![]() Little is known, however about the Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee in MDNP. ![]() Other studies have explored chimpanzee diet and habitat selection in the Democratic Republic of Congo and in Uganda, and nesting ecology in Nigeria and Tanzania. Habitat assessment between Mahale Mountains and Gombe in Tanzania, at Lagoas de Cufada National Park in Guinea-Bissau, and between forests of Western Uganda and Mount Assirik in Senegal are examples of studies comparing chimpanzee ecological behavior across habitat types. Differences between chimpanzee populations regarding ecology, social organisation and genetics, population size, home range size, feeding habits and nesting behavior have been described, and appear to be related to differences in habitat types, but few studies have quantified how these factors impact local population sizes and habitat use. ellioti in the dry and gallery forests of Nigeria in Gashaka-Gumti National Park, in Cameroon at Ebo Forest and MDNP have so far failed to address the relationship between abundance and habitat characteristics. Moreover, as the forest is currently expanding and replacing savannah in MDNP, understanding how chimpanzees use different habitats can inform conservation efforts by providing key monitoring parameters on behalf of this species. Our research highlights this issue by providing data on chimpanzee density and the environmental drivers affecting their distribution. Until now, the distribution pattern and abundance of the Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee has not been completely understood in MDNP which may hamper their long-term conservation. The Mbam-Djerem National Park (MDNP) in Cameroon offers an excellent opportunity to assess ecological factors shaping the abundance and distribution of the Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee ( Pan troglodytes ellioti) over a small geographic extent in the core zone of the protected area, which includes both dense forest, colonizing forest and savannah ecosystems. However, monitoring chimpanzee population size is inherently difficult, and few studies have demonstrated clear links between habitat variation and conservation value. For chimpanzees, key requirements such as food and nesting materials are sensitive to environmental variation, including climate change and other anthropogenic factors such as habitat conversion and poaching. Understanding the relationship between each great ape species and its environment is therefore crucial for developing conservation policy. Great ape populations are currently threatened by hunting, habitat loss and infectious diseases. Further studies need to be focused on nest decay rates and phenology of useful plants in order to model chimpanzee abundance and distribution in Mbam-Djerem National Park. However, we found that habitat features, slope and altitude likely play a role in shaping patterns of chimpanzee nesting ecology. Our estimates of chimpanzee densities were lower than reported in other studied populations in the range of the Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee. Nest abundance varied with vegetation type and was higher in areas with dense canopy cover, steeper slopes and relatively higher altitudes. Chimpanzee density was 0.88 individuals/km 2 in the dense forest and 0.59 in the forest-savannah mosaic. Of these, 119 nests along 68 km occurred in dense forest and 130 nests along 64 km in forest-savannah mosaic. We counted 249 nests along 132 km of transects in total. The habitat variation in chimpanzees is poorly understood in MDNP which provides an excellent opportunity to assess ecological factors that shape the abundance and distribution patterns of P. The chimpanzee Pan troglodytes ellioti is endemic to Nigeria and Cameroon, and occupies an ecologically diverse range of habitats from forests to forest-savannah mosaic in Mbam-Djerem National Park (MDNP) in Cameroon. Understanding the relationship between great apes and their habitat is essential for the development of successful conservation strategies.
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