Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) Indicate Mammalian Abundance Across Broad Spatial Scales
ABSTRACT Ongoing ecosystem change and biodiversity decline across the Afrotropics call for tools to monitor the state of biodiversity or ecosystem elements across extensive spatial and temporal scales. We assessed relationships in the co‐occurrence patterns between great apes and other medium to lar...
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2025-03-01
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| Series: | Ecology and Evolution |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71000 |
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| author | Paul K. Kazaba Lars Kulik Ghislain B. Beukou Choumbou Christelle B. Douhin Tiémoko Funmilayo L. Oni Serge A. Kamgang Stefanie Heinicke Inza Koné Samedi Jean Pierre Mucyo Tenekwetche Sop Christophe Boesch Colleen Stephens Anthony Agbor Samuel Angedakin Emma Bailey Mattia Bessone Charlotte Coupland Tobias Deschner Paula Dieguez Anne‐Céline Granjon Briana Harder Josephine Head Thurston Cleveland Hicks Sorrel Jones Parag Kadam Ammie K. Kalan Kevin E. Langergraber Juan Lapuente Kevin C. Lee Laura K. Lynn Nuria Maldonado Maureen S. McCarthy Amelia C. Meier Lucy Jayne Ormsby Alex Piel Martha M. Robbins Lilah Sciaky Volker Sommer Fiona A. Stewart Jane Widness Roman M. Wittig Erin G. Wessling Mimi Arandjelovic Hjalmar Kühl Yntze van derHoek |
| author_facet | Paul K. Kazaba Lars Kulik Ghislain B. Beukou Choumbou Christelle B. Douhin Tiémoko Funmilayo L. Oni Serge A. Kamgang Stefanie Heinicke Inza Koné Samedi Jean Pierre Mucyo Tenekwetche Sop Christophe Boesch Colleen Stephens Anthony Agbor Samuel Angedakin Emma Bailey Mattia Bessone Charlotte Coupland Tobias Deschner Paula Dieguez Anne‐Céline Granjon Briana Harder Josephine Head Thurston Cleveland Hicks Sorrel Jones Parag Kadam Ammie K. Kalan Kevin E. Langergraber Juan Lapuente Kevin C. Lee Laura K. Lynn Nuria Maldonado Maureen S. McCarthy Amelia C. Meier Lucy Jayne Ormsby Alex Piel Martha M. Robbins Lilah Sciaky Volker Sommer Fiona A. Stewart Jane Widness Roman M. Wittig Erin G. Wessling Mimi Arandjelovic Hjalmar Kühl Yntze van derHoek |
| author_sort | Paul K. Kazaba |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT Ongoing ecosystem change and biodiversity decline across the Afrotropics call for tools to monitor the state of biodiversity or ecosystem elements across extensive spatial and temporal scales. We assessed relationships in the co‐occurrence patterns between great apes and other medium to large‐bodied mammals to evaluate whether ape abundance serves as a proxy for mammal diversity across broad spatial scales. We used camera trap footage recorded at 22 research sites, each known to harbor a population of chimpanzees, and some additionally a population of gorillas, across 12 sub‐Saharan African countries. From ~350,000 1‐min camera trap videos recorded between 2010 and 2016, we estimated mammalian community metrics, including species richness, Shannon diversity, and mean animal mass. We then fitted Bayesian Regression Models to assess potential relationships between ape detection rates (as proxy for ape abundance) and these metrics. We included site‐level protection status, human footprint, and precipitation variance as control variables. We found that relationships between detection rates of great apes and other mammal species, as well as animal mass were largely positive. In contrast, relationships between ape detection rate and mammal species richness were less clear and differed according to site protection and human impact context. We found no clear association between ape detection rate and mammal diversity. Our findings suggest that chimpanzees hold potential as indicators of specific elements of mammalian communities, especially population‐level and composition‐related characteristics. Declines in chimpanzee populations may indicate associated declines of sympatric medium to large‐bodied mammal species and highlight the need for improved conservation interventions.Changes in chimpanzee abundance likely precede extirpation of sympatric mammals. