Disturbance surveys this week
A group of forest staff and volunteers recently set out to do a primate community survey on transect one. This involves walking along the set forest transect and looking for troops of Colobus and Sykes monkeys. Transect one has been subject to substantial disturbance and felling in the past due to its prime location on the coast, easily accessible by dirt track - a few sections of this transect that run through a large clearing that we call Mordor- due to its resemblance to the Lord of the Rings setting!
This clearing has been present for over 18 months, although over recent months has been steadily increasing in size. This week the group found that a large area past Mordor, further along our transect had also been cleared within the last few weeks.
--The team carrying out the disturbance survey --
We were still able to spot a troop of Colobus during the survey, but an unsettling fact is that some of the monkeys were on the ground which is considered unusual behaviour for a species that favours the upper canopy. The behavioural and disturbance data we get from our transects is a great way of establishing how the loss of habitat is affecting this already endangered primate.
Disturbance in the form of pit saws, charcoal pits, and clearings is becoming more and more common place on all our transects, and we are collating all evidence from 2007 to present to find out exactly how this is affecting all our target species.
This clearing has been present for over 18 months, although over recent months has been steadily increasing in size. This week the group found that a large area past Mordor, further along our transect had also been cleared within the last few weeks.
--The team carrying out the disturbance survey --
We were still able to spot a troop of Colobus during the survey, but an unsettling fact is that some of the monkeys were on the ground which is considered unusual behaviour for a species that favours the upper canopy. The behavioural and disturbance data we get from our transects is a great way of establishing how the loss of habitat is affecting this already endangered primate.
Disturbance in the form of pit saws, charcoal pits, and clearings is becoming more and more common place on all our transects, and we are collating all evidence from 2007 to present to find out exactly how this is affecting all our target species.
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