Primate Census and Habitat Evaluation in the Tana Delta Region, Kenya

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Primate Census and Habitat Evaluation in the Tana Delta Region, Kenya Primate census and habitat evaluation in theTana delta region, Kenya P.K.Muoria,G.M.Karere,N.N.MoindeandM.A.Suleman Institute of Primate Research, National Museums of Kenya, Karen, Nairobi, Kenya indige© ne de la re¨ gion du delta du £euve Tana, au Kenya. Abstract On a spe¨ cialement fait attention au colobe bai du £euve Nineteen indigenous forest patches in the Tana River Tana (Procolobus rufomitratus Peters) et au cercoce© be a© delta region, Kenya were surveyed between October and creª te (Cercocebus galeritus Peters) quisonttoutdeux ende¨ - November 2000 for primates and habitat disturbance. miques de la re¨ gion. Les perturbations de l' habitat, e¨ vi- Special emphasis was placed on the endangered Tana dentes dans la foreª t, comprennent des coupes d'arbres, River red colobus (Procolobus rufomitratus Peters) and la re¨ coltedemate¨ riau pour les toitures, le ramassage de crested mangabeys (Cercocebus galeritus galeritus Peters), bois de feu, la construction de digues, des cultures, la both of which are endemic to the region. Habitat distur- re¨ colte de vin de palme et la pre¨ paration de charbon de bances evident in the forests included cutting of trees, bois. On a de¨ nombre¨ un total de 85 groupes appartenant harvesting of thatching material, ¢rewood collection, a© 5espe© ces de primates. Ils comprenaient 18 groupes de dyke construction, cultivation, palm wine tapping and colobes bais, 10 de cercoce© bes a© creª te, 22 de babouins charcoal burning. Atotal of 85 groups of ¢ve primate spe- (Papio cynocephalus L.), 31 de cercopithe© ques a© diade© me cies were counted. These comprised eighteen, ten, 22,31 (Cercopithecus mitis Wolf)et4degrivets(Cercopithecus and four groups of red colobus, crested mangabey, aethiops L.), respectivement. On a note¨ une distribution baboons (Papio cynocephalus L.), sykes monkeys (Cerco- plus importante de colobes bais et de cercoce© bes a© creª te pithecus mitis Wolf) and vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus que ne le rapportaient de pre¨ ce¨ dentes e¨ tudes, ce qui aethiops L.), respectively. Awider distribution of red colo- signi¢e qu'ils sont probablement plus nombreux qu'on bus and crested mangabeys than was documented pre- ne l'avait note¨ jusqu'alors. On e¨ met l'hypothe© se que des viously was noted, implying that they are probably e¨ tudes approfondies de certaines espe© ces conside¨ re¨ es more abundant than hitherto reported. It is hypothesized commee¨ tant endangera© l'e¨ chelle mondiale conduiraient that extensive studies on some fauna considered endan- probablement a© en rede¨ ¢nir le statut de conservation. gered world-wide would probably rede¢ne their conser- De nouvelles e¨ tudes dans la re¨ gion de la basse-Tana vation status. Future studies in the lower Tana River devraient couvrir les foreª ts jusque-la© non e¨ tudie¨ es et region should cover the previously unsurveyed forests s' inte¨ resser aux moyens d'in£e¨ chir la destruction de la and focus on ways of curbing forest destruction. foreª t. Key words: endangered primates, group density, habitat disturbance Introduction Re¨ sume¨ Tana River forests are home to eight primate species Enoctobreetnovembre2000,onasurveille¨ les primates (Butynski & Mwangi, 1994). These include the endan- et les perturbation de l' habitat dans dix-neuf |ª lots de foreª t gered Tana River red colobus (Procolobus rufomitratus Peters) and crested mangabey (Cercocebus galeritus galer- itus Peters), both of which are endemic to the region. Correspondence: Mbaruk A. Suleman, Division of Ecology, The need to conserve these two primate species and the Conservation and Diseases, Institute of Primate Research, National Museums of Kenya, PO Box 24481, Karen, Nairobi, biodiversityof their unique riverine forest habitats neces- Kenya. Tel.: 254 -2-882571/4; fax: 254-2-882546; e-mail: sitated the establishment of Tana River Primate National [email protected] Reserve (TRPNR) in 1976. They are endangered due to # 2003 African Journal of Ecology, Afr.J.Ecol. , 41,157^163 157 158 P.K .M u o r i a et al. the continued destruction of their habitats (IUCN,1996). Study area Previous studies have shown that habitat destruction can lead to decline in primate populations (Gillespie This study was carried out in nineteen forest patches et al., 1999; Steic & Overdor¡, 1999) and even to their along the lower Tana River basin about 30 km south of extinction (Yongzu et al.,1989; Boinski,1994). It is there- theTRPNR (Fig.1).The forest patches are some of the over fore important that distribution and population sizes of 70 forests located on either side of the Tana River. The the endangered primate species are monitored regularly maximum daily temperature ranges from 30 to 388C to develop e¡ective long-term conservation and manage- while the minimum daily range is 17^258C. January ment strategies. and February are the hottest months. Annual rainfall is Other primate species found in the lower Tana River from 500 to 600 mm and is bimodal in distribution with forests are the lowland sykes monkey (Cercopithecus mitis peaks