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1d1f3a0bc0d4463685f2d3c8133859bc |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2045-7758 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj-art-1d1f3a0bc0d4463685f2d3c8133859bc2025-08-20T03:52:25ZengWileyEcology and Evolution2045-77582025-03-01153n/an/a10.1002/ece3.71000Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) Indicate Mammalian Abundance Across Broad Spatial ScalesPaul K. Kazaba0Lars Kulik1Ghislain B. Beukou Choumbou2Christelle B. Douhin Tiémoko3Funmilayo L. Oni4Serge A. Kamgang5Stefanie Heinicke6Inza Koné7Samedi Jean Pierre Mucyo8Tenekwetche Sop9Christophe Boesch10Colleen Stephens11Anthony Agbor12Samuel Angedakin13Emma Bailey14Mattia Bessone15Charlotte Coupland16Tobias Deschner17Paula Dieguez18Anne‐Céline Granjon19Briana Harder20Josephine Head21Thurston Cleveland Hicks22Sorrel Jones23Parag Kadam24Ammie K. Kalan25Kevin E. Langergraber26Juan Lapuente27Kevin C. Lee28Laura K. Lynn29Nuria Maldonado30Maureen S. McCarthy31Amelia C. Meier32Lucy Jayne Ormsby33Alex Piel34Martha M. Robbins35Lilah Sciaky36Volker Sommer37Fiona A. Stewart38Jane Widness39Roman M. Wittig40Erin G. Wessling41Mimi Arandjelovic42Hjalmar Kühl43Yntze van derHoek44Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, Grauer's Gorilla Research and Conservation Programs Goma Democratic Republic of the CongoSenckenberg Museum for Natural History Görlitz Senckenberg – Member of the Leibniz Association Görlitz GermanyWorld Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Regional Office for Africa/Cameroon Country Program Office Yaoundé CameroonLaboratoire de Biodiversité et Ecologie Tropicale Université Jean Lorougnon Guédé Daloa Côte d'IvoireDepartment of Wildlife and Ecotourism Management, Faculty of Renewable Natural Resources Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Ogbomoso NigeriaBiodiversité‐Environnement et Développement Durable Garoua CameroonPotsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association Potsdam GermanyUniversité Félix Houphouët‐Boigny Abidjan Côte d'IvoireDian Fossey Gorilla Fund, Ellen DeGeneres Campus Kinigi RwandaSenckenberg Museum for Natural History Görlitz Senckenberg – Member of the Leibniz Association Görlitz GermanyMax Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Leipzig GermanyMax Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Leipzig GermanyMax Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Leipzig GermanyMax Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Leipzig GermanyMax Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Leipzig GermanyMax Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Leipzig GermanyMax Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Leipzig GermanyMax Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Leipzig GermanyGerman Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Leipzig GermanyMax Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Leipzig GermanyMax Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Leipzig GermanyThe Biodiversity Consultancy Cambridge UKThe Faculty of “Artes Liberales” University of Warsaw Ulica Dobra Warsaw PolandThe David Attenborough Building, RSPB Centre for Conservation Science Cambridge UKWarnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources University of Georgia Athens Georgia USADepartment of Anthropology University of Victoria Victoria British Columbia CanadaSchool of Human Evolution and Social Change Arizona State University Tempe Arizona USAAnimal Ecology and Tropical Biology, Biozentrum, (Zoologie III) Würzburg GermanyMax Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Leipzig GermanyMax Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Leipzig GermanyMax Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Leipzig GermanyMax Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Leipzig GermanyHawai'i Institute of Marine Biology University of Hawai'i at Mānoa Honolulu Hawaii USAMax Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Leipzig GermanyDepartment of Anthropology University College London London UKDepartment of Primate Behavior and Evolution Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Leizpig GermanyMax Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Leipzig GermanyDepartment of Anthropology University College London London UKMax Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Leipzig GermanyYale University New Haven Connecticut USAApe Social Mind Lab Institute of Cognitive Science, CNRS UMR5229 Bron