Chimpanzees surviving in a fragmented high‐altitude forest landscape of the Congolese Albertine Rift

Abstract

This paper documents a community of eastern chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii Giglioli, 1872) inhabiting three relict forest fragments situated on the Lake Albert escarpment, down the Ituri highlands, of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The area explored had a combined forested surface of ±18.15 km 2 in 2017, shrinking by 1.2% per year between 2010 and 2015. Between 2015 and 2017, we found 160 chimpanzee nests along 37.6 km of pilot walks, some up to 2,000 m altitude. Another 123 nests logged along 6.7 km transects led to an estimate of chimpanzee density of 4.62 weaned individuals per square kilometer of forest habitat. Camera-trap images and direct observations revealed that this community is comprised of a minimum of 42 weaned individuals, which translates into an estimated density of 2.3 chimpanzees per square kilometer. The increasing rate of forest degradation threatens to erode the cultural and genetic diversity of nonhuman primates in

Identification of the onchocerciasis vector in the Kakoi-Koda focus of the Democratic Republic of Congo

“…Indeed, from 2001 to 2018, the tree cover loss amounted to 4.5% and 5.2% respectively in the Mahagi and Djugu territories (across which the Kakoi-Koda focus lies) [ 20 ]. The Mount Aboro nature reserve has become totally deforested [ 21 ].…”

“…and Kigelia africana , and further up the slope where there is more rainfall, the vegetation is generally ‘Park Savanna’ with light tree cover and Digitaria short grass cover in the higher parts [ 13 , 15 , 22 ]. However, it is on the scarp slope that a third area of closed-canopy forest has recently been described by Laudisoit et al [ 21 ]. Situated below Mount Aboro, it partly overlaps the Kakoi-Koda focus, and covers a wide altitudinal range upwards from near the lake shore.…”

Identification of the onchocerciasis vector in the Kakoi-Koda focus of the Democratic Republic of Congo

“…Indeed, from 2001 to 2018, the tree cover loss amounted to 4.5% and 5.2% respectively in the Mahagi and Djugu territories (across which the Kakoi-Koda focus lies) (Global Forest Watch, 2020). The Mount Aboro nature reserve has become totally deforested (Laudisoit et al, 2021). The vegetation of the scarp slope facing Lake Albert has been described as ‘Dry Savanna’ near the bottom of the slope, with Acacia sp., Albizzia sp., Euphorbia sp.…”

“…and Kigelia africana , and further up the slope where there is more rainfall, the vegetation is generally ‘Park Savanna’ with light tree cover and Digitaria short grass cover in the higher parts (Lebrun, 1947; Meessen, 1951; Wiese, 1979). However, it is on the scarp slope that a third area of closed-canopy forest has recently been described by Laudisoit et al (2021). Situated below Mount Aboro, it partly overlaps the Kakoi-Koda focus, and covers a wide altitudinal range upwards from near the lake shore.…”

“…Situated below Mount Aboro, it partly overlaps the Kakoi-Koda focus, and covers a wide altitudinal range upwards from near the lake shore. This forest area is currently fragmented (S2 Images) but was probably much more extensive in the past, with current rates of deforestation estimated at 1.2% per year (Laudisoit et al, 2021). The forest fragments consist predominantly of secondary forest due to the extensive human activities while the larger montane forest galleries consist of a mixture of secondary and near-primary forests dominated by Myristicaceae, Sapotaceae, Annonaceae, Apocynaceae and Euphorbiaceae.…”