Browsing by Author "Abedi-Lartey, M."
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Item Lack of conservation effort rapidly increases african great ape extinction risk(Conservation Letters, 2012-01) Tranquilli, S.; Abedi-Lartey, M.; Amsini, F.; Arranz, L.; Asamoah, A.; Babafemi, O.; Barakabuye, N.; Campbell, G.; Chancellor, R.; Davenport, T.R.B.; Dunn, A.; Dupain, J.; Ellis, C.; Etoga, G.; Furuichi, T.; Gatti, S.; Ghiurghi, A.; Greengrass, E.; Hashimoto, C.; Hart, J.; Herbinger, I.; Hicks, T.C.; Holbech, L.H.; Huijbregts, B.; Imong, I.; Kumpel, N.; Maisels, F.; Marshall, P.; Nixon, S.; Normand, E.; Nziguyimpa, L.; Nzooh-Dogmo, Z.; Okon, D.T.; Plumptre, A.; Rundus, A.; Sunderland-Groves, J.; Todd, A.; Warren, Y.; Mundry, R.; Boesch, C.; Kuehl, H.A network of resource management areas (RMAs) exists across tropical Africa to protect natural resources. However, many are poorly managed and weakly protected. We evaluated how the lack of conservation effort influences the extinction risk of African great apes. We compiled information on presence/ absence of primary (law enforcement guards) and secondary (tourism, research) conservation activities and nongovernmental conservation organizations (NGOs) support for 109 RMAs over the last 20 years. Along with these data, we collected environmental and anthropogenic variables, including recent records of ape presence/absence for all RMAs. As expected, law enforcement as a primary activity was the best predictor of ape survival rather than tourism or research as secondary activities. Furthermore, long-term NGO support had a significant positive influence on ape persistence. Our study demonstrates the feasibility of evaluating the relative importance of different conservation activities, an important step towards more evidence-based approaches in ape conservation. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Item Pronounced seasonal changes in the movement ecology of a highly gregarious central-place forager, the african straw-coloured fruit bat (eidolon helvum)(Public Library of Science, 2015) Fahr, J.; Abedi-Lartey, M.; Esch, T.; Machwitz, M.; Suu-Ire, R.; Wikelski, M.; Dechmann, D.K.N.Background Straw-coloured fruit bats (Eidolon helvum) migrate over vast distances across the African continent, probably following seasonal bursts of resource availability. This causes enormous fluctuations in population size, which in turn may influence the bats' impact on local ecosystems. We studied the movement ecology of this central-place forager with state-of-the- art GPS/acceleration loggers and concurrently monitored the seasonal fluctuation of the colony in Accra, Ghana. Habitat use on the landscape scale was assessed with remote sensing data as well as ground-truthing of foraging areas. Principal Findings During the wet season population low (∼ 4000 individuals), bats foraged locally (3.5-36.7 km) in urban areas with low tree cover. Major food sources during this period were fruits of introduced trees. Foraging distances almost tripled (24.1-87.9 km) during the dry season population peak (∼ 150,000 individuals), but this was not compensated for by reduced resting periods. Dry season foraging areas were random with regard to urban footprint and tree cover, and food consisted almost exclusively of nectar and pollen of native trees. Conclusions and Significance Our study suggests that straw-coloured fruit bats disperse seeds in the range of hundreds of meters up to dozens of kilometres, and pollinate trees for up to 88 km. Straw-coloured fruit bats forage over much larger distances compared to most other Old World fruit bats, thus providing vital ecosystem services across extensive landscapes. We recommend increased efforts aimed at maintaining E. helvum populations throughout Africa since their keystone role in various ecosystems is likely to increase due to the escalating loss of other seed dispersers as well as continued urbanization and habitat fragmentation.Item Protected areas in tropical Africa: Assessing threats and conservation activities(Public Library of Science, 2015) Tranquilli, S.; Abedi-Lartey, M.; Abernethy, K.; Amsini, F.; Asamoah, A.; Balangtaa, C.; Blake, S.; Bouanga, E.; Breuer, T.; Brncic, T.M.; Campbell, G.; Chancellor, R.; Chapman, C.A.Numerous protected areas (PAs) have been created in Africa to safeguard wildlife and other natural resources. However, significant threats from anthropogenic activities and decline of wildlife populations persist, while conservation efforts in most PAs are still minimal. We assessed the impact level of the most common threats to wildlife within PAs in tropical Africa and the relationship of conservation activities with threat impact level. We collated data on 98 PAs with tropical forest cover from 15 countries across West, Central and East Africa. For this, we assembled information about local threats as well as conservation activities from published and unpublished literature, and questionnaires sent to long-term field workers. We constructed general linear models to test the significance of specific conservation activities in relation to the threat impact level. Subsistence and commercial hunting were identified as the most common direct threats to wildlife and found to be most prevalent in West and Central Africa. Agriculture and logging represented the most common indirect threats, and were most prevalent in West Africa. We found that the long-term presence of conservation activities (such as law enforcement, research and tourism) was associated with lower threat impact levels. Our results highlight deficiencies in the management effectiveness of several PAs across tropical Africa, and conclude that PA management should invest more into conservation activities with long-term duration.