Anthropogenic Disturbance in Nocturnal Primates & Conservation Perception in Zaraninge Forest, Tanzania

Sammanfattning: Galagos are an understudied family of primates which inhabit much of Sub-Saharan Africa, some of which are potentially at risk. The coastal forests of East Africa are home to many galagos, however this habitat is under threat from an increasing human population seeking timber, charcoal and land for agriculture, amongst other pressures. This study used repeated transect methods when estimating the density of both the Zanzibar galago (Galagoides zanzibaricus) and Garnett’s galago (Otolemur garnetti) in a human influenced forest and a relatively undisturbed forest which were otherwise similar. Densities of Zanzibar galagos were not significantly influenced by human activities. Garnett’s galago numbers showed a statistically significant though slight increase when their environment displayed signs of modification by human activities. Results also indicate that the future use of territory mapping style methods may give reliable estimates of species that have been difficult to monitor in the past, as well as providing a more comprehensive view of social structure in surveyed populations. A survey of 60 households in close proximity to these forests found that 56.7% of household heads thought that conservation of the forests and their resources were worth conserving. It also identified that problems need to be addressed in the management of the park to prevent loss of crops for farmers and that many of them resent stringent restrictions they must abide by when living in proximity to this protected forest. This study shows that proposed agroecosytems to be used to help the conservation of primates will only aid certain species and that further study is necessary of the Galago family to determine how they will fare in rapidly changing coastal forest environments.