Successful conservation and management of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in Yoko Council Forest (YCF), Centre Cameroon, requires reliable estimates of their population size and density, habitat use and threats. Our study offers the opportunity to improve the knowledge on the population density, distribution and threats of the chimpanzee in this area. We used indirect survey methods using nest counts to estimate the decay rate of the nests. This approach consisted of locating and marking fresh nests (less than 48 hours old) at different periods of time and revisiting them at the end of the inventories to verify whether they had deteriorated or not. Human activities, habitat types, and nesting tree species were also assessed. The mean nest decay rate estimated using a logistic regression analysis was 77.53 days with a nest density of 69.3 [95% CI 54.9-86.7] nests/km2, for an estimated population of about 113 [95% CI 45-280] chimpanzees. In YCF, chimpanzees nest in Marantaceae forests and swampy forests, especially on Khaya grandifolia and Uapaca guineensis trees. Transhumance was the greatest threat in the area (75.33%), followed by hunting (13. 66%), wild sawing (8.81%) and fishing (2.2%). These anthropogenic perturbations were most observed in the south-west sector of the YCF. The area with the greatest density of nests occurred at a site least impacted by human activities. It is essential to regulate these activities in order to guarantee the sustainable management of this precious chimpanzee population.
Published in | Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (Volume 8, Issue 2) |
DOI | 10.11648/j.eeb.20230802.12 |
Page(s) | 38-49 |
Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Science Publishing Group |
YCF, Anthropogenic Perturbations, Chimpanzee, Nest Decay Rate, Sustainable Management
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APA Style
Serge Alexis Kamgang, Ervis Manfothang Dongmo, Iris Kirsten, Pop Moadomb Jacques Jefferson, André Mveimané, et al. (2023). The Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) of the Yoko Council Forest in Cameroon: Abundance, Activity Pattern and Threats. Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 8(2), 38-49. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.eeb.20230802.12
ACS Style
Serge Alexis Kamgang; Ervis Manfothang Dongmo; Iris Kirsten; Pop Moadomb Jacques Jefferson; André Mveimané, et al. The Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) of the Yoko Council Forest in Cameroon: Abundance, Activity Pattern and Threats. Ecol. Evol. Biol. 2023, 8(2), 38-49. doi: 10.11648/j.eeb.20230802.12
AMA Style
Serge Alexis Kamgang, Ervis Manfothang Dongmo, Iris Kirsten, Pop Moadomb Jacques Jefferson, André Mveimané, et al. The Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) of the Yoko Council Forest in Cameroon: Abundance, Activity Pattern and Threats. Ecol Evol Biol. 2023;8(2):38-49. doi: 10.11648/j.eeb.20230802.12
@article{10.11648/j.eeb.20230802.12, author = {Serge Alexis Kamgang and Ervis Manfothang Dongmo and Iris Kirsten and Pop Moadomb Jacques Jefferson and André Mveimané and Didier Bastin and Neba Estherbel Bih and Bakwo Fils Eric-Moise}, title = {The Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) of the Yoko Council Forest in Cameroon: Abundance, Activity Pattern and Threats}, journal = {Ecology and Evolutionary Biology}, volume = {8}, number = {2}, pages = {38-49}, doi = {10.11648/j.eeb.20230802.12}, url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.eeb.20230802.12}, eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.eeb.20230802.12}, abstract = {Successful conservation and management of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in Yoko Council Forest (YCF), Centre Cameroon, requires reliable estimates of their population size and density, habitat use and threats. Our study offers the opportunity to improve the knowledge on the population density, distribution and threats of the chimpanzee in this area. We used indirect survey methods using nest counts to estimate the decay rate of the nests. This approach consisted of locating and marking fresh nests (less than 48 hours old) at different periods of time and revisiting them at the end of the inventories to verify whether they had deteriorated or not. Human activities, habitat types, and nesting tree species were also assessed. The mean nest decay rate estimated using a logistic regression analysis was 77.53 days with a nest density of 69.3 [95% CI 54.9-86.7] nests/km2, for an estimated population of about 113 [95% CI 45-280] chimpanzees. In YCF, chimpanzees nest in Marantaceae forests and swampy forests, especially on Khaya grandifolia and Uapaca guineensis trees. Transhumance was the greatest threat in the area (75.33%), followed by hunting (13. 66%), wild sawing (8.81%) and fishing (2.2%). These anthropogenic perturbations were most observed in the south-west sector of the YCF. The area with the greatest density of nests occurred at a site least impacted by human activities. It is essential to regulate these activities in order to guarantee the sustainable management of this precious chimpanzee population.}, year = {2023} }
TY - JOUR T1 - The Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) of the Yoko Council Forest in Cameroon: Abundance, Activity Pattern and Threats AU - Serge Alexis Kamgang AU - Ervis Manfothang Dongmo AU - Iris Kirsten AU - Pop Moadomb Jacques Jefferson AU - André Mveimané AU - Didier Bastin AU - Neba Estherbel Bih AU - Bakwo Fils Eric-Moise Y1 - 2023/07/21 PY - 2023 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.eeb.20230802.12 DO - 10.11648/j.eeb.20230802.12 T2 - Ecology and Evolutionary Biology JF - Ecology and Evolutionary Biology JO - Ecology and Evolutionary Biology SP - 38 EP - 49 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2575-3762 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.eeb.20230802.12 AB - Successful conservation and management of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in Yoko Council Forest (YCF), Centre Cameroon, requires reliable estimates of their population size and density, habitat use and threats. Our study offers the opportunity to improve the knowledge on the population density, distribution and threats of the chimpanzee in this area. We used indirect survey methods using nest counts to estimate the decay rate of the nests. This approach consisted of locating and marking fresh nests (less than 48 hours old) at different periods of time and revisiting them at the end of the inventories to verify whether they had deteriorated or not. Human activities, habitat types, and nesting tree species were also assessed. The mean nest decay rate estimated using a logistic regression analysis was 77.53 days with a nest density of 69.3 [95% CI 54.9-86.7] nests/km2, for an estimated population of about 113 [95% CI 45-280] chimpanzees. In YCF, chimpanzees nest in Marantaceae forests and swampy forests, especially on Khaya grandifolia and Uapaca guineensis trees. Transhumance was the greatest threat in the area (75.33%), followed by hunting (13. 66%), wild sawing (8.81%) and fishing (2.2%). These anthropogenic perturbations were most observed in the south-west sector of the YCF. The area with the greatest density of nests occurred at a site least impacted by human activities. It is essential to regulate these activities in order to guarantee the sustainable management of this precious chimpanzee population. VL - 8 IS - 2 ER -