Chimpanzees (<i>Pan troglodytes</i>) Indicate Mammalian Abundance Across Broad Spatial Scales.

ABSTRACT: Ongoing ecosystem change and biodiversity decline across the Afrotropics call for tools to monitor the state of biodiversity or ecosystem elements across extensive spatial and temporal scales. We assessed relationships in the co-occurrence patterns between great apes and other medium to large-bodied mammals to evaluate whether ape abundance serves as a proxy for mammal diversity across broad spatial scales. We used camera trap footage recorded at 22 research sites, each known to harbor a population of chimpanzees, and some additionally a population of gorillas, across 12 sub-Saharan African countries. From ~350,000 1-min camera trap videos recorded between 2010 and 2016, we estimated mammalian community metrics, including species richness, Shannon diversity, and mean animal mass. We then f

SUBMITTER: Kazaba PK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11909632 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature