Bushmeat hunting changes regeneration of African rainforests - PubMed (original) (raw)

Bushmeat hunting changes regeneration of African rainforests

Edu O Effiom et al. Proc Biol Sci. 2013.

Abstract

To assess ecological consequences of bushmeat hunting in African lowland rainforests, we compared paired sites, with high and low hunting pressure, in three areas of southeastern Nigeria. In hunted sites, populations of important seed dispersers-both small and large primates (including the Cross River gorilla, Gorilla gorilla diehli)-were drastically reduced. Large rodents were more abundant in hunted sites, even though they are hunted. Hunted and protected sites had similar mature tree communities dominated by primate-dispersed species. In protected sites, seedling communities were similar in composition to the mature trees, but in hunted sites species with other dispersal modes dominated among seedlings. Seedlings emerging 1 year after clearing of all vegetation in experimental plots showed a similar pattern to the standing seedlings. This study thus verifies the transforming effects of bushmeat hunting on plant communities of tropical forests and is one of the first studies to do so for the African continent.

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Figures

Figure 1.

Figure 1.

Map of the study area. The arrow on the small inset map at the top left shows the location of the study region in Africa (black square with white edges). The main map shows the study region in more detail. Shadings represent different land covers, and most of the study region is covered by forest. Reserved areas as given by the World Database on Protected Areas [36] are shown by diagonal hatch. Boundaries given for CRNP appear uncertain as they extend into Cameroon. Locations of the study sites are given by the letters P and H, where P is a site where animals are well protected from hunting, and H where hunting occurs.

Figure 2.

Figure 2.

Number of observed groups of mammals along 1 km transects. Data are shown separately for four ‘guilds’ of mammals: large primates, smaller primates, rodents and ungulates. Species belonging to the different groups are listed in §2. Circles indicate the individual data points, i.e. number of observed groups per transect, and different sites are separated horizontally. Dots are jittered for visibility. The horizontal lines show the estimated marginal means from the best Poission-GLMM model. The shaded box represents the 95% CI of the mean.

Figure 3.

Figure 3.

(a) The number of mature trees counted in 20 m wide and 200 m long bands along the transects. Data are shown separately for the three dispersal modes. Each circle represents one 200 m section of a transect, and different sites are separated horizontally. The horizontal lines show the estimated marginal means from the best quasi-Poisson-GLMM model. The shaded box represents the 95% CI of that mean. (b) The number of standing seedlings in 5×5 m plots. Each circle represents one plot. Horizontal line and shaded box as described in (a). (c) The number of seedlings emerging in experimental plots cleared 1 year before.

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