Movement Ecology of Afrotropical Forest Mammals

Description

This book brings a unique perspective to animal movement studies because all studies come from African tropical environments where the great diversity, either biological and structurally (trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes), present the animals with several options to fulfil their basic needs. These conditions have forced the evolution of unique movement patterns and ecological strategies. ​The book follows on our previous book “Movement Ecology of Neotropical Forest Mammals” but focuses on tropical African forests. Movement is an essential process in the life of all organisms. Animals move because they are looking for primary needs such as food, water, cover, mating and to avoid predators. Understanding the causes and consequences of animal movement is not an easy task for behavioural ecologists. Many animals are shy, move in secretive ways and are very sensible to human presence, therefore, studying the movements of mammals in tropical environments presents logistical and methodological challenges. However, researchers have recently started to be solved these challenges and exciting new information is emerging. In this book we are compiling a set of extraordinary studies where researchers have used new technology and the strongest methodological approaches to understand movement patterns in wild African forest mammals. This second book should inspire early career researchers to investigate wild mammal´s movements in some of the most amazing forest in the world: African tropical forests.     Foreword Acknowledgments Contents Contributors Chapter 1: What Do We Know About Mammal Movements in African Tropical Forests? 1.1 Introduction to Tropical Forest Mammal Studies 1.2 African Tropical Forest Studies 1.3 Book Presentation 1.4 Future Directions References Chapter 2: Movement Patterns and Population Dynamics of Giant Forest Hog Groups in Kibale National Park, Uganda 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Materials and Methods 2.2.1 Study Site 2.2.2 Study Design 2.2.3 Data Analysis 2.3 Results 2.3.1 Home Range Estimation 2.3.2 Occupancy Rate (ψ), Detection Probability (P), and Relative Abundance Index (RAI) 2.3.3 Daily Patterns 2.3.4 Group Size and Behavior 2.4 Discussion 2.5 Conclusion References Chapter 3: Forest Elephant Movements in Central Africa: Megafauna Need Megaspaces 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Big Animals Need Big Spaces 3.2.1 How Big Is a Big Home Range? 3.2.2 The Devil Is in the Details 3.3 The Scaffolding of Forest Elephant Movement: Elephant Trails 3.4 What Drives Forest Elephant Movements? 3.4.1 Water Availability 3.4.2 Food Availability 3.4.3 Nutrient Availability 3.4.4 Social Organization 3.4.5 Personality and Sex 3.4.6 The Landscape of Fear 3.5 The Ecological Consequences of Forest Elephant Movement Patterns 3.6 The Implications of Forest Elephant Movement Patterns for Biodiversity Conservation 3.6.1 Forest Elephant Movement and Elephant Conservation 3.6.2 Forest Elephants and the Conservation of Ecosystem Processes 3.7 What to Do? The Same Old Wish List? References Chapter 4: Elephant Movements, Abundance, and Use of Water Sources in Kibale National Park, Uganda 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Methods 4.2.1 Study Site 4.2.2 Data Collection Methods 4.2.3 Elephant Abundance and Distribution Based on Census Data 4.2.4 Data Analysis 4.3 Results 4.3.1 Occupancy Models 4.3.2 Diurnal Patterns 4.3.3 Group Size 4.3.4 Arrival and Departures 4.3.5 Variables Explaining Movements 4.3.6 Elephant Abundance and Distribution Based on Census Data 4.4 Discussion References Chapter 5: Movement Ecology and Evolutionary History of Forest Buffalo 5.1 Introduction 5.1.1 African Buffalo Taxonomy, Distribution, and Population Estimates 5.1.2 Movement Ecology 5.1.3 Conservation Genetics 5.2 Forest Buffalo vs. Savanna Buffalo Home Ranges and Daily Movements 5.2.1 Forest vs. Savanna Buffalo Habitat Use 5.2.2 Forest vs. Savanna Buffalo Activity Patterns 5.2.3 Forest Buffalo Behavior 5.3 Conservation Genetics of the African Buffalo 5.4 Consequences of Movement for the Conservation and Future of Forest Buffalo 5.4.1 Wildlife Corridors 5.4.2 Translocation When Corridors Fail 5.5 Conclusion References Chapter 6: Site Fidelity and Home Range Shifts in a Leaf-Eating Primate 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Methods 6.2.1 Study Site and Data Collection 6.2.2 Data Analysis 6.3 Results 6.4 Discussion References Chapter 7: Primate Movements Across the Nutritional Landscapes of Africa 7.1 Primates and African Forests 7.2 Plant Compounds Important to Primates 7.3 Sensing Food and Toxins 7.4 Locomotor Behavior 7.4.1 Arboreal Locomotion 7.4.2 Terrestrial Locomotion 7.5 Primate Cognition and Movement 7.6 Lévy vs. Brownian Motion vs. Reuse 7.7 Future Directions References Chapter 8: Conditions Facilitating a “Landscape of Fear from Disease” in African Forest Mammals 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Pathogen Characteristics and Effects on Animal Host 8.3 Evidence That Animals Alter Behavior and Movement in Fear of Pathogens 8.4 Landscapes of Fear from Disease Framework 8.5 Learning Associations Between Landscapes and Disease Risk 8.5.1 Pathogen Characteristics 8.5.2 Movement Characteristics 8.6 African Forest Mammals 8.7 Applying the Landscape of Fear from Disease to African Conservation 8.8 Conclusion References Chapter 9: Do Seasonal Frugivory and Cognition Shape Foraging Movements in Wild Western Gorillas? 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Seasonality and Space Use 9.3 Seasonality and Spatiotemporal Memory 9.4 Straightness of Movement 9.5 Decision Rules and Recursions 9.6 Absence of Seasonal Differences in the Level of Cognition Used for Foraging 9.7 Conclusions References Chapter 10: Females Move in Tight Crowds, Males Roam: Socioecology and Movement Ecology of Mandrills 10.1 Introduction 10.1.1 Mandrill: A Fascinating Primate 10.1.2 Mysteries of Large Groups and Seasonal Male Influxes 10.1.3 Purpose of This Chapter 10.2 Movement Coordination and Adaptive Significance of Large Groups 10.2.1 How Do Group Members Coordinate Their Movement? 10.2.1.1 Group Crowdedness 10.2.1.2 Subgrouping and Long-Distance Calls 10.2.2 Why Do Mandrills Move in Extremely Large Groups? 10.2.2.1 Potential Disadvantages of Large Groups 10.2.2.2 Possible Adaptive Benefits 10.3 Seasonal Influxes of Solitary Males 10.3.1 How Do Solitary Males Find Groups? 10.3.2 Why Do Males Join and Leave Groups Seasonally? 10.4 Potential Keys to Unraveling the Puzzle References Chapter 11: Linking Movement Ecology to Conservation Biology 11.1 Movement Ecology and Why It Is Needed for Conservation 11.2 What Movement Ecology Research Can Provide 11.3 Next Steps References Index