Uncontrolled hunting and habitat degradation decimate and extirpate forest hornbills in Ghana, West Africa

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorHolbech, L.H.
dc.contributor.authorAnnorbah, N.N.D.
dc.contributor.authorPhalan, B.
dc.contributor.authorArcilla, N.
dc.date.accessioned2018-09-14T10:35:51Z
dc.date.available2018-09-14T10:35:51Z
dc.date.issued2018
dc.description.abstractTropical forests are on the front lines of the current global extinction crisis. Species with restricted habitat requirements and slow reproductive rates, such as the spectacular hornbills (Bucerotidae) of the Paleotropics, are particularly vulnerable. We present the first long-term quantitative population assessment of nine forest hornbill species in Ghana, part of the Upper Guinea forest biodiversity hotspot in West Africa. From 1990 to 2009, hornbill encounter rates declined with 32–88% across eight species found in the region. Seven separate surveys between 1990 and 2014 indicated declines in at least six of eight species detected, with large-bodied species hardest hit. Depleted remnant populations of large hornbills mainly persist in two large and relatively well-protected wildlife reserves, Ankasa Resource Reserve and Kakum National Park. Contrastingly, the five largest species of the nine hornbills known to Bia Biosphere Reserve, one of Ghana's few forest wildlife reserves, apparently vanished completely since the 1990s, mainly due to uncontrolled hunting. Similarly, several large hornbills have disappeared from forest reserves where hunting is widespread. We conclude that uncontrolled hunting is the major driver of the recent drastic declines and population extirpations of large hornbills, while reductions in small insectivorous species may be related to extensive fragmentation and habitat disturbances of the Ghanaian forest biome. We call for urgent conservation action to prevent further declines and impending extirpations of forest hornbills and other wildlife in West Africa. © 2018 Elsevier Ltden_US
dc.identifier.otherdoi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2018.04.039
dc.identifier.urihttp://ugspace.ug.edu.gh/handle/123456789/24175
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherElsevier Ltden_US
dc.subjectBucerotidaeen_US
dc.subjectConservation statusen_US
dc.subjectForest fragmentationen_US
dc.subjectIllegal loggingen_US
dc.subjectPoachingen_US
dc.subjectUpper Guineaen_US
dc.titleUncontrolled hunting and habitat degradation decimate and extirpate forest hornbills in Ghana, West Africaen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

Files

License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.6 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:
Download

Collections

Department of Animal Biology and Conservation Science (DABCS)