The diversity and conservation of mammals in the Dodo Coastal Forest in southwestern Côte d’Ivoire, western Africa: a preliminary study

Main Article Content

Serge Pacome Keagnon Soiret
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6773-500X
Célestin Yao Kouakou
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8439-4067
Béné Jean-Claude Koffi
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2469-5751
Blaise Kadjo
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8147-6064
Philippe Kouassi
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5171-7261
Peñate José Gomez
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2278-8447
Reiko Matsuda Goodwin
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8731-4090
Inza Kone
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2940-2439

Abstract

To improve the knowledge of non-volant mammal diversity and conservation prospects in the Dodo Coastal Forest (DCF) in southwestern Côte d’Ivoire, we conducted reconnaissance surveys and interviews, and deployed remote cameras. We calculated visual encounter rates (vER) and sign ER (sER) of mammalian taxa and hunting signs, mapped their locations and tested the hypothesis that sightings and signs of primates occurred closer to the river Dodo in and near the gallery forest. We sighted nine taxa, including threatened King Colobus (Endangered, EN), Olive Colobus (Vulnerable, VU), Lowe’s Monkey (VU), the Eastern Lesser Spot-nosed Monkey (VU), and White-bellied Pangolin (VU), with vER of 0.04, 0.12, 0.04, 0.12, 0.04, respectively. We confirmed 14 other taxa with signs including threatened Western Chimpanzee (CR), Pygmy Hippopotamus (Endangered, EN), Bosman’s Potto (VU), and Black-bellied Pangolin (VU), with sER of 0.51, 0.04, 0.08, 0.04, respectively. The most frequently encountered signs were of the Red River Hog at 1.73 signs/km, and the Bushbuck at 0.63 signs/km. Remote cameras captured images of these two taxa at image capture rates (ICR) of 0.044 and 0.022, respectively. Images of the African Buffalo were captured at ICR of 0.044. The 23 confirmed taxa include seven primates, four rodents, three carnivores, six even-toed ungulates, two pangolins and a Tree Hyrax. The mean distance from the river Dodo to the sightings and the signs of the primates was significantly shorter than that of other taxa. This supports our hypothesis. There was a high level of hunting signs (sER = 0.63) indicating that intensive hunting pressure is menacing the fauna. We recommend that authorities take actions against poaching, install a surveillance program, and curtail charcoal-making to ensure the conservation of the threatened mammals of the DCF.

Article Details

Section
Communications
Author Biographies

Serge Pacome Keagnon Soiret, Laboratoire de Zoologie et Biologie Animale de l’Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan, 22 BP 582 Abidjan 22, Côte d’Ivoire;Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d’Ivoire, Adiopodoumé, 01 BP 1303 Abidjan 01, Côte d’Ivoire.2,3 Laboratoire de Biodiversité et Ecologie Tropicale de l’UFR Environnement de l’Université Jean Lorougnon Guédé

Dr Soiret is a postdoctoral researcher at the laboratory of Zoology and Animal Biology at the University Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Côte d’Ivoire and member of the research group Conservation of Natural Resources at the Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques in Côte d’Ivoire. His research focuses on primates' ethology, their behavioural ecology and their conservation.

Célestin Yao Kouakou, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d’Ivoire, Adiopodoumé, 01 BP 1303 Abidjan 01, Côte d’Ivoire; Laboratoire de Biodiversité et Ecologie Tropicale de l’UFR Environnement de l’Université Jean Lorougnon Guédé, Daloa, Côte d’Ivoire, BP 150 Daloa, Côte d’Ivoire

Célestin Yao KOUAKOU is junior lecturer at Jean Lorougnon Guédé University at the UFR Environnement at the Laboratoire de Biodiversité et Ecologie Tropicale. He is also associate researcher at the CSRS in Côte d'Ivoire. Célestin has trained teams and conducted wildlife surveys in Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, Guinea Conakry, Sierra Leone and Benin. His current research focuses on the ecology of primates and other animals, and their conservation in the west african region.

Béné Jean-Claude Koffi, Laboratoire de Biodiversité et Ecologie Tropicale de l’UFR Environnement de l’Université Jean Lorougnon Guédé, Daloa, Côte d’Ivoire, BP 150 Daloa, Côte d’Ivoire; Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d’Ivoire, Adiopodoumé, 01 BP 1303 Abidjan 01, Côte d’Ivoire

Béné Jean-Claude KOFFI is a lecturer at Jean Lorougnon Guédé University, a specialist in primate ecology. He is author or co-author of some 30 scientific articles on primates and other mammals, hunting and other anthropogenic pressures on wildlife. His studies have been conducted in Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia and Guinea Conakry. Blaise KADJO is an associate professor of Zoology at the Zoology Lab at Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. He’s research interest mainly focuses on animal biology and ecology of west African small mammals (Rodents, shrews and bats), particularly those from Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea and Liberia.

Blaise Kadjo, Laboratoire de Biodiversité et Ecologie Tropicale de l’UFR Environnement de l’Université Jean Lorougnon Guédé, Daloa, Côte d’Ivoire, BP 150 Daloa, Côte d’Ivoire

is an associate professor of Zoology at the Zoology Lab at Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. He’s research interest mainly focuses on animal biology and ecology of west African small mammals (Rodents, shrews and bats), particularly those from Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea and Liberia.

Philippe Kouassi, Laboratoire de Zoologie et Biologie Animale de l’Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan, 22 BP 582 Abidjan 22, Côte d’Ivoire

Philippe KOUASSI is Professor of Zoology at the Zoology Laboratory at Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire (UFHB). He has several research activities, but he is research interest mainly focuses on entomology, animal biology and ecology. He is president of the scientific Council of the UFR Biosciences at the UFHB.

Peñate José Gomez, Conservation des Espèces Marines de Côte d’Ivoire

Peñate José GOMEZ is the Director of the Conservation des Espèces Marines (CEM), a local NGO of Côte d’Ivoire. He works on the country’s most important nesting beach areas for endangered sea turtles. At the same time, CEM contribute improving infrastructure (water systems, solar power, schools, etc.) in the coastal villages of the Southwestern Côte d’Ivoire.

Reiko Matsuda Goodwin, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Fordham University, USA

Reiko MATSUDA GOODWIN is an adjunct professor of biological anthropology at Fordham University in New York, USA. Her research focuses on the biogeography and conservation biology of West African primates. She has conducted research on a number of primate taxa in Nigeria, Benin, Togo, and in Côte d'Ivoire

Inza Kone, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d’Ivoire, Adiopodoumé, 01 BP 1303 Abidjan 01, Côte d’Ivoire; Laboratoire de Biodiversité et Ecologie Tropicale de l’UFR Environnement de l’Université Jean Lorougnon Guédé, Daloa, Côte d’Ivoire, BP 150 Daloa, Côte d’Ivoire

Inza KONE is lecturer at the laboratory of Zoology and Animal Biology at the University Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Côte d’Ivoire. He is currently Director of the Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d’Ivoire (CSRS) and the African Primatological Society. His research focuses on the ecology and conservation biology of African primates