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Amphibians and Reptiles of the Lac Télé Community Reserve, Likouala Region, Republic of Congo (Brazzaville)

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Amphibians and Reptiles of the Lac Télé Community Reserve, Likouala Region, Republic of Congo (Brazzaville) Herpetological Conservation and Biology 2(2):75-86 Submitted: 6 April 2007; Accepted: 4 June 2007. AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES OF THE LAC TÉLÉ COMMUNITY RESERVE, LIKOUALA REGION, REPUBLIC OF CONGO (BRAZZAVILLE) 1,2 3 3 3 KATE JACKSON , ANGE-GHISLAIN ZASSI-BOULOU , LISE-BETHY MAVOUNGOU AND SERGE PANGOU 1Department of Biology, Whitman College, 345 Boyer Ave., Walla Walla, WA 99362,USA 2Corresponding author, e-mail: [email protected] 3Groupe d’Etude et de Recherche sur la Diversité Biologique, BP 2400 Brazzaville, République du Congo Abstract.—We report here the results of the first herpetofaunal survey of the flooded forest of the Likouala Region of the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville). Collecting was carried out during the rainy seasons of 2005 and 2006, at two sites, one within the Lac Télé Community Reserve, and another just outside its borders. We compare the herpetofaunal assemblages encountered at the two sites, document microhabitat use by species, discuss their relative abundance, and compare our results to those of other herpetological surveys of forested areas of central Africa. We documented 17 amphibian and 26 reptile species. We report a significant range extension for Hemidactylus pseudomuriceus; as well as the first report from the Congo of the frog, Hymenochirus curtipes. Resumé.—Cet article rapporte les résultats de la première étude herpétologique menée dans la forêt inondée de la région de la Likouala en République du Congo (Brazzaville). Nous avons collectionnés des spécimens en 2005 et 2006, durant la saison des pluies, en deux endroits : l’un à l’intérieur de la Réserve Communautaire du Lac Télé, l’autre tout juste hors de ses limites. Nous discutons les résultats de notre échantillonnage en comparant les communautés d’espèces trouvées dans les deux sites étudiés, leur micro-habitat et leur densité relative. Nous comparons ces résultats à ceux d’autres études herpétologiques en régions forestières d’Afrique centrale. Nous présentons une liste commentée de 17 espèces de batraciens et de 26 espèces de reptiles. Nous y incluons une observation sur la remarquable extension de la zone de répartition, jusque là connue, du gecko Hemidactylus pseudomuriceus, et aussi la première observation du Congo de la grenouille, Hymenochirus curtipes. Key Words.—Africa; amphibians; biodiversity; Congo; flooded forest; reptiles INTRODUCTION Congo is largely flooded forest habitat. Both of these areas are part of the forest of the Congo River drainage The amphibians and reptiles of central Africa represent basin. We know of no previous herpetofaunal survey of one of the world’s most poorly studied herpetofaunas. the Likouala flooded forest (also referred to as “swamp Lawson and Klemens (2001) presented an extensive forest”). review of herpetological field studies in and around central The 104,088 km2 northern Congo forest is imminently Africa, ranging from Cameroon to Angola to Tanzania, threatened by logging while its flora and fauna are still from the colonial period to 2001. They suggested that the virtually unstudied. Poulsen and Clarke (2002) reported great differences in numbers of species known from that only 35% of the entire forested area was not already different countries represent only differences in sampling granted to a logging company. Approximately 62,500 km2 effort, not in actual species diversity. As examples, they of the Congo forest constitutes swamp forest. The Lac Téle compared well-studied, species-rich Cameroon with Community Reserve (LTCR), operated by the New York poorly-studied Central African Republic from which a based Wildlife Conservation Society, protects 4,400 km2 relatively small number of species are known. Not a single of forest (Poulsen and Clarke 2002). The only glimmer of reference is made to the Republic of Congo. hope is that the swamp forest biome may be partially A thorough search of the existing literature did turn up a protected because of the lack of highly valuable timber handful of herpetofaunal surveys of the Congo. Each was trees and the difficulty and expense of logging in swamps. carried out in the Kouilou River basin and in the Mayombe Our study documented reptile and amphibian species in forest, in the extreme south of the country, a forested area the flooded forest. Given the absence of previous studies continuous with Gabon (Laurent 1961; Trape 1985; Largen of the region, and the very difficult logistics of working in 1991; Largen and Dowsett 1991; Rasmussen 1991). The this area, our objective was simply to document the only exception is Guibé (1946) who reported a one-page presence of species and to record anything we learned list of 13 amphibian and five reptile species collected in about their natural history. Our hope was to provide a the Sangha region, the northwestern corner of the country. preliminary species list as a starting point for conservation In contrast to the terra firma forest of the Sangha Region, efforts. If the herpetofauna of the swamp forest is to be the Likouala Region, covering the eastern half of northern © 2007. Kate Jackson. All Rights Reserved. Jackson et al.