Beth A. Kaplin

Dietary Variability of Mountain Gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda

Data on intraspecific dietary variability has important implications for understanding flexibility in foraging behavior, habitat utilization, population dynamics, and social behavior and may also assist in conservation efforts. We compared food availability and diet of a group of mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) at a high altitude site and 2 groups at a low altitude site in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda, from September 2001 to August 2002. Plant species diversity was greater at the low altitude site than at the high altitude site. The two groups at the low elevation consumed more plant species (140 species vs. 62 species), and a greater number of fruit species per mo (7 vs. 3 species) and per yr (36 vs. 11 species) than the high altitude group did. Furthermore, each group shared <51% of important fibrous food items in their diet with the 2 other groups. There is no significant difference in the proportion of days fruit remains were found in the dung among groups. Finally, according to Ivlevs electivity index, all groups positively selected the majority of food items in their diets. We attribute a large proportion of dietary variation between locations to differences in fruit availability and plant species composition between sites. Differences between groups at the low altitude site may be due to variation in food profitability—more profitable foods available to choose in the same area—within their overlapping home range, or group traditions. A comparison of our results with the diets of gorillas of the Virunga Volcanoes in Rwanda and Kahuzi-Biega, DRC shows that eastern gorilla populations have highly variable dietary patterns with limited overlap in species consumed among groups and populations.

Chimpanzee seed dispersal quantity in a tropical montane forest of Rwanda

We describe chimpanzee seed dispersal in the tropical montane forest of Nyungwe National Park (NNP), Rwanda, for a total of three years from January 1998 through May 2000 and May 2006 through March 2007. Relatively few studies have examined chimpanzee seed dispersal in montane communities where there are generally fewer fruiting tree species than in lowland forests. Such studies may reveal new insights into chimpanzee seed dispersal behaviors and the role that they play in forest regeneration processes. Chimpanzees are large‐bodied, highly frugivorous, and tend to deposit the seeds of both large‐ and small‐seeded fruits they consume in a viable state. We found that chimpanzees dispersed a total of 37 fruiting species (20 families) in their feces, 35% of which were large‐seeded trees (≥0.5 cm). A single large‐seeded tree, Syzygium guineense, was the only species to be dispersed in both wadges and feces. Based on phenological patterns of the top five large‐seeded tree species found in chimpanzee feces, our results indicate that chimpanzees do not choose fruits based on their availability. There was, however, a positive relationship between the presence of Ekebergia capensis seeds in chimpanzee feces and S. guineense seeds in chimpanzee wadges and their respective fruit availabilities. Our data reveal that proportionately fewer chimpanzee fecal samples at NNP contained seeds than that reported in two other communities in the Albertine Rift including one at mid‐elevation and one in montane forest. As in other chimpanzee communities, seeds of Ficus spp. were the most common genus in NNP chimpanzee feces. Our data do not support previous studies that describe Ficus spp. as a fallback food for chimpanzees and highlights an intriguing relationship between chimpanzees and the large‐seeded tree species, S. guineense. Am. J. Primatol. 71:901–911, 2009.

Participatory Planning: Using SWOT-AHP Analysis in Buffer Zone Management Planning

Land-use decisions and practices surrounding protected areas have proven to be contentious. Particularly in developing countries, buffer zones associated with protected areas must accommodate both conservation and development objectives, including agricultural interests. However, incorporating stakeholder group preferences in land-use decisions can be challenging and developing informed management approaches through a transparent process can be difficult. To assist the detailing of a responsive buffer zone management plan, this research used a process-oriented approach to elucidate the needs and priorities of stakeholders for the Nyungwe National Park (NNP) buffer zone in Rwanda. This article presents an application of the SWOT-AHP methodology (a strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat analysis hybridized with the analytic hierarchy process) as a particular way of engaging communities and interested groups in buffer zone management planning. This methodology engaged farmers, local governments, national agencies, non-governmental organizations, and other interested groups in a collaborative priority-setting activity. This approach may be useful to agroforestry and agricultural land-use managers when identifying differences in needs and perceptions between groups is important in order to negotiate and implement trade-offs in planning decisions.

