TY - GEN A1 - Fotang, Chefor A1 - Bröring, Udo A1 - Roos, Christian A1 - Enoguanbhor, Evidence Chinedu A1 - Dutton, Paul A1 - Tédonzong, Luc R. D. A1 - Willie, Jacob A1 - Yuh, Yisa Ginath A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus T1 - Environmental and anthropogenic effects on the nesting patterns of Nigeria–Cameroon chimpanzees in North-West Cameroon T2 - American Journal of Primatology N2 - Environmental conditions and human activity influence the selection of nest sites by chimpanzees and may have serious conservation implications. We examined the characteristics of nesting trees preferred by chimpanzees, investigated the effect of vegetation composition and topography on nest site locations and seasonality on nesting heights of chimpanzees, and verified the effect of predator occurrence and human activity on the nesting behavior of the Nigeria–Cameroon chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes ellioti) in Kom-Wum Forest Reserve (KWFR) and surrounding unprotected forest in Cameroon. We recorded 923 nests, 502 signs of human activity, and 646 nesting trees along line transects and recces (reconnaissance) for two seasons. We found that chimpanzees constructed more arboreal nests on tall primary trees with high lowest branch height and large diameter at breast height. Moreover, they oriented their nests within trees in the slope direction when the nesting trees were located on slopes. Additionally, the occurrence of chimpanzee nests was positively related to increasing elevation and slope and decreased with distance to primary forest. In contrast, the number of nests increased with distance to secondary forest, open land, and villages, and nesting height was not influenced by seasons. While we recorded no signs of large nocturnal chimpanzee predators at nesting trees, we found signs of hunting activity at nesting locations. Nesting high in trees is likely a way of avoiding hunting, while nest orientation within trees in slope direction shortens escape routes from human hunters. Our findings suggest that chimpanzees select safe trees (tall trees with high lowest branch height) located in nesting areas (primary forest, high elevation, and steep slopes) that are not easily accessible by humans. Therefore, conservation efforts should focus on protecting primary forests at high elevation and steep slopes and reducing human impact. Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.23312 SN - 1098-2345 SN - 0275-2565 VL - 83 IS - 9 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Fotang, Chefor A1 - Bröring, Udo A1 - Roos, Christian A1 - Dutton, Paul A1 - Tédonzong, Luc R. D. A1 - Willie, Jacob A1 - Angwafo, Tsi Evaristus A1 - Yuh, Yisa Ginath A1 - Schierack, Peter A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus T1 - Mapping suitable habitat for Nigeria–Cameroon chimpanzees in Kom-Wum Forest Reserve, North-Western Cameroon T2 - Primates N2 - Great apes lose suitable habitats required for their reproduction and survival due to human activities across their distribution range in Africa. Little is known about habitat suitability of the Nigeria–Cameroon chimpanzee [Pan troglodytes ellioti (Matschie, 1914)], particularly for populations inhabiting forest reserves in North-West Cameroon. To address this knowledge gap, we employed a common species distribution model (MaxEnt) to map and predict suitable habitats for the Nigeria–Cameroon chimpanzee in Kom-Wum Forest Reserve, North-West Cameroon, based on environmental factors that potentially affect habitat suitability. We related these environmental factors to a dataset of chimpanzee occurrence points recorded during line transect and reconnaissance (recce) surveys in the forest reserve and surrounding forests. Up to 91% of the study area is unsuitable for chimpanzees. Suitable habitats only represented 9% of the study area, with a high proportion of highly suitable habitats located outside the forest reserve. Elevation, secondary forests density, distance to villages and primary forests density were the most important predictors of habitat suitability for the Nigeria–Cameroon chimpanzee. The probability of chimpanzee occurrence increased with elevation, secondary forest density and distance from villages and roads. Our study provides evidence that suitable chimpanzee habitat in the reserve is degraded, suggesting that efforts to maintain protected areas are insufficient. The reserve management plan needs to be improved to conserve the remaining suitable habitat and to avoid local extinction of this endangered subspecies. KW - Environmental factors KW - Habitat requirements KW - Human impact KW - Protected area KW - Maximum entropy KW - Pan troglodytes ellioti Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-023-01054-z SN - 1610-7365 IS - 25 ER -