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Conservation status of the endangered chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus) in Lagoas de Cufada Natural Park : (Republic of Guinea-Bissau)
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In the last decades, primate populations have suffered great demographic declines due to several anthropogenic causes, and an immediate reclassification of chimpanzees to a status of ‘‘critically endangered’’ has been recommended. The western chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes verus, has been classified as “endangered” on the IUCN Red List since 1988, and information on the population status and ecology of the subspecies for Guinea-Bissau is scant. This dissertation aimed to assess population density and size, habitat use, nesting and feeding patterns of chimpanzee populations at Lagoas de Cufada Natural Park (LCNP), Guinea-Bissau, a forest-savannah mosaic widely disturbed by humans. Chimpanzee nests were found distant from proxies of human disturbance such as settlements and roads, pointing towards a perhaps not surprising negative influence of human disturbance on chimpanzee distribution. By comparison with previous studies for Guinea-Bissau, chimpanzee density estimates for LCNP were the lowest, and although being the least available habitat type, density estimates were highest for dense-canopy forest, the preferred habitat for nesting. Vegetation characteristics of dense forest – lower species diversity and greater availability of smaller-sized trees compared to open forest and savannah-woodland – were important predictors of chimpanzee nest abundance. Chimpanzees were selective in their choice of nest tree species, in line with other great ape studies, but in contrast with other western chimpanzee populations did not show a preference for nesting in oil-palms. Exclusive arboreal nesting observed at LCNP may be a consequence of widespread human disturbance, but better quantitative data are needed to establish to what extent the construction of elevated nests is indeed a response to predators that can climb trees. LCNP chimpanzees were selective frugivores, and diet diversity was inversely related to ripe fruit availability. Diet composition varied over the course of the dry season and among habitat types, although chimpanzees largely fed on the same plant species over the entire study area, suggesting that despite living in a highly human-modified landscape their proximity to humans does not limit their access to their preferred food resources. Given the importance of LCNP at the westernmost margin of chimpanzee geographic distribution, these findings can improve conservation decisions for the management of P. t. verus as well as its remaining suitable habitats.
Descrição
Tese de doutoramento, Biologia (Ecologia), Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências, 2014
Palavras-chave
Ecologia animal Chimpanzés Dieta Conservação da natureza Habitat Guiné Bissau - Parque Natural - Lagoas de Cufada Teses de doutoramento - 2014