Title
Historical Density and Recent Trends in Forest Duiker Populations in African National Parks.
Author(s)
O'Brien, Timothy
Published
2017
Abstract
African forest duikers (Bovidae, Cephalophinae) are among the top species used for subsistence and commercial bushmeat but the difficulty of accurately assessing population trends has led to questions about sustainability of bushmeat harvests. We review the literature on duiker population estimation. We then analyze the results of annual camera trap monitoring at 6 national parks in East and Central Africa, using dynamic occupancy and point abundance models to establish trends for 18 populations of 9 duiker species. Between 1973 and 2013, published density estimates of duiker populations declined significantly throughout Africa irrespective of monitoring methods and species. Initial occupancy values were above 0.5 for 12 populations and initial point abundance averaged 2.0 per point as expected for monogamous territorial antelope. Trends in local distribution declined significantly for 10 populations, including 8 species, and were stable or increasing distributions for 8 populations of 4 species. Point abundance trends were increasing or stable for 12 populations of 6 species and declined in 4 populations of 4 species. Two populations were too rare to estimate point abundance. Six species declined in both distribution and abundance, 2 species increased in both distribution and abundance, and 1 species shows stable distribution but declining abundance. We failed to detect expected species in 4 parks, indicating local extinctions. Current monitoring methods for duikers include line transect and dung surveys but these methods have problems distinguishing between species. Combining species ignores the complex dynamics of duiker communities and may miss population crashes. We recommend the use of camera traps for monitoring forest duiker population trends as camera traps allow for better species recognition and development of species-specific trends.
Access Full Text
A full-text copy of this article may be available. Please email the WCS Library to request.
![]()
Back
PUB26890