Abstract
Human population growth and anthropogenic activities are exacerbating pressures on biodiversity globally. Land conversion is aggravating habitat fragmentation and non-human primates are increasingly compelled to live in forest-agricultural mosaics. In Sierra Leone, more than half of the wild chimpanzee population (Pan troglodytes verus) occurs outside protected areas and competes for resources with farmers. Our study area, in the Moyamba district in south-western Sierra Leone, is practically devoid of forest and is dominated by cultivated and fallow fields, swamps and mangroves. In this region, traditional slash-and-burn agriculture modifies annually the landscape, sparing swamps and mangroves and semi-domesticated oil palms (Elaeis guineensis). This study aimed to explore ecological and anthropogenic factors influencing chimpanzee relative abundance across this highly degraded and human-impacted landscape. Between 2015 and 2016, we deployed 24 camera traps systematically across 27 1.25x1.25 km grid cells. Cameras were operational over a period of 8 months. We used binomial iCAR models to examine to what extent anthropogenic (roads, settlements, abandoned settlements and human presence) and habitat variables (swamps, farmland and mangroves) shape chimpanzee relative abundance. The best model explained 43.16% of the variation with distance to roads and swamps emerging as the best predictors of chimpanzee relative abundance. Our results suggest that chimpanzees avoid roads and prefer to maintain proximity to swamps. There was no significant effect of settlements, abandoned settlements, mangroves or human presence. It appears that chimpanzees do not avoid areas frequented by people; although, our findings suggest temporal avoidance between the two species. We highlight the importance of studying chimpanzee populations living in anthropogenic habitats like agricultural-swamp matrixes to better understand factors influencing their distribution and inform conservation planning outside protected areas.
Highlights
It is estimated that approximately 60% of all world’s non-human primates are threatened with extinction and the main threats to their survival are habitat loss and fragmentation due to rapid human population growth and land conversion for agriculture [1,2,3]
We recorded 44 chimpanzee independent event (IE) in 12 locations (44.4% of the total locations) and 65 human IE in 16 locations (59.3% of the total locations) during the whole study period. Both species were photo-captured from the same location at 8 camera trapping sites (29.6% of the total locations)
Only the distance to roads and the proximity to swamps served as good predictors of chimpanzee trapping rates (TR), yielding a best final model explaining 43.16% of the total deviance
Summary
It is estimated that approximately 60% of all world’s non-human primates (hereafter primates) are threatened with extinction and the main threats to their survival are habitat loss and fragmentation due to rapid human population growth and land conversion for agriculture [1,2,3]. Many primate species are having to live in forest-agricultural mosaics and in close proximity to people [4]. Some animal species are able to adjust to these changes and survive and even flourish in human altered conditions [6]. Some primates show a certain degree of flexibility and can adapt their dietary, socioecological behaviours to these human altered landscapes [7,8]. There has been a growing interest in studying primates, and especially chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), living in humanmodified habitats to understand how they behave and survive in degraded landscapes and which conservation strategies may be best suited for the species in areas outside protected areas [8]
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