Southeastern Guinea Research Articles

<Note> Hand Clapping by a Chimpanzee in the Nimba Mountains, Guinea, West Africa

INTRODUCTION We report the first observation of hand clapping by a wild chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus) in the Nimba Mountains in Guinea, West Africa. Hand clapping has previously been reported only for captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). There, chimpanzees have been seen to clap hands in the context of potential food availability to attract the attention of humans1, 2 and as a gesture during play3. Also, bonobos (Pan paniscus) in the San Diego Zoo handand foot-clapped during grooming4, presenting a unique local tradition that has been transmitted to new individuals introduced into the group5, 6. For wild great apes, hand clapping has been seen only in one female mountain gorilla (Gorilla gorilla beringei) in the Virunga Mountains, Rwanda7, and in several female and young western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) in southwestern Central African Republic8. Most cases in which hand clapping was seen in western lowland gorillas were when the gorillas were nervous about the presence of the human observers8. Our chimpanzee study site is in a part of the Nimba Mountains near the village of Seringbara (7°37’50.0”N, 8°27’44.7”W) in southeastern Guinea. The Seringbara study area covers about 25 km2 and is 6 km southeast of Bossou, where a community of 12–23 chimpanzees has been studied since 19769, 10. Occasional surveys in the Nimba area have been ongoing since 1992. However, no constant research presence in the Nimba Mountains around Seringbara existed before the present study (begun in August 2003) and the chimpanzees remain largely unhabituated.

A conservation assessment of amphibians in the Forêt Classée du Pic de Fon, Simandou Range, southeastern Republic of Guinea, with the description of a newAmniranaspecies (Amphibia Anura Ranidae)

We report on a species-rich amphibian community from the Forêt Classée du Pic de Fon, southeastern Guinea. The high diversity of habitat types, ranging from Guinea savannah and Upper Guinean rainforest to montane grassland and forest is reflected by the anuran community composition. We recorded at least 33 species from the two sites investigated and estimate that 50–60 species occur within the mountain range. We discuss lesser known and taxonomically problematic species, and summarize data of the whole amphibian community. Several species might be new to science, including one, Amnirana fonensis n. sp., described in the present paper. This new species is distinct from all other West African congeners on the basis of its very rough skin. Nearly 60% of the species recorded from the Forêt Classée du Pic de Fon are endemic to the Upper Guinean rainforest zone and about half of the recorded species are endemic to the western part of this zone. This qualifies the Simandou Range as a very important biodiversity hotspot facing a number of threats, including the possibility of future open cast mining along the mountain ridge. We briefly discuss possible effects of threats on the amphibian community in particular and on the regional ecosystem in general.

Archean evolution of the Leo Rise and its Eburnean reworking

Recent geological mapping in southeastern Guinea, supported by zircon dating, has called into question traditional understanding concerning the evolution of the Leo Rise. Gneiss dated at about 3540 Ma appears to constitute the earliest evidence for continental accretion within the Leo Rise. The existence of a Leonian depositional cycle at about 3000 Ma is confirmed, marked by volcanic and sedimentary rocks that can be correlated with the Loko Group in Sierra Leone. The span of ages (3244–3050 Ma) suggests that the Leonian cycle comprises different episodes whose respective chronology is as yet uncertain. Clearly distinct from the Leonian cycle, the Liberian cycle (∼2900–2800 Ma) is represented in Guinea by granite and migmatite (∼2910–2800 Ma), reflecting remobilization of the ancient Archean basement and deformation of the Leonian rocks; no deposition is associated with this cycle. After the Liberian, the Nimba and Simandou successions, containing Liberian detrital zircons, are assigned to the Birimian (∼2200–2000 Ma). Finally, Eburnean tectonism caused intense deformation of the Archean craton, accompanied by high-grade metamorphism and the intrusion of granite and syenite with ages between 2080 and 2020 Ma. The evolution of the Kénéma-Man domain, attributed to the cumulated effect of the Leonian and Liberian cycles, is thus in part Eburnean. We can suppose, therefore, that the NNE–SSW-trending structures attributed to the Liberian in Sierra Leone are, in fact, Eburnean. The Kambui Supergroup, also affected by this tectonism, should thus be assigned to the Birimian rather than the Liberian, which would explain its similarities with the Nimba and Simandou successions.

