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
Author(s)
Kamgang, Serge Alexis;Bobo, Kadiri Serge;Maisels, Fiona;Ambahe, Ruffin Dupleix Delarue;Ambassa Ongono, Désiré Edgar;Gonder, Mary Katherine;Johnson, Paul;Marino, Jorgelina;Sinsin, Brice
Published
2018
Publisher
BMC Ecology
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.
Keywords
Great apes;Mbam-Djerem National Park;Pan troglodytes ellioti;Habitat variation;Nest abundance;Distance sampling
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