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Yuh YG, N’Goran KP, Beukou GB, Wendefeuer J, Neba TF, Ndotar AM, NdombaA DL, Ndadet ACJ, Herbinger I, Matthews HD, Turner SE. Recent decline in suitable large mammal habitats within the Dzanga Sangha Protected Areas, Central African Republic. Glob Ecol Conserv 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2023.e02404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/11/2023] Open
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Fotang C, Bröring U, Roos C, Dutton P, Tédonzong LRD, Willie J, Angwafo TE, Yuh YG, Schierack P, Birkhofer K. Mapping suitable habitat for Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzees in Kom-Wum Forest Reserve, North-Western Cameroon. Primates 2023; 64:339-350. [PMID: 36808317 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-023-01054-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2021] [Accepted: 01/29/2023] [Indexed: 02/21/2023]
Abstract
Great apes lose suitable habitats required for their reproduction and survival due to human activities across their distribution range in Africa. Little is known about habitat suitability of the Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee [Pan troglodytes ellioti (Matschie, 1914)], particularly for populations inhabiting forest reserves in North-West Cameroon. To address this knowledge gap, we employed a common species distribution model (MaxEnt) to map and predict suitable habitats for the Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee in Kom-Wum Forest Reserve, North-West Cameroon, based on environmental factors that potentially affect habitat suitability. We related these environmental factors to a dataset of chimpanzee occurrence points recorded during line transect and reconnaissance (recce) surveys in the forest reserve and surrounding forests. Up to 91% of the study area is unsuitable for chimpanzees. Suitable habitats only represented 9% of the study area, with a high proportion of highly suitable habitats located outside the forest reserve. Elevation, secondary forests density, distance to villages and primary forests density were the most important predictors of habitat suitability for the Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee. The probability of chimpanzee occurrence increased with elevation, secondary forest density and distance from villages and roads. Our study provides evidence that suitable chimpanzee habitat in the reserve is degraded, suggesting that efforts to maintain protected areas are insufficient. The reserve management plan needs to be improved to conserve the remaining suitable habitat and to avoid local extinction of this endangered subspecies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chefor Fotang
- Department of Ecology, Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg, Konrad-Wachsmann-Allee 6, 03046, Cottbus, Germany.
| | - Udo Bröring
- Department of Ecology, Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg, Konrad-Wachsmann-Allee 6, 03046, Cottbus, Germany
| | - Christian Roos
- German Primate Center, Gene Bank of Primates and Primate Genetics Laboratory, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany
| | | | | | - Jacob Willie
- Centre for Research and Conservation (CRC), Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp (RZSA), Antwerp, Belgium
- Terrestrial Ecology Unit (TEREC), Department of Biology, Ghent University (UGent), Ghent, Belgium
| | - Tsi Evaristus Angwafo
- Faculty of Agronomy and Agricultural Sciences (FASA), University of Dschang, Dschang, Cameroon
| | - Yisa Ginath Yuh
- Hochschule fur nachhaltige Entwicklung Eberswalde, Forestry and Environment, Schicklerstraße 5, 16225, Eberswalde, Germany
- Szkola Glowna Gospodarstwa Wiejskiego, Nowoursynowska 166, 02-787, Warsaw, Poland
- Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Peter Schierack
- Faculty of Environment and Natural Sciences, Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg, Senftenberg, Germany
| | - Klaus Birkhofer
- Department of Ecology, Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg, Konrad-Wachsmann-Allee 6, 03046, Cottbus, Germany
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Mbouombouo Mfossa D, Abwe EE, Whytock RC, Morgan BJ, Huynen M, Beudels‐Jamar RC, Brotcorne F, Tchouamo RI. Distribution, habitat use and human disturbance of gorillas (
Gorilla gorilla
) in the Ebo forest, Littoral Region, Cameroon. Afr J Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/aje.13052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Ekwoge Enang Abwe
- Ebo Forest Research Project Douala Cameroon
- San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance San Diego California USA
| | - Robin Cameron Whytock
- Ebo Forest Research Project Douala Cameroon
- Faculty of Natural Sciences The University of Stirling Scotland UK
| | - Bethan J. Morgan
- Ebo Forest Research Project Douala Cameroon
- San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance San Diego California USA
- Faculty of Natural Sciences The University of Stirling Scotland UK
| | | | | | | | - Roger Isaac Tchouamo
- ERAIFT The University of Kinshasa, DRC Kinshasa DRC
- The University of Dschang Dschang Cameroon
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Li WB, Yang PP, Xia DP, Huffman MA, Li M, Li JH. Ecotourism Disturbance on an Endemic Endangered Primate in the Huangshan Man and the Biosphere Reserve of China: A Way to Move Forward. Biology 2022; 11:biology11071042. [PMID: 36101421 PMCID: PMC9312286 DOI: 10.3390/biology11071042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2022] [Revised: 07/07/2022] [Accepted: 07/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/05/2022]
