Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence: Discovery of a large, continuous population of Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii in the Central Uele region of northern DRC
Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence: Discovery of a large, continuous population of Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii in the Central Uele region of northern DRC
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DOI：
10.1016/j.biocon.2014.01.002
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发表时间：
2014-03-01
影响因子：
5.9
通讯作者：
Menken, Steph B. J.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Hicks, Thurston C.;Tranquilli, Sandra;Menken, Steph B. J.
随着类人猿数量在其大部分活动范围内的下降，获得其分布和数量的全球图景至关重要，以便指导保护活动并提供监测其趋势的基线数据。虽然类人猿是受欢迎的、有魅力的物种，但我们仍然没有完全了解它们的分布和数量，这阻碍了它们的长期保护。我们通过提供关于东部黑猩猩（Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii）在刚果民主共和国（DRC）北部的分布和数量的信息来强调这个问题，该地区迄今为止很少受到关注。我们于2005年在Bill地区进行了一次作物巢调查，并于2004年至2009年在Bas-Uele地区进行了探索性侦察步行（recces）。在比尔，偏远森林的巢遭遇率为每公里4.84个（CI = 2.78-8.55），靠近公路的地区为每公里1.92个（CI = 1.08-3.43）。2012年，我们重复了原始样带调查的一部分，发现在那段时间里，巢相遇率保持稳定。在我们穿越该地区的徒步旅行中，我们在所有被调查的森林中，以及在最大的人口中心13公里内，都遇到了黑猩猩的巢穴。我们的研究结果表明，乌勒中部地区和邻近地区是现存最大的连续东部黑猩猩种群之一的家园，这些种群延伸至少5万公里(2)，可能代表着数千只个体，但由于栖息地破坏、采矿和丛林肉贸易的压力越来越大，它们的数量正在下降。到目前为止，这一种群一直不被研究人员发现，也没有受到保护。我们的研究结果反映了我们目前对类人猿分布和丰度的理解存在差距，并强调了在评估物种状况和提出指导保护工作的建议之前获得更可靠和完整的数据的重要性。(C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd.版权所有。
With great ape populations in decline across much of their range, it is crucial to obtain a global picture of their distribution and abundance, in order to guide conservation activities and to provide baseline data against which to monitor their trends. Although great apes are popular, charismatic species, we still do not possess a complete understanding of their distribution and abundance, which hinders their long-term protection. We highlight this problem by providing information on the distribution and abundance of the Eastern chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) in the northern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a region which has until now received little attention. We conducted a standing crop nest survey in the Bill area in 2005 and exploratory reconnaissance walks (recces) across the Bas-Uele region between 2004 and 2009. At Bill, the nest encounter rate in the remote forest was 4.84 nests per km (CI = 2.78-8.55) and in the area closer to the road it was 1.92 nests per km (CI = 1.08-3.43). In 2012, we repeated a part of the original transect survey and found that the nest encounter rate had remained stable over that period. On our recce walks across the region, we encountered chimpanzee nests in all forests surveyed, and within 13 km of the largest population centers. Our results suggest that the Central Uele landscape and neighboring regions are home to one of the largest remaining continuous populations of Eastern chimpanzees, that extends across at least 50,000 km(2), likely representing thousands of individuals, but which is falling under increasing pressure from habitat destruction, mining and the bushmeat trade. This population has until now remained hidden from researchers and is not protected. Our results reflect gaps in our current understanding of ape distribution and abundance, and highlight the importance of obtaining more sound and complete data before assessing species status and making recommendations to guide conservation efforts. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.