—Amphibians and Reptiles of the Lac Télé Community Reserve FIGURE 1. Map of the area of study indicating (a) position of the Republic of Congo in Africa (black polygon), (b) the forested northern part of the Congo, and (c) a close-up of the area of study, indicating (A) the 2005 study site near the village of Ganganya Brousse, and (B) the 2006 site near the village of Impongui. Adapted from a map by the Centre de Recherche Géographique et de Production Cartographique, CERGEC Avenue de l’OUA BP 125, Brazzaville. protected, the first step must be to determine what is villages. The second site was in terra firma forest near the present. village of Impongui (N 001º 04.610’, E 017º 17.981), deep MATERIALS AND METHODS within the LTCR. We sampled this site in November 2006 for four weeks. Habitat was primarily terra firma forest, We collected amphibians and reptiles at two sites in the open-river, including flooded savannah, separated from the Likouala forest. Crocodiles, turtles, Rock Pythons (Python land by a border of flooded forest with very deep water sebae), and varanid and chameleonid lizards were not (Fig. 2. a, b). collected because these taxa have official protection (Dowsett 1991). Although we did not collect these Collecting methods.—We used several methods to species, we documented their presence if we observed sample amphibians and reptiles in order to target different them. Otherwise, we sampled all amphibian, lizard, and taxa. We set gill nets in the water, in the hope of catching snake species. All specimens were preserved as vouchers. aquatic snakes. We set 450 m of net at the Ganganya site, where the water was waist to chest deep, allowing the nets Study sites.—Our project was carried out at two sites, to be checked daily on foot. At Impongui we set 125 m of during the rainy season, in two consecutive years (Fig. 1). net. At this site the water was deep enough to require the In October-November, 2005, KJ camped for five weeks, use of a pirogue (dugout canoe) to check the nets. We near the village of Ganganya Brousse, on a patch of dry constructed pitfall traps and drift fences in terra firma land surrounded by swamp forest (N 001º 30.848’, E 017º forest for the sampling of forest leaf-litter taxa. At the 56.272’). It was not possible to obtain a permit to work Ganganya site we had no plastic buckets to line the holes, within the LTCR, so a site was chosen in similar habitat and not a single specimen was captured. At Impongui, we just outside the borders of the reserve. The nearest village built a wire mesh drift fence 100 m in length, with plastic was Ganganya Brousse. KJ collected in the waters of the buckets sunk into the ground at 10 m intervals along its flooded forest surrounding the camp and in forest puddles. length. We drilled holes in the bottoms of the buckets for Locals collected many specimens, mainly from nearby drainage during rain, and then covered the holes with wire 76 Herpetological Conservation and Biology 2(2):75-86 mesh secured by duct tape in order to TABLE 1. Amphibians and reptiles collected at the Lac Télé Community Reserve, Likouala prevent small animals from escaping Region, Republic of Congo (Brazzaville) and the generalized microhabitat located at the capture sites. through the holes. We checked the nets and pitfall traps daily. We actively Species Ganganya Impongui Village Forest Water searched by day in the forest along the Amphibia: Anura edge of the water, and in the village, Amnirana albolabris X X Aubria masako X X including turning over of logs and other Aubria subsigillata X X potential refugia such as piles of bricks. Bufo camerunensis X X We captured lizards, amphibians and non- Bufo maculatus X X venomous snakes by hand, and used a Bufo regularis X X X X Cryptothylax greshoffi X X X field hook and 12” hemostat to handle Hoplobatrachus occipitalis X X X venomous snakes. At night we used Hymenochirus curtipes X X headlamps to search, primarily for Hyperolius sp. X X amphibians, in the vegetation near the Phrynobatrachus auritus X X Leptopelis brevirostris X X edge of the water. Villagers collected Phrynobatrachus hylaois X X X many specimens, mainly from the village, Phrynobatrachus sp. X X X and contributed these to our project. Ptychadena perreti X X X X Schoutedenella sylvatica X X Silurana epitropicalis X X X Processing of specimens.—We Xenopus fraseri X X photographed at least one representative Reptilia: Squamata: Sauria of each species. We euthanized Agama agama X X amphibians by applying a drop of Hemidactylus fasciatus X X Hemidactylus mabouia X X X X benzocaine gel to the head, and reptiles by Hemidactylus pseudomuriceus X X X X intracardiac injection of a 5% solution of Lygosoma fernandi X X X procaine (Altig 1980).
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