James Madison University JMU Scholarly Commons Masters Theses, 2020-current The Graduate School 8-2020 Population status, threats, and conservation of Preuss's red colobus (Piliocolobus preussi) and other diurnal primates in the Ndokbou forest, Littoral Region, Cameroon Ruth Bowers-Sword Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/masters202029 Part of the Biodiversity Commons, Environmental Studies Commons, Other Animal Sciences Commons, and the Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons Recommended Citation Bowers-Sword, Ruth, "Population status, threats, and conservation of Preuss's red colobus (Piliocolobus preussi) and other diurnal primates in the Ndokbou forest, Littoral Region, Cameroon" (2020). Masters Theses, 2020-current. 12. https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/masters202029/12 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the The Graduate School at JMU Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses, 2020-current by an authorized administrator of JMU Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Population status, threats, and conservation of Preuss’s red colobus (Piliocolobus preussi) and other diurnal primates in the Ndokbou forest, Littoral Region Cameroon Ruth Bowers-Sword A thesis submitted to the Graduate Faculty of JAMES MADISON UNIVERSITY In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Master of Science Department of Biology August 2020 FACULTY COMMITTEE: Committee Co-Chair: Dr. Roshna Wunderlich Committee Co-Chair: Dr. Joshua Linder Committee Members/ Readers: Dr. Dana Moseley Dedication To Emily Mettler, I will forever strive to carry the adventurous free spirit you embodied in everything you did. Unimaginably missed. ii Acknowledgements The completion of this project was made possible from funding and support provided by the James Madison University W. Dean Cocking Scholarship, Primate Conservation Inc., and the Global Wildlife Conservation Primate Action Fund. I am also incredibly grateful to the government of Cameroon and the Cameroon Ministry of Scientific Research and Innovation for permission to conduct research in Cameroon. There are many people that I would like thank for the success and completion of this project and for supporting me throughout my graduate school career. I would like to thank my co- advisors, Joshua Linder and Roshna Wunderlich, for the unwavering support and mentorship throughout my graduate career. My development and success as a researcher is almost entirely attributed to their guidance, support, and trust in my abilities from grant writing to surviving in the West African rain forest. There is no way to sufficiently acknowledge what their mentorship for the past two years has meant to my professional and personal growth. I would also like to thank Dana Moseley on my thesis committee for giving constant thoughtful advice and input on all aspects of this project, along with teaching me many important aspects of acoustic monitoring. Her feedback was integral in the completion of a well-thought- out, meaningful thesis project. Many thanks to the faculty, administrators, and fellow graduate students in the biology department for constantly giving advice and support for the past two years. The success in this project and my graduate career would not have been possible without their support. I have immense gratitude for the Ebo Forest Research Project, specifically Ekwoge Abwe and Bethan Morgan. There is no way I could have conducted this project without their willingness to bring this project onboard. Ekwoge provided indispensable in-country support from project logistics to proper medical care whenever it was needed. Bethan provided constant and readily available advice and support during all aspects of this project. iii I would also like to thank Peter Wrege for teaching me almost everything I know about passive acoustic monitoring. From sensor deployment to sound data analyses required for this project, my success in implementing passive acoustic monitoring would not have been possible without his willingness to teach and support me. I give great thanks to Carolyn Jost Robinson for giving me advice and encouragement on project management, Christos Astaras for GIS data, acoustic monitoring data and support, and advice on methods, and Richard Lawler for statistical advice and support. I would also like to thank Ekole Nelson Betobe and Arong Cletus Mosongo for their help and guidance with acoustic sensor deployment, giving me the tools I needed to manage myself and others in the forest, and constant encouragement throughout the entire duration of my time in Cameroon. I also greatly appreciate Nelson’s continued primate vocalization identification assistance. Numerous thanks to Chief Paul Diwo of Ndokmen Nord for not only allowing me to conduct research in his community but going above and beyond by housing me and constantly giving genuine support in my health and ability to successfully complete this project. A very special thanks to my field guide and close friend, Aaron Parfait for constantly believing in my abilities to survive the Ndokbou forest in the midst of every season, cliff ledge, and unexpected rainforest circumstance. He is one of the strongest people I know and his friendship and support kept me sane in the most difficult of times throughout this project. A big thanks to Esperance Atemkeng for agreeing to be a part of this project with a willingness to learn while also giving me immense support while in the field. Especially when it came to teaching me some integral French vocabulary. I would also like to acknowledge and thank all of the people from the villages of Ndokmen Nord and Yingui for welcoming me into their communities, providing me with field support, and continually agreeing to trek through the mountains of Mt. Sinai with me. iv Lastly, I would like to thank my family for their constant support in my international jungle endeavors and for providing me endless encouragement, love, and trust in my success in all that I choose to explore. v Table of Contents Dedication ........................................................................................................................................ ii Acknowledgements......................................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................ vi List of Tables .................................................................................................................................. ix List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ xii Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... xv Chapter 1: Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Threats to Biodiversity in African Tropical Rainforests .................................................... 1 1.2 Gulf of Guinea Forests ....................................................................................................... 2 1.2.1 Location and biodiversity ............................................................................. 2 1.2.2 Hunting and the bushmeat trade .................................................................. 5 1.2.3 Protected areas ............................................................................................. 6 1.3 Passive Acoustic Monitoring .............................................................................................. 7 1.4 Red Colobus Monkeys........................................................................................................ 8 1.4.1 Taxonomy & ecology .................................................................................... 8 1.4.2 Threats to red colobus monkeys and their conservation status .................... 9 1.5 Preuss’s Red Colobus ....................................................................................................... 12 1.5.1 Taxonomy ................................................................................................... 12 1.5.2 Ecology ....................................................................................................... 12 1.5.3 Geographic range ....................................................................................... 14 1.5.4 Preuss’s red colobus in the Ebo-Makombe-Ndokbou forest ...................... 16 1.5.5 Protection status ......................................................................................... 16 1.6 Research Questions and Objectives .................................................................................. 18 1.7 Description of Study Region ............................................................................................ 22 1.7.1 Location and topography ........................................................................... 22 1.7.2 Climate ....................................................................................................... 26 1.7.3 Vegetation ................................................................................................... 27 1.7.4 Human populations and activities .............................................................