[en] The duiker community in Central African rainforests includes a diversity of species that
can coexist in the same area. The study of their activity patterns is needed to better understand
habitat use or association between the species. Using camera traps, we studied the temporal
activity patterns, and quantified for the first time the temporal overlap and spatial co-occurrence
between species. Our results show that: (i) Two species are strongly diurnal: Cephalophus leucogaster and Philantomba congica, (ii) two species are mostly diurnal: C. callipygus and C. nigrifrons, (iii) one species is strongly nocturnal: C. castaneus, (iv) and one species is mostly nocturnal: C. silvicultor. Analyses of temporal activities (for five species) identified four species pairs that highly overlapped (Δ ≥ 0.80), and six pairs that weakly overlapped (Δ between 0.06 and 0.35). Finally, co-occurrence tests reveal a truly random co-occurrence (plt > 0.05 and pgt > 0.05) for six species pairs, and a positive co-occurrence (pgt < 0.05) for four pairs. Positive co-occurrences are particularly noted for pairs formed by C. callipygus with the other species (except C. nigrifrons). These results are essential for a better understanding of the coexistence of duikers and the ecology of poorly known species (C. leucogaster and C. nigrifrons), and provide clarification on the activity patterns of C. silvicultor which was subject to controversy. Camera traps proved then to be a powerful tool for studying the activity patterns of free-ranging duiker populations.
Research Center/Unit :
Terra Teaching and Research Centre, Forest Is life, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, Université de Liège
Cornelis, Daniel; French Agricultural Research Center for International Development (CIRAD), 34398 Montpellier CEDEX 5, France
Vermeulen, Cédric ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département GxABT > Laboratoire de Foresterie des régions trop. et subtropicales
Sonké, Bonaventure; Département de Biologie, Laboratoire de Botanique Systématique et d’Écologie, École Normale Supérieure, Université de Yaoundé I, BP 047 Yaoundé, Cameroon
Ntie, Stephan; Département de Biologie, Laboratoire de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire (LABMC), Université des Sciences et Techniques de Masuku (USTM), BP 941 Franceville, Gabon
Fayolle, Adeline ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département GxABT > Gestion des ressources forestières et des milieux naturels
Fonteyn, Davy ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département GxABT > Gestion des ressources forestières et des milieux naturels
Lhoest, Simon ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département GxABT > Gestion des ressources forestières et des milieux naturels
Yapi, Fabrice; Office Ivoirien des Parcs et Réserves, Yamoussoukro 225, Cote D’Ivoire
Sandrin, François; Independent Consultants, Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Situ Gede, Bogor Barat, Bogor Jawa 16115, Barat, Indonesia
Vanegas, Liliana; Independent Consultants, Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Situ Gede, Bogor Barat, Bogor Jawa 16115, Barat, Indonesia
Ayaya, Idriss; Faculté des Sciences Agronomiques, Université de l’Uélé, Haut-Uélé, Isiro BP 670, Congo
Hardy, Clément; Department of Biological Sciences, UQAM, Montréal, QC H3W 1R7, Canada
Le Bel, Sebastien; French Agricultural Research Center for International Development (CIRAD), 34398 Montpellier CEDEX 5, France
Doucet, Jean-Louis ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département GxABT > Laboratoire de Foresterie des régions trop. et subtropicales
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