| Full Name of Site |
Station d’Etudes Gabonaises pour la Conservation, |
|
Parc National de la Lopé-Okanda |
|
|
Country |
Gabon, Africa |
|
Location of base camp |
SEGC Research Station : 0° 10’ S, 11° 35’ E, |
| Mokeko district, Ogooué-Ivindo province, GABON | |
|
Status |
most area lies within the “Noyau Central” or fully protected core area, surrounded by an “Aire d´Exploitation Rationnelle”, protected |
| status since 1946. The Réserve de Faune is under review for | |
| redesignation as a National Park, probably before May 2002. | |
|
Area- study area |
SEGC gorilla study area : approx 100km² |
| Réserve de Faune de la Lopé-Okanda : 5,300km² | |
| Future National Park : 4,900km² | |
|
Study Period |
1983-2002 |
|
Focus of Project |
Research, conservation policy development |
|
Altitude |
100 – 700m |
|
Rainfall |
1500+/-213mm (1984-2000) |
|
Research Presence |
Permanent, but not full- time work on gorillas : 1-2 post-doctoral scientists; 1 PhD |
| student (not permanently on site due to writing periods and gaps between candidates); | |
| 2 research assistants since 1996 | |
|
Habituation |
Currently none, though from 1988-1993 one group was fair. |
|
Types of questions? |
The gorilla research has been wide ranging over the 19 years. Particular research foci on |
| gorillas have been (in rough order of relative depth of the research) | |
| a) broad behavioural ecology ; including diet description, group compositions, population, demography and home ranging | |
| b) habitat quantification ; including monthly phenology, vegetation mapping, tree and herb density measures | |
| c) ecological niche definition and competition in sympatry with common chimpanzees; incl. Dietary niche, keystone food use and | |
| behavioural adaptations to food crisis | |
| d) role as seed dispersers, including co-evolution with specialised trees | |
| e) social organisation and population demography ; including development and refining of several census methods, influence of | |
| other social factors on home range establishment, group transfer | |
| f) evolutionary history and phylogenetic relationships with other populations across Africa | |
| g) nest building behaviour | |
| h) individual identification from genetic material | |
| i) nutrition | |
| j) mental mapping and the role of group memory in ranging patterns | |
| k) health; including parasite loads, prevalence and definition of SIV infections, description of parasites and disease cases from wild populations | |
|
Conservation Projects? |
Guard training |
| Education | |
| Policy and Management involvement | |
| Ecotourism | |
|
Species studied in addition to WLGs |
Common chimpanzees |
| Grey cheeked mangabeys | |
| Black colobus | |
| Spot-nosed, crowned and moustached guenons | |
| Okoumé trees | |
| Caesalpiniaceae trees | |
| Mandrill | |
| Forest elephant | |
| Forest buffalo | |
| Leopard | |
|
Distance to closest village in km |
12km from research station, 9km from nearest part of study area |
|
Types of vegetation present at Site |
|
| savanna | present |
| gallery forest | present |
| previously logged secondary forest | present |
| streambed | present |
| open understory forest (Primary) | present |
| monodominant (Gilbertiodendron) | absent |
| Light gaps | present |
| Marantaceae forest | present |
| Swamp Forest | absent |
| Bais | absent |
|
Mammalian community |
Average figures for the forested part (majority) of the study area |
| individuals/km2 | |
| chimpanzees | 0.7 |
| elephants | 3.0 |
| buffalo | 0.3 |
| Colobus satanus | 13.6 |
| Lophocebus albigena | 8.6 |
| Cercopithecus cephus | 6.2 |
| Cercopithecus nictitans | 24.2 |
| Cercopithecus pogonias | 4.8 |
| Mandrillus sphinx | 10.2 |
| red river hog | 1.6 |
|
Human Influence |
|
| selective logging | most of study area around 25-30 yrs ago |
| hunting (snares. Traces, shots fired) | none at any time during research presence |
| gorillas a target? | |
| agriculture- distance to nearest field | >5km from study area gorilla range edges |
| tourism | daily in northern part of study area (savannas). None in study area |
| forests. Toursit contacts with study population gorillas are probably about twice a year. | |
|
predators |
Panthera pardus (confirmed) |
|
Methods Used |
|
| Indirect evidence (trail, feces) | yes |
| Nest to nest tracking | yes, several times per week |
| Direct behavioral sampling | rare |
| focal subject sampling | never |
|
Contact Information |
Kate Abernethy or Caroline Tutin |
|
SEGC, BP 7847, Libreville Gabon |
|
|
caroline.tutin@wanadoo.fr |
|
|
wcsgabon@assala.net |
|
|
wcsgabon@compuserve.com |
|
|
FAX : 00 871 761 373 064 |
|
|
Bibliography |
Tutin, CEG. & Oslisly, R. 1995. Homo, Pan and Gorilla : co-existance over 60,000 years at Lopé in central Gabon. Journal of Human Ecology. 28: 597-602. |
| Tutin, CEG. 1996. Ranging and social structure of lowland gorillas in the Lopé Reserve, Gabon. Pp58-70. In Great Ape Societies, WC McGrew, LF Marchant & T Nishida (eds.). Cambridge University Press. | |
| White, LJT & Tutin, CEG. 2001. Why chimpanzees and gorillas respond differently to logging: A cautionary tale from Gabon. In African Rain Forest Ecology and Conservation, B Weber, LJT White, A Vedder & L Naughton-Treves (eds.), Yale University Press. |