camera traps; Congo Basin; detection rate; Lobéké; richness; wildlife communities; Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Abstract :
[en] Estimating the richness and abundance of animal species remains central to any conservation strategy of a given area. In remote and challenging environments such as tropical forests, camera traps have proven to be successful in documenting secretive wildlife communities compared to other survey methods, as they allow continuous monitoring without the presence of a human observer. Here, we used camera traps to characterise the community of medium and large terrestrial mammals in the community zone of Lobéké National Park, in southeastern Cameroon. We deployed a grid of 40 camera traps over a 5-week period, recording 5156 independent detection events over 1284 camera days. We recorded 35 species, many of them showing high detection rates compared to other sites in central Africa. These results highlight the little disturbance of the studied area within the park despite its accessibility to local communities. These results obtained from a standardised approach using an expanding technology offer valuable information about the wildlife community of Lobéké, and new insights for reconciling human activities with wildlife conservation. [fr] Évaluer la richesse et l’abondance des espèces animales reste un élément clé de toute
stratégie de conservation d’une zone donnée. Dans les environnements éloignés et
difficiles tels que les forêts tropicales, les caméras-pièges se sont avérées efficaces
pour documenter les communautés secrètes d’animaux sauvages par rapport aux
autres méthodes d’enquête, car elles permettent un suivi continu sans la présence d’un
observateur humain. Dans cette étude, nous avons utilisé des caméras-pièges
pour
caractériser la communauté des mammifères terrestres de taille moyenne et grande
dans la zone communautaire du parc national de Lobeke, dans le sud-est
du Cameroun.
Sur une période de 5 semaines, nous avons déployé une grille de 40 caméras-pièges,
enregistrant 5156 événements de détection indépendants sur 1284 jours de
surveillance. 35 espèces ont été enregistrées, la plupart d’entre elles présentant des
taux de détection élevés par rapport à d’autres sites d’Afrique centrale. Les résultats obtenus montrent que la zone étudiée est peu perturbée au sein du parc, malgré
son accessibilité aux communautés locales. Grâce à ces résultats obtenus à partir
d’une approche standardisée utilisant une technologie en expansion, nous disposons
d’informations précieuses sur la communauté faunique de Lobéké et de nouvelles
perspectives pour concilier les activités humaines et la conservation de la faune.
Disciplines :
Zoology Life sciences: Multidisciplinary, general & others
Author, co-author :
Poulain, Florine ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département GxABT > Gestion des ressources forestières et des milieux naturels
Breuer, Thomas; World Wide Fund for Nature, Berlin, Germany
Fonteyn, Davy ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département GxABT > Gestion des ressources forestières et des milieux naturels ; Forêts et Sociétés, CIRAD, Montpellier, France ; Forêts et Sociétés, CIRAD, Université Montpellier, Montpellier, France
Lhoest, Simon ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département GxABT > Gestion des ressources forestières et des milieux naturels
Lushimba, Alain; World Wide Fund for Nature, Country Programme Office, Yaoundé, Cameroun, Cameroun
Ahanda, Yanick Achille; World Wide Fund for Nature, Country Programme Office, Yaoundé, Cameroun, Cameroun
Vermeulen, Cédric ; Université de Liège - ULiège > TERRA Research Centre > Gestion des ressources forestières et des milieux naturels
Language :
English
Title :
A camera trap survey in the community zone of Lobéké National Park (Cameroon) reveals a nearly intact mammalian community
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