Abstract
The western chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes verus, has been classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List since 1988. Intensive agriculture, commercial plantations, logging, and mining have eliminated or degraded the habitats suitable for P. t. verus over a large part of its range. In this study we assessed the effect of land-use change on the population size and density of chimpanzees at Lagoas de Cufada Natural Park (LCNP), Guinea-Bissau. We further explored chimpanzee distribution in relation to landscape-level proxies of human disturbance. Nest count and distance-sampling methods were employed along 11 systematically placed linear transects in 2010 and 2011. Estimated nest decay rate was 293.9 days (%CV = 58.8). Based on this estimate of decay time and using the Standing-Crop Nest Count Method, we obtained a habitat-weighted average chimpanzee density estimate for 2011 of 0.22 nest building chimpanzees/km2 (95% CI 0.08–0.62), corresponding to 137 (95% CI 51.0–390.0) chimpanzees for LCNP. Human disturbance had a negative influence on chimpanzee distribution as nests were built farther away from human settlements, roads, and rivers than if they were randomly distributed, coinciding with the distribution of the remaining patches of dense canopy forest. We conclude that the continuous disappearance of suitable habitat (e.g. the replacement of LCNP's dense forests by monocultures of cashew plantations) may be compromising the future of one of the most threatened Guinean coastal chimpanzee populations. We discuss strategies to ensure long-term conservation in this important refuge for this chimpanzee subspecies at its westernmost margin of geographic distribution.
Highlights
In the last decades, primate populations have suffered great demographic declines [1,2]
Chimpanzee Nest Surveys Survey effort for Standing-Crop Nest Counts (SCNC) was 67.2 km, whereas 235.2 km were walked for Marked Nest Counts (MNC)
Chimpanzee Population Density and Size We presented chimpanzee density estimates at Lagoas de Cufada Natural Park (LCNP) for 2010 (0.22 nest builders per km2, 95% Conservation International (CI) 0.08–0.62) and 2011 (0.50 nest builders per km2, 95% CI 0.18–1.39)
Summary
Primate populations have suffered great demographic declines [1,2] These declines are due to several reasons, all having human activities and/or infectious disease epidemics as their core basis. Pet trade, slash-and-burn agriculture, deforestation associated with logging and agricultural activities, large-scale agricultural plantations, and other threats explain the biodiversity loss and fragmentation of several primate habitats worldwide [3,4]. On the large scale distribution patterns of species are shaped by environmental and historical constraints [5,6,7]. Primate distributions in Africa have been greatly affected by the expansion of road networks [15,16], providing access to settlers but facilitating illegal hunting and logging [11,17,18]. Rivers can act as natural barriers shaping primate distribution patterns [7,22], while at the same time allow for an easy transport of bushmeat [9]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
