Title
Long-term monitoring of siamang in Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park: 17 years after ENSO-related wildfires
Author(s)
Sibarani, M.C.;Andayani, N.;Clements, T.
Published
2015
Publisher
Cambodian Journal of Natural History
Abstract
The severe El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) event in 1997 led to catastrophic fires across Indonesia. This study focused on the impact of wildfires associated with the 1997 ENSO event on a siamang Symphalangus syndactylus population in a Sumatran tropical forest. The aims were to assess the dynamics and persistence of siamangs and to compare the demographic characteristics of groups in burnt areas and areas untouched by the ENSO fires. Previous research has suggested that four years after the fires, siamang groups in previously burnt areas had a smaller group size, smaller home range, contained fewer non-adult individuals, and had a lower infant survival rate than groups in area not affected by fires. Annual censuses were conducted every year from 1997 to 2014 to monitor siamang populations in a 165 ha area, which was burnt in 1997, and in 635 ha unburnt control areas. Results indicate that by 2004 (seven years after the ENSO event), there were no significant differences between groups in burnt and unburnt areas in terms of group size and group structure. This indicates that in large and undisturbed forested landscapes, the impact of large fire events on siamang populations is relatively limited, and siamang populations are able to recover if burnt areas are allowed to regenerate.
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