in March^April and November^December. The Wolf), vervet monkey (Cercopithecus aethiops L.), yellow mainvegetationtypes inthe regionaregrassland,wooded baboon (Papiocynocephalus L.), garnett'sgalago (Otolemur grassland, bushland, deciduous woodland and lowland garnettii Ogilby), senegal galago (Galago senegalensis E. evergreen forest (Andrews et al. , 1975). Pe r io d ic d ist u r- Geo¡roy) and Zanzibar galago (Galago zanzibaricus bance through £ooding and human activities has led to Matschie). A number of primates are often important the creation and maintenance of a patchy distribution agriculturalpests (Masau & Strum,1984; Fortham-Quick, of isolated forests oneither side of the river.The presence 1986; Else,1991;Boulton, Horrocks & Baulu,1996;Naugh- of mature mango trees (Mangifera indica L.) in some of ton-Treves et al., 1998; Naughton-Treves, 1998; Siex & the forest patches indicate that they were under cultiva- Struhsaker, 1999; Hill, 2000; Saj, Sicote & Paterson, tion in the past. 2001). The crop raiding activities of primates can lead to Tana Delta Irrigation Project (TDIP) is a rice irrigation the a¡ected human communities having negative atti- project located south of the TRPNR on the lower course tudes towards conservation, thus jeopardising the long- of Tana River (Fig.1). It covers an area of160 km2. About term survivalof the endangered species and theirhabitat. 20% of the total population of the two endangered pri- Therefore, data on the number and the distribution of mate species inhabit forest patches within TDIP all primate species in the Tana delta area is needed for (Butynski & Mwangi, 1994). The Tana and Athi Rivers theformulationofappropriate conservationandmanage- Development Authority (TARDA) administer the project ment strategies. and the forest patches withinthe area.Twelve of the nine- Tana River red colobus and crested mangabeys have teen forest patches in which this study was conducted been censused in the past to determine their distribution are located within this area. and population sizes (Groves, Andrews & Horne, 1974; Andrews, Groves & Horne,1975; Homewood,1976;Marsh, Materials and methods 1978,1986; Ochiago, 1990). In 1994, Butynski & Mwangi (1994) surveyed the two endangered species and other Forest status primates inside and outside of the TRNPR. However, not all the forest patches in the lower Tana River were sur- The presence or absence of destructive human acti- veyed during that year. In our study,we additionally cov- vities, which included cuttingof trees, burning, dyke con- ered some of the forest patches that had not been struction, charcoal burning, harvesting of thatching censused before. Data collection took place between material, wine tapping or complete clearing mainly for October and November 2000.The objectives of this study cultivation, observed in each forest patch was recorded. were to determine: (1) the destructive human activities The overall status of the forests was assessed by observa- in theTana River gallery forests in the south of TRPNR, tion of the damage using a scale of1^4. Scale number1 (2) the numberand distributionof Tana River red colobus, was recorded if little or no destruction was seen. Scale 2 crested mangabeys, yellowbaboons, sykes and vervet was used when moderate levels of disturbance were monkey groups in these forest patches, and (3) the rela- observed, whereas scale 3 was used when extensive tionships between primate groups density and the level human disturbances were observed but no section of of forest destruction, forest patch size and the distance the forest was completely cleared. Forests in which from the nearest forest patch. sections had been cleared were assigned category 4 # 2003 African Journal of Ecology, Afr.J.Ecol. , 41,157^163 Tana River primates and forest destruction 159 Fig1 Location of forest patches in theTana River basin. Inset: map of Kenya showing the location of theTana River. # 2003 African Journal of Ecology, Afr.J.Ecol. , 41,157^163 160 P.K .M u o r i a et al. (i.e. the highest level of disturbance). The dimensions of sityandthesizeoftheforestpatchandthedistanceoffor- forest patches were measured using Geographical Posi- est patch from the neighbouring patch. tioning System (GPS) (Garmin Corporation,1998). Forest patch size was calculated from the length and width. Results Where the forest was irregular in shape, GPS readings were taken on several points along the periphery of the Destructive human activities forest. The points were plotted on graph paper and the area calculated. The GPS was also used to determine dis- Avariety of human activities were observed in the nine- tances between forest patches. teen forest patches in the lower Tana River basin. Cutting of poles was the most common activity (Table1). Burning and dyke construction were also observed at high fre- Primate census quencies. Other activities recorded were harvesting of The quadrat census method described by Struhsaker thatching materials, cultivation, palm wine tapping, (1981) was used in this study.It had previously been used honey harvesting, trapping of wild animals and charcoal in this region (Marsh, 1978, 1986; Kahumbu & Davies, burning (Table1).
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