If logging is to be compatible with primate conservation, primate populations must be expected to recover from the disturbance and eventually return to their former densities. Surveys conducted over 28 years were used to quantify the long-term effects of both low-and high-intensity selective logging on the density of the five common primates in Kibale National Park, Uganda. The most dramatic exception to the expectation that primate populations will recover following logging was that group densities of Cercopithecus mitis and C. ascanius in the heavily logged area continued to decline decades after logging. Procolobus tephrosceles populations were recovering in the heavily logged areas, but the rate of increase appeared to be slow (0.005 groups/km 2 per year). Colobus guereza appeared to do well in some disturbed habitats and were found at higher group densities in the logged areas than in the unlogged area. There was no evidence of an increase in Lophocebus albigena group density in the heavily logged area since the time of logging, and there was a tendency for its population to be lower in heavily logged areas than in lightly logged areas. In contrast to the findings from the heavily logged area, none of the species were found at a lower group density in the lightly logged area than in the unlogged area, and group densities in this area were not changing at a statistically significant rate. The results of our study suggest that, in this region, low-intensity selective logging could be one component of conservation plans for primates; high-intensity logging, however, which is typical of most logging operations throughout Africa, is incompatible with primate conservation.Efectos de Largo Plaza de la Tala en Comunidades de Primates Africanos: Una Comparación de 28 Años en el Parque Nacional Kibale, Uganda Resumen: Si se espera que la tala sea compatible con la conservación de primates, se deberá esperar que las poblaciones de primates se recuperen de las perturbaciones y que eventualmente retornen a sus densidades previas. Utilizamos estimaciones llevadas a cabo a lo largo de 28 años para cuantificar los efectos a largo plazo de la tala selectiva tanto de baja como de alta intensidad en la densidad de los cinco primates comunes presentes en el Parque Nacional Kibale, Uganda. La mas dramática excepción a las expectativas de que las poblaciones de primates se recuperarían posteriormente a la tala fue el hecho de que las densidades de grupos de Cercopithecus mitis y C. ascanius en un área fuertemente talada continúan disminuyendo aún décadas después fuertemente taladas; sin embargo, la tasa de incremento parece ser lenta (0.005 grupos/km 2 por año). Colobus guereza aparenta estar bien en ciertos hábitats perturbados y fuéron encontrados en mas altas years to (1) compare primate group densities between unlogged, lightly logged, and heavily logged areas and (2) evaluate the recovery of primate populations following logging. Most logging regimes call for some sort of rotation: the area is logged, left to recover for a s...

Frugivores are thought to influence plant recruitment by creating initial seed deposition templates. However, post‐deposition processes (e.g., predation) may obscure these initial patterns. Few studies have examined successive life‐history stages of animal‐dispersed plants to evaluate how initial frugivore seed deposition influences early life stages of plant recruitment. We addressed this issue by quantifying seed removal and seedling recruitment of Monodora myristica (Annonaceae), a tropical, low‐fecundity, forest tree in Kibale National Park, Uganda. Fruit morphology suggests that this species is dispersed by only the largest arboreal frugivores. We determined which frugivores removed fruit during focal tree watches and quantified seed fate in experiments designed to mimic natural deposition. We estimated stage‐specific transition probabilities of survivorship to seedling establishment and determined expected seedling recruitment from each deposition condition. To evaluate spatial and temporal variation, these methods were conducted at two sites, 15 km apart, over two years. Finally, we compared frugivore abundance between sites to expected seedling and standing seedling, sapling, and pole abundances. We found that large‐bodied primates were critical for seed dispersal. They were the only frugivores that opened the hard‐husked fruits and were estimated to disperse >85% of mature seeds. Seeds placed away from parents had higher germination and establishment probabilities than those under parents, indicating that seed dispersal is advantageous. Single seeds away from parents (mimicking small‐bodied primate seed spitting) had the highest cumulative seedling recruitment probability. However, in three of four site‐by‐year combinations, 86–94% of estimated recruits came from seeds placed in clumps in dung (mimicking large‐bodied primates). High recruitment in the latter condition is due to the large number of seeds estimated to be deposited by large‐bodied primates. Despite this concordance, germination and establishment probabilities were highly variable between sites and years. Germination was a limiting step in recruitment, and high seed mortality from beetles and rodents indicates the importance of predation. The site with higher frugivorous primate abundance had higher standing seedling abundance, but lower expected seedling recruitment and lower sapling and pole abundances. Thus, even in a system where frugivores are critical for dispersal, spatial and temporal variation in post‐deposition processes reduces predictability of frugivore actions on seedling recruitment. Corresponding Editor: E. S. Menges

Conservation efforts to protect chimpanzees in their natural habitat are of the highest priority. Unfortunately, chimpanzee density is notoriously difficult to determine, making it difficult to assess potential chimpanzee conservation areas. The objective of this study was to determine whether chimpanzee density could be predicted from the density of trees that produce large, fleshy fruits. Using chimpanzee nest counts from six sites within Kibale National Park, Uganda, collected during a year‐long study, a predictive trend was found between chimpanzee nest density and large, fleshy‐fruit tree density. This relationship may offer a quick, reasonably reliable method of estimating potential chimpanzee densities in previously unsurveyed habitats and may be used to evaluate the suitability of possible re‐introduction sites. Thus, in conjunction with other survey techniques, such as forest reconnaissance, it may provide an effective and efficient means of determining appropriate chimpanzee habitat in which to allocate conservation efforts. Am. J. Primatol. 51:197–203, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

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