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The impact of bushmeat hunting on the primates of Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea
Dissertation   Open access

The impact of bushmeat hunting on the primates of Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea

Drew Timothy Cronin
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Drexel University
Sep 2013
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/etd-6993
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Abstract

Wildlife as food--Equatorial Guinea Hunting--Primates--Equatorial Guinea Life Sciences
Hunting of wild meat by humans is widespread throughout the tropics, and is considered in many areas to be the most immediate threat to the persistence of large-bodied mammals. In the African forest zone, hunting and consumption of "bushmeat" is largely unsustainable. As subsistence practices have been supplemented by commercial hunting, populations of larger-bodied species, such as anthropoid primates, have been depleted. This dissertation examined the impact of hunting on anthropoid primates by assessing wild populations and hunting intensity in the forest, and by characterizing the dynamics of a robust urban bushmeat market. This project was conducted on Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea, a biodiversity hotspot home to 7 anthropoid primates, four of which are considered Endangered by the World Conservation Union's Red List. Bushmeat market surveys took place in the Semu market in the Equatoguinean capital, Malabo, and were conducted continuously since 1997. The market grew significantly over time, but growth was not consistent across all taxa. Rates of trapped taxa decreased concurrent to increased rates of carcasses captured by shotgun, while rates of widely distributed primate species increased at a greater rate than those in with limited, isolated distributions. External sociopolitical events also significantly affected market dynamics, and in some cases led to increased bushmeat consumption. Using reconnaissance walk surveys I estimated primate abundance and hunting intensity at three sites in the Gran Caldera-Scientific Highlands Scientific Reserve that varied in levels of hunting intensity. Total primate abundance declined between sites relative to increased hunting, but larger-bodied species suffered the greatest declines. Cercopithecus erythrotis and Cercopithecus nictitans were the most resilient to hunting, while Procolobus pennantii was the most vulnerable to hunting, and appeared to be extirpated from the eastern extent of its range. In a site where temporal comparisons were possible, primate abundance declined simultaneous to an increase in hunting. This was the first study on Bioko to directly study the impact of hunting on primates, with results suggesting that populations will continue to decline as a result of hunting, and highlighting the need for immediate conservation action on Bioko.

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