FranceCognitive Ethology Laboratory German Primate Center—Leibniz Institute for Primate Research Göttingen GermanyDepartment of Primate Behavior and Evolution Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Leizpig GermanySenckenberg Museum for Natural History Görlitz Senckenberg – Member of the Leibniz Association Görlitz GermanyDian Fossey Gorilla Fund, Ellen DeGeneres Campus Kinigi RwandaABSTRACT Ongoing ecosystem change and biodiversity decline across the Afrotropics call for tools to monitor the state of biodiversity or ecosystem elements across extensive spatial and temporal scales. We assessed relationships in the co‐occurrence patterns between great apes and other medium to large‐bodied mammals to evaluate whether ape abundance serves as a proxy for mammal diversity across broad spatial scales. We used camera trap footage recorded at 22 research sites, each known to harbor a population of chimpanzees, and some additionally a population of gorillas, across 12 sub‐Saharan African countries. From ~350,000 1‐min camera trap videos recorded between 2010 and 2016, we estimated mammalian community metrics, including species richness, Shannon diversity, and mean animal mass. We then fitted Bayesian Regression Models to assess potential relationships between ape detection rates (as proxy for ape abundance) and these metrics. We included site‐level protection status, human footprint, and precipitation variance as control variables. We found that relationships between detection rates of great apes and other mammal species, as well as animal mass were largely positive. In contrast, relationships between ape detection rate and mammal species richness were less clear and differed according to site protection and human impact context. We found no clear association between ape detection rate and mammal diversity. Our findings suggest that chimpanzees hold potential as indicators of specific elements of mammalian communities, especially population‐level and composition‐related characteristics. Declines in chimpanzee populations may indicate associated declines of sympatric medium to large‐bodied mammal species and highlight the need for improved conservation interventions.Changes in chimpanzee abundance likely precede extirpation of sympatric mammals.https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71000Africacamera trapsgreat apesindicator speciesmammalsprotected areas |
| spellingShingle | Paul K. Kazaba Lars Kulik Ghislain B. Beukou Choumbou Christelle B. Douhin Tiémoko Funmilayo L. Oni Serge A. Kamgang Stefanie Heinicke Inza Koné Samedi Jean Pierre Mucyo Tenekwetche Sop Christophe Boesch Colleen Stephens Anthony Agbor Samuel Angedakin Emma Bailey Mattia Bessone Charlotte Coupland Tobias Deschner Paula Dieguez Anne‐Céline Granjon Briana Harder Josephine Head Thurston Cleveland Hicks Sorrel Jones Parag Kadam Ammie K. Kalan Kevin E. Langergraber Juan Lapuente Kevin C. Lee Laura K. Lynn Nuria Maldonado Maureen S. McCarthy Amelia C. Meier Lucy Jayne Ormsby Alex Piel Martha M. Robbins Lilah Sciaky Volker Sommer Fiona A. Stewart Jane Widness Roman M. Wittig Erin G. Wessling Mimi Arandjelovic Hjalmar Kühl Yntze van derHoek Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) Indicate Mammalian Abundance Across Broad Spatial Scales Ecology and Evolution Africa camera traps great apes indicator species mammals protected areas |
| title | Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) Indicate Mammalian Abundance Across Broad Spatial Scales |
| title_full | Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) Indicate Mammalian Abundance Across Broad Spatial Scales |
| title_fullStr | Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) Indicate Mammalian Abundance Across Broad Spatial Scales |
| title_full_unstemmed | Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) Indicate Mammalian Abundance Across Broad Spatial Scales |
| title_short | Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) Indicate Mammalian Abundance Across Broad Spatial Scales |
| title_sort | chimpanzees pan troglodytes indicate mammalian abundance across broad spatial scales |
| topic | Africa camera traps great apes indicator species mammals protected areas |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71000 |
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