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Conservation Assessments of Arboreal Mammals in Difficult Terrain: Occupancy Modeling of Pileated Gibbons (Hylobates pileatus)

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Abstract

Long-term monitoring programs, wildlife surveys, and other research involving species population assessment require reliable data on population status. Given the logistically challenging nature of some species’ habitats and cryptic behaviors, collecting these data can prove to be a considerable barrier. We used detection/nondetection data from pileated gibbons (Hylobates pileatus) in the Cardamom Mountains of southwest Cambodia to estimate their population occupancy and detectability. We modeled occupancy using elevation, tree height, tree density, tree diversity, and disturbance covariates. Modeling demonstrated that 83% of the sites are occupied by Hylobates pileatus and that the detectability of the species varies positively with elevation. No clear relationship between habitat quality covariates and occupancy of Hylobates pileatus emerged. Effort analysis based on model estimates demonstrated that at high elevations, less than half the number of site visits is needed to attain the same detectability estimate precision as across all elevations. We suggest that human activities at low elevations, which affect forest composition, are the central factors impacting the detectability and occupancy of Hylobates pileatus. Longer sampling durations and/or a higher number of site visits, especially at lower elevations, increase precision of the occupancy estimator for the least effort. For effective future monitoring and research for this and similar species, using this relatively simple method, applied with repeat site visits, would allow a longitudinal comparison of detection at sites in difficult terrain.

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Acknowledgments

We thank T. Eastoe, N. Furey, R Sethik, and staff from Fauna and Flora International, Cambodia Programme, and the Royal University of Phnom Penh for their logistical help and advice. Hun Seiha and Kimleng Chuon are thanked for their assistance in the field. We thank the reviewers for useful comments that contributed to the improvement of the manuscript. Primate Conservation Inc. and the American Society of Primatologists funded this project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T6G 2E9

    E. Neilson

  2. Anthropology Centre for Conservation Environment and Development, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, OX3 0BP, UK

    V. Nijman & K. A. I. Nekaris

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  1. E. Neilson
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  3. K. A. I. Nekaris
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Correspondence to K. A. I. Nekaris.

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Neilson, E., Nijman, V. & Nekaris, K.A.I. Conservation Assessments of Arboreal Mammals in Difficult Terrain: Occupancy Modeling of Pileated Gibbons (Hylobates pileatus). Int J Primatol 34, 823–835 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-013-9688-6

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