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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
agricultural and biological sciences
Remote sensing analysis reveals habitat, dispersal corridors and expanded distribution for the Critically Endangered Cross River gorilla Gorilla gorilla diehli
ORYX, Volume 46, No. 2, Year 2012
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Description
Habitat loss and fragmentation are among the major threats to wildlife populations in tropical forests. Loss of habitat reduces the carrying capacity of the landscape and fragmentation disrupts biological processes and exposes wildlife populations to the effects of small population size, such as reduction of genetic diversity and increased impact of demographic stochasticity. The Critically Endangered Cross River gorilla Gorilla gorilla diehli is threatened in particular by habitat disturbance because its population is small and it lives in an area where high human population density results in intense exploitation of natural resources. We used remotely-sensed data to assess the extent and distribution of gorilla habitat in the Cross River region and delineated potential dispersal corridors. Our analysis revealed > 8,000 km 2 of tropical forest in the study region, 2,500 km 2 of which is in or adjacent to areas occupied by gorillas. We surveyed 12 areas of forest identified as potential gorilla habitat, 10 of which yielded new records of gorillas. The new records expand the known range of the Cross River gorilla by > 50%, and support genetic analyses that suggest greater connectivity of the population than previously assumed. These findings demonstrate that considerable connected forest habitat remains and that the area could potentially support a much larger gorilla population if anthropogenic pressures such as hunting could be reduced. © 2011 Fauna & Flora International.
Authors & Co-Authors
Bergl, Richard A.
United States, Carolina
North Carolina Zoological Park
Warren, Ymke
Cameroon, Yaounde
Wildlife Conservation Society
Nicholas, Aaron
Cameroon, Yaounde
Wildlife Conservation Society
Dunn, Andrew
Nigeria, Calabar
Wildlife Conservation Society-nigeria
Imong, Inaoyom S.
Nigeria, Calabar
Wildlife Conservation Society-nigeria
Sunderland-Groves, Jacqueline L.
Cameroon, Yaounde
Wildlife Conservation Society
Indonesia, Bogor
Center for International Forestry Research, West Java
Oates, John F.
United States, New York
Hunter College
Statistics
Citations: 44
Authors: 7
Affiliations: 5
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1017/S0030605310001857
ISSN:
00306053
e-ISSN:
13653008
Research Areas
Genetics And Genomics
Study Design
Cross Sectional Study