Conservation Without Borders: Building Communication and Action Across Disciplinary Boundaries for Effective Conservation

Interdisciplinary approaches to conservation research and environmental management continue to garner interest among practitioners, academics, and students. Yet, cases of practitioners and researchers from different disciplines successfully working in concert towards an integrated conservation approach are rare. What is preventing practitioners of multiple disciplines from harmoniously working together? Why are practitioners and academics struggling to apply their graduate training to real world conservation? What is preventing the benefits of cooperation and partnerships between different disciplines addressing conservation from being realized? This special issue “Conservation without Borders: Building Communication and Action across Disciplinary Boundaries for Effective Conservation” asks readers to consider the numerous interpretations and implications of the phrase “Conservation without Borders” and to reflect on how different academic and disciplinary lenses can contribute to a more integrated approach to tackling conservation challenges. The articles that comprise this special issue offer readers insights into the ways in which different disciplines view conservation work and interdisciplinary approaches to environmental problems. Bringing these perspectives and approaches together in one place is a step towards improving communication across disciplines for the purpose of achieving more successful biodiversity conservation.

Seed-dispersal ecology of tropical montane forests

Seed-dispersal ecology in tropical montane forests (TMF) differs in some predictable ways from tropical lowland forests (TLF). Environmental, biogeographic and biotic factors together shape dispersal syndromes which in turn influence forest structure and community composition. Data on diaspore traits along five elevational gradients from forests in Thailand, the Philippines, Tanzania, Malawi and Nigeria showed that diaspore size decreases with increasing altitude, fleshy fruits remain the most common fruit type but the relative proportion of wind-dispersed diaspores increases with altitude. Probably corresponding to diaspore size decreasing with increasing elevation, we also provide evidence that avian body size and gape width decrease with increasing altitude. Among other notable changes in the frugivorous fauna across elevational gradients, we found quantitative evidence illustrating that the proportion of bird versus mammalian frugivores increases with altitude, while TMF primates decrease in diversity and density, and switch diets to include less fruit and more leaf proportionately. A paucity of studies on dispersal distance and seed shadows, the dispersal/predation balance and density-dependent mortality thwart much-needed conclusive comparisons of seed dispersal ecology between TMF and TLF, especially from understudied Asian forests. We examine the available evidence, reveal knowledge gaps and recommend research to enhance our understanding of seed dispersal ecology in tropical forests. This review demonstrates that seed dispersal is a more deterministic and important process in tropical montane forests than has been previously appreciated.

Terrestriality and the Maintenance of the Disjunct Geographical Distribution in the lhoesti Group

This chapter presents a hypothesis for the maintenance of the current geographical distribution of the lhoesti group. I have synthesized recent studies of the behavioral ecology of members of the lhoesti group with biogeographical information and forest history data. The geography of the Congo Basin and the history of glaciation in the region created the disjunct distribution in this group. The lhoesti group retreated along with their forests to montane regions during cool, arid phases. I hypothesize that their behavioral and ecological distinctions have maintained the disjunct distribution pattern. Specifically, their adaptation to a terrestrial lifestyle and reliance on terrestrial herbs found in forests serves as a limiting factor in their distribution. Additional data are needed to develop this hypothesis, and an understanding of the biogeography and ecology of the lhoesti group will help us to predict the impacts of environmental change and to plan for the conservation needs of this group.

Primates and Predators

Gursky, Sharon L. and K. A. I. Nekaris, editors. 2007. Primate anti-predator strategies. Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects. Springer, New York. xxiii + 393 p.

TREE PHENOLOGY IN A TROPICAL MONTANE FOREST IN RWANDA

129.00, ISBN: 978-0387-34807-0.