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Noninvasive genetic analysis for assessing the abundance of duiker species among habitats in the tropical forest of Moukalaba, Gabon

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Abstract

We investigated the relative abundance of four duiker species and the environmental effect including human impacts on their abundance in the forest of Moukalaba, Gabon. We counted and collected fresh faeces from duikers in thirteen 2-km line transects established in different types of vegetation. Genetic species identification showed that blue duiker (Philantomba monticola), Ogilby’s duiker (Cephalophus ogilbyi, which might include the sister species Peter’s duiker Cephalophus callipygus), bay duiker (Cephalophus dorsalis), and yellow-backed duiker (Cephalophus silvicultor) coexisted. Genetic analyses successfully identified Ogilby’s and bay duiker, which are difficult to discriminate using other methods. The blue, Ogilby’s, and yellow-backed duikers were found in all transects. The dung abundance of bay duiker was quite low compared to other duiker species. This result suggests the importance of accumulating information regarding the abundance of each duiker species for updating their conservation status. The dung count method with genetic species identification may be useful for this purpose. The dung abundance of Ogilby’s duikers and blue duikers was affected by human impacts, while that of yellow-backed duikers was not affected by human impacts. The dung abundance of Ogilby’s duikers was lower in young secondary forests, which are regenerating after significant human disturbance. In contrast, generalized liner mixed model showed that the dung abundance of blue duikers was not affected by vegetation type and was lower in transects nearer to the villages, which might be due to past hunting activity. The difference in human impacts among duiker species should be considered for their conservation management.

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Acknowledgments

We are indebted to the Ministère des Eaux et Forêts and Agence National des Parcs Nationaux (ANPN) of the Gabonese government for their cooperation and permission to conduct this research. We are grateful to Dr. Ngomanda, Dr. Takenoshita, Dr. Ngok Banak, the deceased Dr. Mougougou, Ms. Ando, Mr. Mbehang Nguema, Ms. Nze Nkogue, other PROCOBHA researchers, Ms. Hiramatsu, Ms. Yagi, Mr. Ichiyama, all of the field assistants at Moukalaba-Doudou National Park, and the villagers of Doussala, Konzi, and Mboungou for support in conducting this research. We also thank Dr. Nakagawa and other members of Human Evolution Studies at Kyoto University, for advice on this research. This study was financially supported by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS).

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto, 606-8502, Japan

    Etienne François Akomo-Okoue, Eiji Inoue, Shun Hongo & Juichi Yamagiwa

  2. Institut de Recherche en Ecologie Tropicale (IRET/CENAREST), Libreville, BP 13354, Gabon

    Etienne François Akomo-Okoue

  3. Département de Biologie, Université des Sciences et Techniques de Masuku, Franceville, BP 498, Gabon

    Christiane Atteke

  4. College of Bioresource Science, Nihon University, Kanagawa, 252-0880, Japan

    Yoshihiro Nakashima

  5. Wildlife Research Center of Kyoto University, Kyoto, 606-8203, Japan

    Miho Inoue-Murayama

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  1. Etienne François Akomo-Okoue
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Correspondence to Eiji Inoue.

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Communicated by: Karol Zub

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Akomo-Okoue, E.F., Inoue, E., Atteke, C. et al. Noninvasive genetic analysis for assessing the abundance of duiker species among habitats in the tropical forest of Moukalaba, Gabon. Mamm Res 60, 375–384 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13364-015-0233-1

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