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A wake-up call: playback attraction data link numbers of Mount Cameroon Francolin Pternistis camerunensis to abundance and debarking of red stinkwood Prunus africana

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 March 2021

THEODORE B. MAYAKA Open the ORCID record for THEODORE B. MAYAKA [Opens in a new window] ,
FRANCIS GUETSE ,
ABEL CHEMURA ,
RICHARD TAMUNGANG  and
DAVID HOŘÁK
THEODORE B. MAYAKA*
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Biology, University of Dschang, West Region, Cameroon.
FRANCIS GUETSE
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Biology, University of Dschang, West Region, Cameroon.
ABEL CHEMURA
Affiliation:
Department of Environmental Science and Technology, Chinhoyi University of Technology, Zimbabwe.
RICHARD TAMUNGANG
Affiliation:
Projet GEF/TRIDOM, Equipe Nationale de Projet, BP 836, Yaoundé, Cameroon.
DAVID HOŘÁK
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic.
*
*Author for correspondence; e-mail: th.mayaka@gmail.com
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Summary

The little studied Mount Cameroon Francolin Pternistis camerunensis is endangered and strictly endemic to the undergrowth of Mount Cameroon’s primary forest. We surveyed the species in the Mount Cameroon National Park in July–August 2016 using call playback at 86 plots systematically placed along 17 transects in an attempt to assess the occupancy and conservation threats to the species. The study’s three main results are as follows. Firstly, Mount Cameroon Francolin occurred in the stratified vegetation types across the altitudinal range of 1,023–2,186 m. Secondly, the response rates of francolin were 15% in submontane forest (800–1,600 m altitude range); 80.8% in montane forest (1,600–1,800 m); 3.9% in montane scrub (1,800–2,400 m); and nil in the lowland forest (0–800 m). Thirdly, bird abundance significantly increased with latitude, ground vegetation height, presence of Prunus africana and tall grass cover but decreased with the density of small trees and disturbance caused by heavy Prunus exploitation, and also, based on indirect evidence, hunting. We recommend: (1) systematic use of call playback in monitoring the population status of francolins; (2) an increase in patrolling and law enforcement to control illegal hunting, land clearance and burning of the upper slopes; (3) promotion of sustainable harvesting of Prunus and agroforestry practices aimed at curbing land clearance in the park surroundings. Further research priorities and conservation strategies have been suggested based on this study’s emerging results.

Keywords

Altitudinal gradientEndemic speciesMount Cameroon FrancolinCall playback surveyPrunus africanawild bushfires
Type
Research Article
Information
Bird Conservation International , Volume 32 , Issue 1 , March 2022 , pp. 43 - 52
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of BirdLife International

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