Illegal Hunting and Chimpanzee Distribution in the Seringbara Region of the Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve: A Multi‐Scale Modelling Approach
8 affiliations
- 1Spatial Epidemiology Lab (SpELL) Université Libre de Bruxelles Brussels Belgium
- 2Division of Invertebrates, Department of Biology Royal Museum for Central Africa Tervuren Belgium
- 3Evolutionary Ecology Group University of Antwerp Antwerpen Belgium
- 4Ape Behaviour & Ecology Group, Department of Evolutionary Anthropology University of Zurich Zurich Switzerland
- 5Institut de Recherche sur la Biodiversité aux Monts Nimba (IReB‐MN) Lola Guinea
- 6Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation Rega Institute, KU Leuven Leuven Belgium
- 7Interuniversity Institute of Bioinformatics in Brussels Université Libre de Bruxelles, Vrije Universiteit Brussel Brussels Belgium
- 8Department of Biological Sciences Northern Arizona University Flagstaff Arizona USA
Abstract
Guinea is home to approximately two‐thirds of the remaining Critically Endangered western chimpanzee population, and the Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve has been identified as one of eight West African regions with exceptionally high chimpanzee densities. Despite its protected status, the reserve faces three major threats: subsistence agriculture, poaching, and industrial mining. This study focuses on understanding chimpanzee habitat use in relation to human hunting activities within the Seringbara region of the reserve. Using GPS data on chimpanzee feeding/travelling, nesting, and human hunting evidence, we develop multi‐scale ecological niche models for each activity type using both generalised linear models and a boosted regression tree approach. The models identified potential illegal hunting areas, zones of high chimpanzee activity, and the spatial overlap between them. Chimpanzee activities were primarily predicted at altitudes above 750 m, in areas with a high Enhanced Vegetation Index and steeper slopes, while hunting activities were less prevalent in areas with dense tree cover. Both chimpanzees and hunters avoid research camps, but chimpanzees show a stronger avoidance of human presence overall. High elevations, while offering relative refuge from human disturbance, also emerge as zones of greatest predicted chimpanzee‐hunter encounter probability. Our findings offer key insights for conservation planning, identifying potential zones for targeted conservation and monitoring efforts. Specifically, areas with significant overlap of chimpanzee and human hunting activities qualify as strategic areas for concerted conservation efforts.
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BibTeX
@article{degreve2026illegal,
title = {{Illegal Hunting and Chimpanzee Distribution in the Seringbara Region of the Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve: A Multi‐Scale Modelling Approach}},
author = {Lucas Degrève and Diana Erazo and Maegan Fitzgerald and Henry Didier Camara and Gnan Mamy and Simon Dellicour and Żaneta Kaszta and Kathelijne Koops},
journal = {Ecology and Evolution},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1002/ece3.74384},
url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.74384},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Illegal Hunting and Chimpanzee Distribution in the Seringbara Region of the Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve: A Multi‐Scale Modelling Approach
AU - Lucas Degrève
AU - Diana Erazo
AU - Maegan Fitzgerald
AU - Henry Didier Camara
AU - Gnan Mamy
AU - Simon Dellicour
AU - Żaneta Kaszta
AU - Kathelijne Koops
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/05
JO - Ecology and Evolution
DO - 10.1002/ece3.74384
UR - https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.74384
AB - Guinea is home to approximately two‐thirds of the remaining Critically Endangered western chimpanzee population, and the Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve has been identified as one of eight West African regions with exceptionally high chimpanzee densities. Despite its protected status, the reserve faces three major threats: subsistence agriculture, poaching, and industrial mining. This study focuses on understanding chimpanzee habitat use in relation to human hunting activities within the Seringbara region of the reserve. Using GPS data on chimpanzee feeding/travelling, nesting, and human hunting evidence, we develop multi‐scale ecological niche models for each activity type using both generalised linear models and a boosted regression tree approach. The models identified potential illegal hunting areas, zones of high chimpanzee activity, and the spatial overlap between them. Chimpanzee activities were primarily predicted at altitudes above 750 m, in areas with a high Enhanced Vegetation Index and steeper slopes, while hunting activities were less prevalent in areas with dense tree cover. Both chimpanzees and hunters avoid research camps, but chimpanzees show a stronger avoidance of human presence overall. High elevations, while offering relative refuge from human disturbance, also emerge as zones of greatest predicted chimpanzee‐hunter encounter probability. Our findings offer key insights for conservation planning, identifying potential zones for targeted conservation and monitoring efforts. Specifically, areas with significant overlap of chimpanzee and human hunting activities qualify as strategic areas for concerted conservation efforts.
SN - 2045-7758
SN - 2045-7758
ER -