Encounter rates and group sizes of diurnal primate species of Mole National Park, Ghana

Edward Debrah Wiafe

doi:10.11609/jott.4026.11.5.13523-13530

Abstract

Primate species are not widely explored in Ghana’s savannah ecosystems. We report data on encounter rates and group sizes of primates at the Mole National Park in Ghana. Forty transects, each of 5km length, were randomly laid in the park for the study. Four species of primates were visually recorded during field surveys: Olive Baboon Papio anubis, Patas Monkey Erythrocebus patas, Green Monkey Chlorocebus sabaeus and Colobus vellerosus. The status of C. vellerosus is Critically Endangered, the status of the other species is Least Concern according to the IUCN Red List. Encounter rates (groups/km) were 0.98, 0.65 and 0.45 for Olive Baboons, Patas Monkeys and Green Monkeys respectively. The mean group sizes were: Olive Baboon 10.8 (SE=1.1, range=1-38), Patas Monkey 12.2 (SE=3.3, range=1-35), and Green Monkey 10.0 (SE=1.9, range=1-25). Only one group of White-thighed Colobus with a group size of six was encountered. Encounter rates and group sizes of the same species varied in different parts of the park, and factors such as resource distribution and security against secret hunting may have influenced this variation. Authors recommend further studies to facilitate better understanding of these primates.

Highlights

Population surveys are important for examining ecosystem functioning, forming the basis for management decisions and providing the means to evaluate the effectiveness of different conservation strategies (Nichols & Williams 2006; Stokes et al 2010)
Conservation of primates in savannah ecosystems has been on ad-hoc basis without any empirical information on their population dynamics and ecology
Previous studies of the distribution, diversity and conservation of threatened species in Ghana have focused on forest ecosystems (Booth 1956; Asibey 1978; Abedi-Lartey & Amponsah 1999; Curtin 2002; Deschner & Kpelle 2003; Oates 2006; Wiafe 2013; 2016) with little attention given to primates in savannah ecosystems

Summary

Introduction

Population surveys are important for examining ecosystem functioning, forming the basis for management decisions and providing the means to evaluate the effectiveness of different conservation strategies (Nichols & Williams 2006; Stokes et al 2010). Threats to primate populations in their natural ranges are logging, mining, habitat destruction and hunting. In Ghana and other countries of Upper Guinea and Dahomey gap, the need to obtain current information on species distribution, encounter rates and population dynamics is critical to the formulation of informed conservation and management plans. Conservation of primates in savannah ecosystems has been on ad-hoc basis without any empirical information on their population dynamics and ecology. Previous studies of the distribution, diversity and conservation of threatened species in Ghana have focused on forest ecosystems (Booth 1956; Asibey 1978; Abedi-Lartey & Amponsah 1999; Curtin 2002; Deschner & Kpelle 2003; Oates 2006; Wiafe 2013; 2016) with little attention given to primates in savannah ecosystems

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion