The relationship between the abundance of the Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes ellioti) and its habitat: a conservation concern in Mbam-Djerem National Park, Cameroon
Abstract Background Understanding the relationship between great apes and their habitat is essential for the development of successful conservation strategies. The chimpanzee Pan troglodytes ellioti is endemic to Nigeria and Cameroon, and occupies an ecologically diverse range of habitats from fores...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMC
2018-10-01
|
| Series: | BMC Ecology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12898-018-0199-3 |
| _version_ | 1819094067654426624 |
|---|---|
| author | Serge Alexis Kamgang Kadiri Serge Bobo Fiona Maisels Ruffin Dupleix Delarue Ambahe Désiré Edgar Ambassa Ongono Mary Katherine Gonder Paul Johnson Jorgelina Marino Brice Sinsin |
| author_facet | Serge Alexis Kamgang Kadiri Serge Bobo Fiona Maisels Ruffin Dupleix Delarue Ambahe Désiré Edgar Ambassa Ongono Mary Katherine Gonder Paul Johnson Jorgelina Marino Brice Sinsin |
| author_sort | Serge Alexis Kamgang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Understanding the relationship between great apes and their habitat is essential for the development of successful conservation strategies. The chimpanzee Pan troglodytes ellioti is endemic to Nigeria and Cameroon, and occupies an ecologically diverse range of habitats from forests to forest-savannah mosaic in Mbam-Djerem National Park (MDNP) in Cameroon. The habitat variation in chimpanzees is poorly understood in MDNP which provides an excellent opportunity to assess ecological factors that shape the abundance and distribution patterns of P. t. ellioti over a small geographic scale. Results We counted 249 nests along 132 km of transects in total. Of these, 119 nests along 68 km occurred in dense forest and 130 nests along 64 km in forest-savannah mosaic. Chimpanzee density was 0.88 [95% CI (0.55–1.41)] individuals/km2 in the dense forest and 0.59 [95% CI (0.19–1.76)] in the forest-savannah mosaic. Nest abundance varied with vegetation type and was higher in areas with dense canopy cover, steeper slopes and relatively higher altitudes. Conclusions Our estimates of chimpanzee densities were lower than reported in other studied populations in the range of the Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee. However, we found that habitat features, slope and altitude likely play a role in shaping patterns of chimpanzee nesting ecology. Further studies need to be focused on nest decay rates and phenology of useful plants in order to model chimpanzee abundance and distribution in Mbam-Djerem National Park. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T23:21:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1d27af669d664b48841954550b37b258 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1472-6785 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T23:21:31Z |
| publishDate | 2018-10-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Ecology |
| spelling | doaj.art-1d27af669d664b48841954550b37b2582022-12-21T18:46:46ZengBMCBMC Ecology1472-67852018-10-0118111410.1186/s12898-018-0199-3The relationship between the abundance of the Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes ellioti) and its habitat: a conservation concern in Mbam-Djerem National Park, CameroonSerge Alexis Kamgang0Kadiri Serge Bobo1Fiona Maisels2Ruffin Dupleix Delarue Ambahe3Désiré Edgar Ambassa Ongono4Mary Katherine Gonder5Paul Johnson6Jorgelina Marino7Brice Sinsin8Garoua Wildlife School, Face aéroport international de GarouaDepartment of Forestry, Faculty of Agronomy and Agricultural Sciences, University of DschangGlobal Conservation Program, Wildlife Conservation SocietyCameroon Biodiversity Programme, Wildlife Conservation SocietyMinistry of Forestry and WildlifeDepartment of Biology, Drexel UniversityWildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Recanati-Kaplan CentreWildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Recanati-Kaplan CentreLaboratory of Applied Ecology, Faculty of Agronomic Sciences, University of Abomey-CalaviAbstract Background Understanding the relationship between great apes and their habitat is essential for the development of successful conservation strategies. The chimpanzee Pan troglodytes ellioti is endemic to Nigeria and Cameroon, and occupies an ecologically diverse range of habitats from forests to forest-savannah mosaic in Mbam-Djerem National Park (MDNP) in Cameroon. The habitat variation in chimpanzees is poorly understood in MDNP which provides an excellent opportunity to assess ecological factors that shape the abundance and distribution patterns of P. t. ellioti over a small geographic scale. Results We counted 249 nests along 132 km of transects in total. Of these, 119 nests along 68 km occurred in dense forest and 130 nests along 64 km in forest-savannah mosaic. Chimpanzee density was 0.88 [95% CI (0.55–1.41)] individuals/km2 in the dense forest and 0.59 [95% CI (0.19–1.76)] in the forest-savannah mosaic. Nest abundance varied with vegetation type and was higher in areas with dense canopy cover, steeper slopes and relatively higher altitudes. Conclusions Our estimates of chimpanzee densities were lower than reported in other studied populations in the range of the Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee. However, we found that habitat features, slope and altitude likely play a role in shaping patterns of chimpanzee nesting ecology. Further studies need to be focused on nest decay rates and phenology of useful plants in order to model chimpanzee abundance and distribution in Mbam-Djerem National Park.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12898-018-0199-3Great apesMbam-Djerem National ParkPan troglodytes elliotiHabitat variationNest abundanceDistance sampling |