Abstract
Simple Summary How to realize the sustainability of economic development and animal protection is a significant problem faced by Man and the Biosphere reserves. Although there are many theoretical frameworks, there is still a lack of supportive ecological evidence. This study analyzed aspects of the local human population, economic growth, number of tourists, and ticket income data of Huangshan Man and Biosphere Reserve (HMBR) as well as population and distribution changes in the flagship species (Tibetan macaque) in HMBR over a 30 year period. We found that after 30 years of implementing a sustainable development strategy in HMBR, the local economy and the population of Tibetan macaques have increased simultaneously. With economic growth, more funds for protection have been invested, improving the local environment significantly and expanding the existing distribution of the Tibetan macaque population. This study provides strong evidence for the sustainable development of Man and Biosphere reserves. We propose that economic and wildlife population growth and distribution area measures constitute a critical standard for the evaluation of sustainable development. Abstract The primary purpose of the Man and the Biosphere Program is the sustainable development of both the economy and nature conservation activities. Although the effectiveness of eco-tourism to reach this goal has been proposed, due to the lack of long-term monitoring data and a model species, there has been no obvious mechanism to evaluate the effectiveness of this policy. This study explored the effectiveness of the sustainable development policy of HMBR based on 30 years data of monitoring the Tibetan macaque, local human population, visitors, and annual ecotourism income in Huangshan by estimating species habitat suitability and the impact of ecotourism. The results showed increases in the income for the local human population, the number of visitors, and annual eco-tourism. Simultaneously, the reserve’s Tibetan macaque population size and suitable habitat areas increased. The macaques expanded their habitat to the low-altitude buffer zone (400–800 m), an area with lower eco-tourism disturbance. Scenic spots had a significant negative impact on habitat suitability (the substantially increased contributions of scenic spots from 0.71% to 32.88%). Our results and methods provide a suitable evaluation framework for monitoring the sustainable development and effectiveness of eco-tourism and wildlife conservation in Man and the Biosphere reserves.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wen-Bo Li
- Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China;
- International Collaborative Research Center for Huangshan Biodiversity and Tibetan Macaque Behavioral Ecology, School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Anhui University, No. 111, Jiulong Road, Hefei 230601, China;
| | - Pei-Pei Yang
- International Collaborative Research Center for Huangshan Biodiversity and Tibetan Macaque Behavioral Ecology, School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Anhui University, No. 111, Jiulong Road, Hefei 230601, China;
| | - Dong-Po Xia
- International Collaborative Research Center for Huangshan Biodiversity and Tibetan Macaque Behavioral Ecology, School of Life Sciences, Anhui University, No. 111, Jiulong Road, Hefei 230601, China;
| | - Michael A. Huffman
- Wildlife Research Center, Inuyama Campus, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan;
| | - Ming Li
- Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China;
- Correspondence: (M.L.); (J.-H.L.)
| | - Jin-Hua Li
- International Collaborative Research Center for Huangshan Biodiversity and Tibetan Macaque Behavioral Ecology, School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Anhui University, No. 111, Jiulong Road, Hefei 230601, China;
- School of Life Sciences, Hefei Normal University, No. 1688, Lianhua Road, Hefei 230601, China
- Correspondence: (M.L.); (J.-H.L.)
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Brown JG. Ticks, Hair Loss, and Non-Clinging Babies: A Novel Tick-Based Hypothesis for the Evolutionary Divergence of Humans and Chimpanzees. Life (Basel) 2021; 11:435. [PMID: 34066043 PMCID: PMC8150933 DOI: 10.3390/life11050435] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2021] [Revised: 04/12/2021] [Accepted: 04/30/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Human straight-legged bipedalism represents one of the earliest events in the evolutionary split between humans (Homo spp.) and chimpanzees (Pan spp.), although its selective basis is a mystery. A carrying-related hypothesis has recently been proposed in which hair loss within the hominin lineage resulted in the inability of babies to cling to their mothers, requiring mothers to walk upright to carry their babies. However, a question remains for this model: what drove the hair loss that resulted in upright walking? Observers since Darwin have suggested that hair loss in humans may represent an evolutionary strategy for defence against ticks. The aim of this review is to propose and evaluate a novel tick-based evolutionary hypothesis wherein forest fragmentation in hominin paleoenvironments created conditions that were favourable for tick proliferation, selecting for hair loss in hominins and grooming behaviour in chimpanzees as divergent anti-tick strategies. It is argued that these divergent anti-tick strategies resulted in different methods for carrying babies, driving the locomotor divergence of humans and chimpanzees.
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