Studies on seasonal change in habitat use by African great apes and conservation of tropical rain forest

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This study examined how chimpanzees and bonobos of genus Pan adapt to the seasonal change in environment, by comparison of the ecological researches in various types of the tropical forest in Africa.In the Kalinzu Forest, Uganda, which situates in a marginal area of the rain forest, we studied the variation of food productivity in different vegetation types in different seasons. We revealed that the density of chimpanzees depends largely on the tree species composition of each vegetation type, rather than whether it is primary or secondary vegetation. We also revealed that chimpanzees shift the use of various types of vegetation in different seasons, and that chimpanzees depend on the fruit of Musanga trees that are widely found in the secondary vegetation, in the season when the fruit productivity is low in the primary vegetation.In Ugala area, Tanzania, which situates in the dry open forest, chimpanzees used a much larger home range than chimpanzees in the wet forest. As we know more … More about their habitat use, chance of direct observation of chimpanzees in this area increased dramatically. Though not sufficient yet, we can expect further results of future studies.In the Wamba area, Democratic Republic of Congo, which situates in the central part of the rain forest, study of bonobos had been long interrupted by civil war since 1996. However, in 2002, we could resume the research with the support of Congolese research cooperators. We could rehabituate the study groups of bonobos, and now we could establish a setup to start detailed ecological surveys.As for the study for conservation of tropical forest, we made a monitoring of the effect of logging activities and process of recovery after the harvest in the Kalinzu Forest. We found that even a selective logging gives a considerable damage on the forest floor, and therefore it takes much longer time for recovery than expected. According to our report, the Forest Department of Uganda made a research for sustainable use of the forest, and decided to realize the sustainable use of this forest by introducing ecotourism. Less