intervals), relative support for both rainfall and fruit availability decreased markedly, suggesting that at finer spatial scales forest elephants make foraging decisions largely based on other factors not directly assessed here. Focal elephant identity explained the majority of the variance in the data, and there was strong support for interindividual variation in behavioral responses to rainfall. Taken together, this highlights the importance of approaches which follow individuals through space and time. The links between climate, resource availability and movement behavior provide important insights into the behavioral ecology of forest elephants that can contribute to understanding their role as seed dispersers, improving management of populations, and informing development of solutions to human-elephant conflict. © Copyright © 2020 Beirne, Meier, Brumagin, Jasperse-Sjolander, Lewis, Masseloux, Myers, Fay, Okouyi, White and Poulsen.
Source title: Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2020.00096
Link: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85084157934&doi=10.3389%2ffevo.2020.00096&partnerID=40&md5=d442c2244215326c164b7a3a70695013
Correspondence Address: Poulsen, J.R.; Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke UniversityUnited States; email: john.poulsen@duke.edu
Language of Original Document: English
Access Type: Article
Country: ; Gabon ;
Protected area: Ivindo ; Wonga-Wongué
Main topic: Biodiversity
Subtopic: Animals ; Vertebrates ; Mammals ; Ungulates ; Elephants ; Survey / Monitoring ; Biology / Ecology

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Abstract: Land use and hunting are 2 major pressures on biodiversity in the tropics. Yet, their combined impacts have not been systematically quantified at a large scale. We estimated the effects of both pressures on the distributions of 1884 tropical mammal species by integrating species’ range maps, detailed land-use maps (1992 and 2015), species-specific habitat preference data, and a hunting pressure model. We further identified areas where the combined impacts were greatest (hotspots) and least (coolspots) to determine priority areas for mitigation or prevention of the pressures. Land use was the main driver of reduced distribution of all mammal species considered. Yet, hunting pressure caused additional reductions in large-bodied species’ distributions. Together, land use and hunting reduced distributions of species by 41% (SD 30) on average (year 2015). Overlap between impacts was only 2% on average. Land use contributed more to the loss of distribution (39% on average) than hunting (4% on average). However, hunting reduced the distribution of large mammals by 29% on average; hence, large mammals lost a disproportional amount of area due to the combination of both pressures. Gran Chaco, the Atlantic Forest, and Thailand had high levels of impact across the species (hotspots of area loss). In contrast, the Amazon and Congo Basins, the Guianas, and Borneo had relatively low levels of impact (coolspots of area loss). Overall, hunting pressure and human land use increased from 1992 to 2015 and corresponding losses in distribution increased from 38% to 41% on average across the species. To effectively protect tropical mammals, conservation policies should address both pressures simultaneously because their effects are highly complementary. Our spatially detailed and species-specific results may support future national and global conservation agendas, including the design of post-2020 protected area targets and strategies. © 2020 The Authors. Conservation Biology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society for Conservation Biology
Source title: Conservation Biology
DOI: 10.1111/cobi.13459
Link: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85082038674&doi=10.1111%2fcobi.13459&partnerID=40&md5=78104a35769473572ee1681d39243395
Correspondence Address: Gallego-Zamorano, J.; Department of Environmental Science, Institute for Wetland and Water Research, Faculty of Science, Radboud University, P.O. Box 9010, Netherlands; email: j.gallego.zamorano@science.ru.nl
Language of Original Document: English
Access Type: Article
Country: ; Central Africa ;
Protected area: Many
Main topic: Environment ; Humans ; Biodiversity
Subtopic: Land use / cover ; Hunting / Poaching ; Conservation initiatives ; Animals ; Vertebrates ; Mammals ; Biology / Ecology

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Abstract: Information on the distribution and abundance of the forest elephant Loxodonta cyclotis is needed to allocate limited resources appropriately and set conservation goals for the species. However, monitoring at large scales in forest habitats is complicated, expensive and time consuming. We investigated the potential of applying interview-based occupancy analysis as a tool for the rapid assessment of the distribution and relative abundance of forest elephants in eastern Cameroon. Using single-season occupancy models, we explored the covariates that affect forest elephant occupancy and detectability, and identified spatial and temporal patterns in population change and occupancy.Quantitative and qualitative socio-demographic data offer additional depth and understanding, placing the occupancy analysis in context and providing valuable information to guide conservation action. Detectability of forest elephants has decreased since 2008 which is consistent with the decline in perceived abundance in occupied sites. Forest elephants occupy areas outside protected areas and outside the known elephant range defined by IUCN. Critical conservation attention is required to assess forest elephant populations and the threats they face in these poorly understood areas. Interview-based occupancy analysis is a reliable and suitable method for a rapid assessment of forest elephant occupancy on a large scale, as a complement to, or the first stage in, a monitoring process. © 2018 Fauna and Flora International.
Source title: ORYX
DOI: 10.1017/S0030605317001569
Link: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85044079247&doi=10.1017%2fS0030605317001569&partnerID=40&md5=68fb53aad89b15413d5f06dae356e536
Correspondence Address: Brittain, S.; Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, United Kingdom; email: Stephanie.brittain@zoo.ox.ac.uk
Language of Original Document: English
Access Type: Article
Country: ; Cameroon ;
Protected area: Mbam Djerem ; Deng Deng ; Dja ; Kom ; Nki ; Boumba Bek ; Lobéké
Main topic: Biodiversity ; Humans
Subtopic: Animals ; Vertebrates ; Mammals ; Ungulates ; Elephants ; Survey / Monitoring ; Abundance ; Biology / Ecology ; Perceptions / Behaviors ; Conservation initiatives