Anthropogenic Disturbance in Nocturnal Primates & Conservation Perception in Zaraninge Forest, Tanzania
(2015) BION01 20142Degree Projects in Biology
- Abstract
- Galagos are an understudied family of primates which inhabit much of Sub-Saharan Africa, some of which are potentially at risk. The coastal forests of East Africa are home to many galagos, however this habitat is under threat from an increasing human population seeking timber, charcoal and land for agriculture, amongst other pressures. This study used repeated transect methods when estimating the density of both the Zanzibar galago (Galagoides zanzibaricus) and Garnett’s galago (Otolemur garnetti) in a human influenced forest and a relatively undisturbed forest which were otherwise similar. Densities of Zanzibar galagos were not significantly influenced by human activities. Garnett’s galago numbers showed a statistically significant though... (More)
- Galagos are an understudied family of primates which inhabit much of Sub-Saharan Africa, some of which are potentially at risk. The coastal forests of East Africa are home to many galagos, however this habitat is under threat from an increasing human population seeking timber, charcoal and land for agriculture, amongst other pressures. This study used repeated transect methods when estimating the density of both the Zanzibar galago (Galagoides zanzibaricus) and Garnett’s galago (Otolemur garnetti) in a human influenced forest and a relatively undisturbed forest which were otherwise similar. Densities of Zanzibar galagos were not significantly influenced by human activities. Garnett’s galago numbers showed a statistically significant though slight increase when their environment displayed signs of modification by human activities. Results also indicate that the future use of territory mapping style methods may give reliable estimates of species that have been difficult to monitor in the past, as well as providing a more comprehensive view of social structure in surveyed populations. A survey of 60 households in close proximity to these forests found that 56.7% of household heads thought that conservation of the forests and their resources were worth conserving. It also identified that problems need to be addressed in the management of the park to prevent loss of crops for farmers and that many of them resent stringent restrictions they must abide by when living in proximity to this protected forest. This study shows that proposed agroecosytems to be used to help the conservation of primates will only aid certain species and that further study is necessary of the Galago family to determine how they will fare in rapidly changing coastal forest environments. (Less)
- Popular Abstract
- Galagos are a family of primates which inhabit much of Sub-Saharan Africa, some of which are potentially at risk. Many species are not very well studied and so as a result there is little known about them. Some species of galago often co-exist in the same habitats as they exploit different resources of the environments. Many species inhabit the coastal forests of East Africa, including some potentially threatened species. The coastal forests of East Africa are home to many species of galagos, however this habitat is under threat from an increasing human population seeking timber, charcoal and land for agriculture. For these reasons it was thought necessary to measure population changes in some species when their habitat has been modified... (More)
- Galagos are a family of primates which inhabit much of Sub-Saharan Africa, some of which are potentially at risk. Many species are not very well studied and so as a result there is little known about them. Some species of galago often co-exist in the same habitats as they exploit different resources of the environments. Many species inhabit the coastal forests of East Africa, including some potentially threatened species. The coastal forests of East Africa are home to many species of galagos, however this habitat is under threat from an increasing human population seeking timber, charcoal and land for agriculture. For these reasons it was thought necessary to measure population changes in some species when their habitat has been modified in some way by human activity, which has been suggested as a useful tool in the conservation of some primate species.
This study estimated the density of both the Zanzibar galago (Galagoides zanzibaricus) and Garnett’s galago (Otolemur garnetti) in a human influenced forest and a relatively undisturbed forest, which were similar in other aspects. Densities of Zanzibar galagos were not significantly influenced by human activities. Garnett’s galago numbers showed a statistically significant, though slight increase, when their environment had been changed in some way by humans.
Results also indicate that the future use of territory mapping style methods may give reliable estimates of galago species which have been difficult to monitor in the past, as well as providing a more comprehensive view of social structure in surveyed populations. A survey of households in close proximity to these forests found that 56.7% of household heads thought that conservation of the forests and their resources were worth conserving. It also identified that problems need to be addressed in the management of the park to prevent loss of crops for farmers and that many of them resent stringent restrictions they must abide by when living in proximity to this protected forest.
This study shows that proposed agroecosytems to be used in the conservation of primates will only aid certain species and that further study is necessary of the Galago family to determine how they will fare in rapidly changing coastal forest environments. Further study is needed into these animals in order to better understand them and how they will respond to human induced changes to these environments. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/7764128
- author
- Murphy, Adam
- supervisor
-
- Ola Olsson LU
- organization
- course
- BION01 20142
- year
- 2015
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- language
- English
- id
- 7764128
- date added to LUP
- 2015-08-19 08:49:21
- date last changed
- 2015-10-01 10:56:10
@misc{7764128,
abstract = {{Galagos are an understudied family of primates which inhabit much of Sub-Saharan Africa, some of which are potentially at risk. The coastal forests of East Africa are home to many galagos, however this habitat is under threat from an increasing human population seeking timber, charcoal and land for agriculture, amongst other pressures. This study used repeated transect methods when estimating the density of both the Zanzibar galago (Galagoides zanzibaricus) and Garnett’s galago (Otolemur garnetti) in a human influenced forest and a relatively undisturbed forest which were otherwise similar. Densities of Zanzibar galagos were not significantly influenced by human activities. Garnett’s galago numbers showed a statistically significant though slight increase when their environment displayed signs of modification by human activities. Results also indicate that the future use of territory mapping style methods may give reliable estimates of species that have been difficult to monitor in the past, as well as providing a more comprehensive view of social structure in surveyed populations. A survey of 60 households in close proximity to these forests found that 56.7% of household heads thought that conservation of the forests and their resources were worth conserving. It also identified that problems need to be addressed in the management of the park to prevent loss of crops for farmers and that many of them resent stringent restrictions they must abide by when living in proximity to this protected forest. This study shows that proposed agroecosytems to be used to help the conservation of primates will only aid certain species and that further study is necessary of the Galago family to determine how they will fare in rapidly changing coastal forest environments.}},
author = {{Murphy, Adam}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Anthropogenic Disturbance in Nocturnal Primates & Conservation Perception in Zaraninge Forest, Tanzania}},
year = {{2015}},
}