| spellingShingle | Serge Alexis Kamgang Kadiri Serge Bobo Fiona Maisels Ruffin Dupleix Delarue Ambahe Désiré Edgar Ambassa Ongono Mary Katherine Gonder Paul Johnson Jorgelina Marino Brice Sinsin The relationship between the abundance of the Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes ellioti) and its habitat: a conservation concern in Mbam-Djerem National Park, Cameroon BMC Ecology Great apes Mbam-Djerem National Park Pan troglodytes ellioti Habitat variation Nest abundance Distance sampling |
| title | The relationship between the abundance of the Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes ellioti) and its habitat: a conservation concern in Mbam-Djerem National Park, Cameroon |
| title_full | The relationship between the abundance of the Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes ellioti) and its habitat: a conservation concern in Mbam-Djerem National Park, Cameroon |
| title_fullStr | The relationship between the abundance of the Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes ellioti) and its habitat: a conservation concern in Mbam-Djerem National Park, Cameroon |
| title_full_unstemmed | The relationship between the abundance of the Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes ellioti) and its habitat: a conservation concern in Mbam-Djerem National Park, Cameroon |
| title_short | The relationship between the abundance of the Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes ellioti) and its habitat: a conservation concern in Mbam-Djerem National Park, Cameroon |
| title_sort | relationship between the abundance of the nigeria cameroon chimpanzee pan troglodytes ellioti and its habitat a conservation concern in mbam djerem national park cameroon |
| topic | Great apes Mbam-Djerem National Park Pan troglodytes ellioti Habitat variation Nest abundance Distance sampling |
| url | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12898-018-0199-3 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sergealexiskamgang therelationshipbetweentheabundanceofthenigeriacameroonchimpanzeepantroglodyteselliotianditshabitataconservationconcerninmbamdjeremnationalparkcameroon AT kadirisergebobo therelationshipbetweentheabundanceofthenigeriacameroonchimpanzeepantroglodyteselliotianditshabitataconservationconcerninmbamdjeremnationalparkcameroon AT fionamaisels therelationshipbetweentheabundanceofthenigeriacameroonchimpanzeepantroglodyteselliotianditshabitataconservationconcerninmbamdjeremnationalparkcameroon AT ruffindupleixdelarueambahe therelationshipbetweentheabundanceofthenigeriacameroonchimpanzeepantroglodyteselliotianditshabitataconservationconcerninmbamdjeremnationalparkcameroon AT desireedgarambassaongono therelationshipbetweentheabundanceofthenigeriacameroonchimpanzeepantroglodyteselliotianditshabitataconservationconcerninmbamdjeremnationalparkcameroon AT marykatherinegonder therelationshipbetweentheabundanceofthenigeriacameroonchimpanzeepantroglodyteselliotianditshabitataconservationconcerninmbamdjeremnationalparkcameroon AT pauljohnson therelationshipbetweentheabundanceofthenigeriacameroonchimpanzeepantroglodyteselliotianditshabitataconservationconcerninmbamdjeremnationalparkcameroon AT jorgelinamarino therelationshipbetweentheabundanceofthenigeriacameroonchimpanzeepantroglodyteselliotianditshabitataconservationconcerninmbamdjeremnationalparkcameroon AT bricesinsin therelationshipbetweentheabundanceofthenigeriacameroonchimpanzeepantroglodyteselliotianditshabitataconservationconcerninmbamdjeremnationalparkcameroon AT sergealexiskamgang relationshipbetweentheabundanceofthenigeriacameroonchimpanzeepantroglodyteselliotianditshabitataconservationconcerninmbamdjeremnationalparkcameroon AT kadirisergebobo relationshipbetweentheabundanceofthenigeriacameroonchimpanzeepantroglodyteselliotianditshabitataconservationconcerninmbamdjeremnationalparkcameroon AT fionamaisels relationshipbetweentheabundanceofthenigeriacameroonchimpanzeepantroglodyteselliotianditshabitataconservationconcerninmbamdjeremnationalparkcameroon AT ruffindupleixdelarueambahe relationshipbetweentheabundanceofthenigeriacameroonchimpanzeepantroglodyteselliotianditshabitataconservationconcerninmbamdjeremnationalparkcameroon AT desireedgarambassaongono relationshipbetweentheabundanceofthenigeriacameroonchimpanzeepantroglodyteselliotianditshabitataconservationconcerninmbamdjeremnationalparkcameroon AT marykatherinegonder relationshipbetweentheabundanceofthenigeriacameroonchimpanzeepantroglodyteselliotianditshabitataconservationconcerninmbamdjeremnationalparkcameroon AT pauljohnson relationshipbetweentheabundanceofthenigeriacameroonchimpanzeepantroglodyteselliotianditshabitataconservationconcerninmbamdjeremnationalparkcameroon AT jorgelinamarino relationshipbetweentheabundanceofthenigeriacameroonchimpanzeepantroglodyteselliotianditshabitataconservationconcerninmbamdjeremnationalparkcameroon AT bricesinsin relationshipbetweentheabundanceofthenigeriacameroonchimpanzeepantroglodyteselliotianditshabitataconservationconcerninmbamdjeremnationalparkcameroon |