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

Overview

Journal BMC Ecol

Publisher Biomed Central

Specialty Environmental Health

Date 2018 Oct 5

PMID 30285707

Citations 5

Authors

Serge Alexis Kamgang

Kadiri Serge Bobo

Fiona Maisels

Ruffin Dupleix Delarue Ambahe

Desire Edgar Ambassa Ongono

Mary Katherine Gonder

Paul Johnson

Jorgelina Marino

Brice Sinsin

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

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/km 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.

Citing Articles

Ecological correlates of chimpanzee termite fishing behavior in Mbam & Djerem National Park, Cameroon.

Andres-Bray T, Smith J, Nichols I, Abwe E, Gonder M Ecol Evol. 2024; 14(7):e70080.

PMID: 39050659 PMC: 11268952. DOI: 10.1002/ece3.70080.

No time to rest: How the effects of climate change on nest decay threaten the conservation of apes in the wild.

Bessone M, Booto L, Santos A, Kuhl H, Fruth B PLoS One. 2021; 16(6):e0252527.

PMID: 34191810 PMC: 8244864. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0252527.

Ecological correlates of chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) density in Mahale Mountains National Park, Tanzania.

Chitayat A, Wich S, Lewis M, Stewart F, Piel A PLoS One. 2021; 16(2):e0246628.

PMID: 33577598 PMC: 7880473. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0246628.

Assessment of in situ nest decay rate for chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes ellioti Matschie, 1914) in Mbam-Djerem National Park, Cameroon: implications for long-term monitoring.

Kamgang S, Carme T, Bobo K, Abwe E, Gonder M, Sinsin B Primates. 2019; 61(2):189-200.

PMID: 31659555 PMC: 7080673. DOI: 10.1007/s10329-019-00768-3.

Habitat differentiation among three Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee () populations.

Abwe E, Morgan B, Tchiengue B, Kentatchime F, Doudja R, Ketchen M Ecol Evol. 2019; 9(3):1489-1500.

PMID: 30805176 PMC: 6374666. DOI: 10.1002/ece3.4871.

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