A Conservation Assessment of the Bats of the Simandou Range, Guinea, with the First Record ofMyotis welwitschii(Gray, 1866) from West Africa

We report on the results of a bat survey of the Pic de Fon, Simandou Range, southeastern Guinea. This bat survey was part of a larger Rapid Assessment Program (RAP) study conducted by Conservation International in an area currently explored for iron-ore mining by an international company. We document a speciose bat assemblage characterised by forest species, including bats such as Epomops buettikoferi, Rhinolophus guineensis and Hipposideros jonesi that are endemic to Upper Guinea or West Africa. The sympatric occurence of three species of Kerivoula is noteworthy, with K. phalaena representing the first record for Guinea. Moreover, three individuals of Welwitsch's mouse-eared bat, Myotis welwitschii, were captured during the survey. This is the first record for West Africa and represents a range extension of minimally 3,400 km to the northwest from the nearest known localities. We review the distribution of this species in Africa and conclude that the species shows a paramontane distribution pattern (sensu Koopman, 1983). We also report M. welwitschii for the first time from Burundi. Our results of the RAP survey as well as the occurrence of bat species that are endemic to the Upper Guinea Highlands highlight the outstanding regional importance of the montane habitats of West Africa in general, and of the Simandou Range in particular for the conservation of bats in Africa.

Surveillance of Mortality During a Refugee Crisis--Guinea, January-May 2001

Since 1990, the republic of Guinea (2000 population: 7.5 million) has accepted 390,000-450,000 refugees from Sierra Leone and Liberia. During this 10-year period, refugees have lived in small villages scattered throughout rural southeastern Guinea. During September-December 2000, attacks by armed factions in Guinea led to the widespread displacement of refugees living in the southeastern camps; the refugees subsequently were transferred to safer camps in the northwest. Approximately 280,000 refugees initially were estimated to have been displaced. After the attacks, the number of refugees relocated was approximately 58,000. This report demonstrates methods used to calculate mortality rates when large populations are displaced. The findings indicate that the number of refugees in Guinea before the relocation probably was overestimated. The mortality rates calculated using conservative denominator numbers did not meet the definition of an emergency phase of a complex emergency, and mortality rates were lower for refugees compared with baseline rates for the local population. Accurate methods are needed to estimate population size in complex emergencies to provide resources to vulnerable groups.

Paternity discrimination and inter-group relationships of chimpanzees at Bossou

A small group of wild chimpanzees at Bossou, southeastern Guinea, is semi-isolated, occupying a home-range which is several kilometers from those of other groups. The group has had only one adult male since 1985, raising the probability of inbreeding. Direct observation suggests that this male was the father of all infants born in the group since 1985. In 1991 individually identified samples of food wadges, hair, and feces were collected from most of the group members. These samples were analyzed using GT dinucleotide repeat polymorphisms to determine familial relationships. The genetic analysis revealed that the resident adult male was the probable father of only three out of the four infants analyzed. It is suspected that an adult male from a neighboring group was the father of the fourth infant, born in late 1986 or early 1987.

Chimpanzees using stones to crack open oil palm nuts in Liberia

The use of stone-tools to open palm nuts (Elaeis guineensis) was studied in a group of 16 chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) released from captivity to a natural island setting in Liberia. The behaviour was started by one female of the group; it then spread to 12 others over periods varying from a few seconds to a few weeks. Nut-cracking soon spread to three other sites, both spontaneously and with human encouragement. Both nuts and tools were carried distances of several hundred meters. Social interaction at cracking sites was rich and varied, ranging from fights over possession of tools to unsolicited sharing of nuts. Nut-crackers showed selectivity in schoosing “good” nuts and varied their methods according to the qualities of the nuts. Individual differences in technique emerged. These are the first detailed behavioural data on palm-nut-cracking, and they show many parallels with nut-cracking of other species by chimpanzees of the Tai Forest, Ivory Coast. This is another example of hammer-stone use from a limited region of West Africa: southeastern Guinea, eastern Liberia, and western Ivory Coast. This suggests limited cultural diffusion of the custom.

Measures aimed at controlling the invasion ofSimulium damnosumTheobald s.l. (Diptera: Simuliidae) into the Onchocerciasis Control Programme Area. I. Experimental aerial larviciding in the Upper Sassandra Basin of South‐eastern Guinea in 1985

Abstract Every year, between March and August, the Onchocerciasis Control Programme (OCP) is invaded by large numbers of the onchocerciasis vector, Simulium damnosum s.l., from breeding sites outside and to the south‐west of the programme area. One suspected source of this annual reinvasion lies in the mountainous area of South‐eastern Guinea along the headwaters of the Sassandra River. After a feasibility study, these watercourses were treated by helicopter with the organophosphate larvicide, temephos, from March to August 1985. It was shown that aerial treatments in this region of high mountains and forests were feasible and the operation produced over 90% reductions in biting and transmission in the reinvasion zones of Northern Ivory Coast and South‐western Burkina Faso. It was concluded that the Upper Sassandra tributaries in Southeastern Guinea were the principal source of vectors invading this region of the OCP and that these breeding sites must be treated annually to maintain biting and transmissio...