Endangered West African Chimpanzees <i>Pan troglodytes verus</i> (Schwarz, 1934) (Primates: Hominidae) in Senegal prefer <i>Pterocarpus erinaceus</i>, a threatened tree species, to build their nests: implications for their conservation
The West African Chimpanzee Pan troglodytes verus is Endangered (A4cd ver 3.1) in Senegal (Humle et al. 2008), mainly due to habitat fragmentation and destruction. We gathered qualitative and quantitative data on the tree species preferences of the West African Chimpanzee for nest building in order...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wildlife Information Liaison Development Society
2013-12-01
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| Series: | Journal of Threatened Taxa |
| Online Access: | http://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/article/view/1017 |
| _version_ | 1818067639874879488 |
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| author | P.I. Ndiaye A. Galat-Luong G. Galat G. Nizinski |
| author_facet | P.I. Ndiaye A. Galat-Luong G. Galat G. Nizinski |
| author_sort | P.I. Ndiaye |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The West African Chimpanzee Pan troglodytes verus is Endangered (A4cd ver 3.1) in Senegal (Humle et al. 2008), mainly due to habitat fragmentation and destruction. We gathered qualitative and quantitative data on the tree species preferences of the West African Chimpanzee for nest building in order to gain insight into habitat dependence. Between March 1998 and Febrary 2000 we identified tree species in which a sample of 1790 chimpanzee nests had been built, and ranked species in preference order. We compared this sample to the relative abundance of tree species in the chimpanzee habitat to determine whether particular species were chosen for nesting. We observed that about a quarter (25.42%) of nests were built in Pterocarpus erinaceus, which is considerably greater than would be expected from the abundance of this species in the habitat (6.35%), indicating a strong preference by chimpanzees. We examined the physical traits of the most-used tree species and concluded that height and wood hardness may be key choice features. P. erinaceus is threatened in Senegal due to extensive cutting, which may endanger chimpanzees living outside the boundaries of protected areas. In the current anthropogenic setting our results provide conservation managers with information on how to protect a key aspect of the chimpanzee natural environment. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T15:26:53Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b12ef89586ea4aed98c23342816d7e18 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0974-7893 0974-7907 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T15:26:53Z |
| publishDate | 2013-12-01 |
| publisher | Wildlife Information Liaison Development Society |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Threatened Taxa |
| spelling | doaj.art-b12ef89586ea4aed98c23342816d7e182022-12-22T01:43:31ZengWildlife Information Liaison Development SocietyJournal of Threatened Taxa0974-78930974-79072013-12-015175266527210.11609/JoTT.o3603.5266-72998Endangered West African Chimpanzees <i>Pan troglodytes verus</i> (Schwarz, 1934) (Primates: Hominidae) in Senegal prefer <i>Pterocarpus erinaceus</i>, a threatened tree species, to build their nests: implications for their conservationP.I. NdiayeA. Galat-LuongG. GalatG. NizinskiThe West African Chimpanzee Pan troglodytes verus is Endangered (A4cd ver 3.1) in Senegal (Humle et al. 2008), mainly due to habitat fragmentation and destruction. We gathered qualitative and quantitative data on the tree species preferences of the West African Chimpanzee for nest building in order to gain insight into habitat dependence. Between March 1998 and Febrary 2000 we identified tree species in which a sample of 1790 chimpanzee nests had been built, and ranked species in preference order. We compared this sample to the relative abundance of tree species in the chimpanzee habitat to determine whether particular species were chosen for nesting. We observed that about a quarter (25.42%) of nests were built in Pterocarpus erinaceus, which is considerably greater than would be expected from the abundance of this species in the habitat (6.35%), indicating a strong preference by chimpanzees. We examined the physical traits of the most-used tree species and concluded that height and wood hardness may be key choice features. P. erinaceus is threatened in Senegal due to extensive cutting, which may endanger chimpanzees living outside the boundaries of protected areas. In the current anthropogenic setting our results provide conservation managers with information on how to protect a key aspect of the chimpanzee natural environment.http://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/article/view/1017 |
| spellingShingle | P.I. Ndiaye A. Galat-Luong G. Galat G. Nizinski Endangered West African Chimpanzees <i>Pan troglodytes verus</i> (Schwarz, 1934) (Primates: Hominidae) in Senegal prefer <i>Pterocarpus erinaceus</i>, a threatened tree species, to build their nests: implications for their conservation Journal of Threatened Taxa |
| title | Endangered West African Chimpanzees <i>Pan troglodytes verus</i> (Schwarz, 1934) (Primates: Hominidae) in Senegal prefer <i>Pterocarpus erinaceus</i>, a threatened tree species, to build their nests: implications for their conservation |
| title_full | Endangered West African Chimpanzees <i>Pan troglodytes verus</i> (Schwarz, 1934) (Primates: Hominidae) in Senegal prefer <i>Pterocarpus erinaceus</i>, a threatened tree species, to build their nests: implications for their conservation |
| title_fullStr | Endangered West African Chimpanzees <i>Pan troglodytes verus</i> (Schwarz, 1934) (Primates: Hominidae) in Senegal prefer <i>Pterocarpus erinaceus</i>, a threatened tree species, to build their nests: implications for their conservation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Endangered West African Chimpanzees <i>Pan troglodytes verus</i> (Schwarz, 1934) (Primates: Hominidae) in Senegal prefer <i>Pterocarpus erinaceus</i>, a threatened tree species, to build their nests: implications for their conservation |
| title_short | Endangered West African Chimpanzees <i>Pan troglodytes verus</i> (Schwarz, 1934) (Primates: Hominidae) in Senegal prefer <i>Pterocarpus erinaceus</i>, a threatened tree species, to build their nests: implications for their conservation |
| title_sort | endangered west african chimpanzees i pan troglodytes verus i schwarz 1934 primates hominidae in senegal prefer i pterocarpus erinaceus i a threatened tree species to build their nests implications for their conservation |
| url | http://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/article/view/1017 |
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