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The Niokolo Koba National Park (NKNP) is the largest protected area in Senegal and lies at the northern limit of the chimpanzee’s range in West Africa. Recent information on nesting behavior and factors influencing nesting behavior is available for several sites outside NKNP. However, the information available for NKNP is obsolete. Considering that the adequate management of chimpanzee populations cannot be achieved without strong scientific knowledge, it is essential to update data on chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes verus, nesting behavior in NKNP. For this reason, we surveyed their habitat in Mt. Assirik and recorded 626 chimpanzee nests. The results of the study showed that chimpanzees nest more often in closed-canopy habitats such as gallery forests. The average nest height observed in this study was 8.07 ± 0.36 m, varying between 2 and 20 m, which is well below the heights described in most sites where chimpanzees cohabit with large carnivores. Botanical surveys confirmed that chimpanzees select tree species bearing their nests. In Assirik, 12 of the 37 tree species bearing nests are the most used. The nest decay rate (or the time it takes for a nest to go from the fresh to the skeletal stage) at Assirik averaged 68.8 ± 5.8 days.
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Nest site characteristics of the Critically Endangered Bahama Oriole (Icterus northropi)
The Bahama Oriole (Icterus northropi) is a Critically Endangered species restricted to Andros in The Bahamas. Previous research suggested that the Bahama Oriole nested almost exclusively in coconut palms (Cocos nucifera) in developed habitats. In 2016, however, the Bahama Oriole was documented nesting in remote pine forests for the first time. Our goals were to document where orioles nest in pine forests and to characterize nest site vegetation to determine if orioles show a preference for specific habitat characteristics. Here, we document 12 pine forest nests: six nests in understory Key thatch palms (Leucothrinax morrisii) and six nests in Caribbean pines (Pinus caribaea). For each nest tree, we measured the tree height, tree diameter, and nest height. We also took measurements of habitat characteristics in 10-m and 100-m radius plots around the nest and compared these measurements to control plots. Orioles nested in a range of pine forest habitats. However, on average, Bahama Orioles nested in pine forests with more tall thatch palms (> 2 m tall) in the understory compared to control plots. They also tended to nest in the tallest thatch palms in the understory. The findings from this study further support the importance of protecting Bahamian pine forests on Andros.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1827110
- PAR ID:
- 10290293
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- The journal of Caribbean ornithology
- Volume:
- 33
- ISSN:
- 1544-4953
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 95-103
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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