Mamadou D. Kane Population abundance, density, and habitat analysis of the large carnivore species of the Niokolo Koba National Park in Senegal Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University College of Natural Resources and Environment Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Conservation

 Created in 1954, extended 4 times to its current size : 913,000 ha  Topography: Valleys, plateaus and hills, max elevation 311 m (Mount Assirik)  Climate: Sudanian  Rainfall : mm/year, June to October  Mean temperatures: 25  C–35  C  Streams: Gambia river and its 3 tributaries: Niokolo, Koulountou and Nieriko + numerous ponds and pools

 Vegetation: transition between Sudano-Guinean savanna and Guinean savanna: 1.Grassland or opened savanna: continuous herbaceous strata 2.Bushland: in the plateaus and hill slopes with a continuous herbaceous strata scattered with shrubs 3.Savanna: in the plateaus and hill slopes with a tree cover of 5 to 25% and a continuous closed herbaceous layer 4.Woodland: in the depressions between the hills and along the valleys, trees and shrubs cover 25 to 50%. 5.Open forest: soil coverage of 50 to 75% located in floodplains of some rivers 6.Gallery forest: represents 78% of the Senegalese gallery forest in the wet valleys with good soil and hydrologic conditions 7.Marshes: in the ponds and pools in the banks of the Gambia river. Annual and perennial grasses over 25 cm high and below 150 cm.

NKNP: in situ repository on animal diversity… Double international recognition in 1981 as a Biosphere Reserve of UNESCO and as a World Heritage site under Criteria X 80 mammal species, 330 bird species, 60 fish species and 36 reptile species (MEPN, 1998) Last refuge for large mammal species of the country: elephant (Loxodonta africana), the Derby eland (Taurotragus derbianus derbianus), chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes), etc. (MEPN, 1998)

NKNP: in situ repository on animal diversity… Westernmost and northernmost limit of distribution of some mammal species in Africa: African wild dog (Lycaon pictus), Derby eland, chimpanzee, lion (Panthera leo), leopard (P. pardus), etc.. Carnivore population: 23 species out of 75 carnivore species in Africa (31%) ( Sillero-Zubiri et al., 1997 )

NKNP: in situ repository on animal diversity… 4 of 5 largest African carnivores species: lion, leopard, African wild dog, spotted hyena However, status of these species unknown, like most of the carnivores of the West African protected areas Populations occur at lower densities compared to Southern and East African Protected Areas, Ex: lion : ‘EN’ in W. Africa, ‘VU’ in Southern and East Africa

In Niokolo Koba National Park, few estimates of carnivores population were conducted

 First actual estimate (herbivores and carnivores) : 1990  From 1990 to 1998: periodic censuses ◦ Method : line transects by vehicle and on foot, during daylight hours, 3 days each year on February ◦ Results analyzed with program Distance ◦ Results: (Galat et al., 1998)  Lion : 165 (62 – 441)  African wild dog : 347 (90 – 1337)

 1997: Focus on carnivores species ◦ Method :  Line transects by vehicle during daylight and night hours  Broadcast stations with taped carnivore calls ◦ Results:  21,668 km covered (1,292 hours) including 1,419 km(106 hours) of night searches ◦ Estimates (Sillero-Zubiri et al, 1997)  Lion :  African wild dog :  Leopard :  Spotted hyena :

 2001: Terrestrial and aerial counts ◦ Method:  Line transects by vehicle, plane and on foot,  Daylight hours, January to June, 5 days each month ◦ Results: (Ndiaye, 2001)  African wild dog : (a group of 9 sighted)

 2006: African Park Foundation census ◦ Method:  Line transects by plane and on foot, during  Daylight hours, 10 days ◦ Results:  40.3% of the park covered by plane (3,335km 2 )  83 line transects on foot (1,979 km)  No carnivore sighted by plane  Terrestrial count recorded 5 species Species Number of contacts (direct and indirect) Number of contacts/100 km Jackal Lion50.3 Leopard191.1 Spotted Hyena432.6 African wild dog90.5 Renaud et al., 2006

 2006: African Park Foundation census ◦ Consequence:  Inscription of the park in the List of Word Heritage Sites in Danger in 2007 mainly because of “the critically low mammal populations” (World Heritage Committee, 2007)

 2011: NGO Panthera and DPNS ◦ Focus on carnivores species, specifically lions ◦ Method:  Line transects by vehicle for track survey during daylight and night hours (March – April, 40 days)  Camera trapping  Broadcast stations  Scat sampling for DNA analysis ◦ Estimates: (Henschel and Ndao, 2011) based only on track survey Species Index of abundance (tracks/100km) Density (n/100km 2 ) Population size (n) Lion Leopard African wild dog Hyena

 Methods:  Except the 1997 and 2011 counts, method used (line transect during daytime) unsuitable for carnivore species estimates  Time frame very short for all the counts (max 40 days)  Results  Not precise (wide confidence intervals)  Indices of abundance not calibrated  Analyses focus mainly on direct sightings (1990 – 1999 and 2001)  Consequences  Large carnivore population size is still unknown

 Focus on lion, leopard, hyena and African wild dog

 Methods: more suitable techniques for carnivore estimates ◦ Camera trapping ◦ Scat collection  Time frame: ◦ Pilot study: 2 month (May – July 2012) ◦ Field study : January – May 2013  Expected outcomes ◦ Density, abundance and occupancy estimation coupled with habitat analysis and predictive modeling ◦ Presence and habitat use for herbivores and smaller carnivores

CAMERA TRAPPING for density estimation  Target species: Leopard, African wild dog  Grids that take into account the home range sizes of the carnivores  Abundance estimation with traditional CMR then density estimation  Habitat features analysis and predictive modeling

SCAT COLLECTION  Non invasive genetic sampling  DNA source: scat  Sampling design: opportunistic search : several field staff

 Genetic analysis for 4 carnivore species ◦ Species (mtDNA analysis ) ◦ Sex and Individuals (nuclear DNA-microsatellite primers)  Data Analysis: density estimation (traditional CMR and Spatial Explicit Analysis)  Density estimates – compare results from genetic and camera density analysis

 Advisors: Dr. M. Kelly and Dr. P. Henschel (external Committee Member)  Committee Members: Dr. W. M. Ford, Dr. S. Karpanty  WHAPA Lab (318 Cheatham), specially Claudia Wultsch and Christine Proctor  Sponsors: USAID – Senegalese Gov.  International Student Scholarship