Bonobo Food Items, Food Availability and Bonobo Distribution in the Lake Tumba Swampy Forests, Democratic Republic of Congo

Abstract

Data on food items were collected from the Lac Tumba Swampy Forests (LTSF) with the objective to gauge the effect of food type and availability on the distribution of the bonobos. Bonobos at the LTSF feed on at least 61 plant species and eat more Terrestrial Herbaceous Vegetation (THV) than at other sites (t = 0.676, df = 3, p = 0.548 > 0.05; insignificant). Fruits were available for most of the year at sites within the LTSF. At the Mbou-Mon-Tour (MMT), a site with higher bonobo density, the mean density of 1.42 fruits/m 2 per month (range 0.62 -3.82 fruits/m 2 per month) was recorded, higher than in other sites where bonobos occur (general univariate linear model = 0.422, t = 1.543, df = 11, p = 0.151, non-significant). In-site differences between MMT and other sub-sites in the LTSF were significant (t = 2.793, df = 12, p = 0.016 < 0.05). Fruit abundance in the LTSF ( X =138 fruits/km, SD = 13.80) was higher than in the Salonga National Park (SNP) ( X =83 fruits/km, SD = 6.49). There were five species of THV in the LTSF, with the most abundant being Megaphrynium macrostachyum (41.18%), which was scarce in the Lomako Forests. Comparisons between sites indicated that sites in SNP consistently had lower stem densities than sites in LTSF (t = -7.528, df = 3, p =0.005, significant). These results, in agreement with previous studies, concluded that the distribution of THV in different sites significantly determined the bonobo distribution.

People and Bonobos in the Southern Lake Tumba Landscape, Democratic Republic of Congo

“…It offers exceptional human-bonobo interactivity where several hypotheses can be tested. Therefore, after several ecological studies (Inogwabini et al 2007a;Inogwabini et al 2007b;Inogwabini & Bewa, 2009) carried out in this area, a detailed paper on people's attitudes toward the conservation of the bonobos was necessary to present the first preliminary global picture of the ecological interactions between bonobos and their environment in the southern Lake Tumba landscape. This paper presents answers to the specific questionnaire on how people in the southern Lake Tumba Landscape perceive the presence of the bonobos; it does examine answers to the questionnaire to see if the local population's attitude is correlated with the distribution of the bonobos.…”

Menaces D’origine Anthropique Et Habitat De Pan Paniscus Dans La Reserve Naturelle De Sankuru, En Republique Democratique Du Congo

“…Etant donné que la recherche de la nourriture essentiellement constituée des produits des arbres et des végétaux herbacés terrestres dicte le déplacement des différents groupes de bonobos (Inogwabini et matungila, 2009), il est à craindre que l'absence du contrôle sur l'agriculture amplifie les trouées qui existent déjà dans la couverture forestière au sein de Sankuru, car une situation pareille produit des impacts sur l'écosystème forestier et l'habitat de la biodiversité (Molinario et al, 2017;Molinario et al, 2020). Cela pourrait davantage pousser le bonobo à se déplacer vers le milieu où les conditions sont meilleures pour sa survie (Anderson et Ohmart 1986;IUCN et ICCN, 2012).…”

Effects of Epidemic Diseases on the Distribution of Bonobos

“…However, captive bonobos do actually contract human diseases [39], and the occurrence of Trypanosomiasis in areas where bonobos are absent provides compelling evidence that this disease affects the distribution of bonobos. One illustrative case is the region of Bekongo in the Salonga National Park [40], where Marantaceae species favoured by bonobos as their main food are very abundant yet bonobos were absent between 1997 and 2005. However, Trypanosomiasis is endemic at Boangi, which lies within a 7.5 km radius of Bekongo.…”