Seringbara

West Africa > Republic of Guinea > Seringbara

Summary

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• Western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) are present in Seringbara.
• It has been estimated that more than 100 individuals reside in two communities (Koops et al. in prep.).
• The chimpanzee population trend is unknown.
• This site has a total size of 30 km².
• Threats to chimpanzees are habitat encroachment, disease, hunting (snares), and iron ore mining
• Conservation activities include environmental education, snare removal, and local community projects.
• Seringbara permanent chimpanzee research site was established in 2003.

Site characteristics

Seringbara © Kathelijne Koops

The Seringbara research area is located within the Mont Nimba Strict Nature Reserve on the western side of the Nimba Massif in southeastern Guinea. The area is adjacent to the village of Seringbara, approximately 6 km from Bossou, Guinea and 10 km from Yealé, Cote d’Ivoire (Koops 2011). It is separated from the Bossou hills by a 4 km stretch of savanna, an area that has been the focus of reforestation efforts by the Green Corridor Project. The Seringbara research area is largely composed of primary tropical forests, but as the terrain becomes steeper, it transitions to a mosaic of terrestrial herbaceous vegetations, montane forest, and high-altitude grasslands (Koops 2011; Fitzgerald et al 2018). The elevation ranges from 595 to 1520 m and the climate is characterized by a rainy season (February to October) and a 3-month dry season (November to February, Koops et al. 2012a, b; Koops et al. 2013).

Table 1. Basic site information for Seringbara

Area	30 km²
Coordinates	7.63, -8.46
Designation	UNESCO World Heritage Site, Strict Nature Reserve (Réserve Naturelle Intégrale du Mont-Nimba), Biosphere Reserve
Habitat types	Subtropical/Tropical moist forest

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Ape status

Chimpanzee © Kathelijne Koops

Since 1976, several surveys have been conducted in the Seringbara region by Sugiyama, who visited the area at least four times to interview the local population on chimpanzees, suggesting chimpanzees were present in the area. During his visits he also did two field surveys of the area (Shimada 2000). Shimada confirmed the presence of chimpanzees by recorded vocalizations and the presence of nests in 1999 (Shimada 2000). While it was at first thought that chimpanzees use this area only seasonally, more systematic surveys in 2000 and 2001 established the presence of at least one chimpanzee community (Humle & Matsuzawa 2001). Since 2003, Kathelijne Koops (in collaboration with Kyoto University Primate Research Institute, KUPRI) has directed research at the Seringbara study site and researchers and field assistants have maintained a near-constant presence at the site. The study population remains partly habituated to human observers. For more information on the study site, see Koops (2011) and Koops et al (2007; 2012a, b; 2013; 2015, 2019). With the establishment of the permanent research site in 2003 the presence of at least two chimpanzee communities was confirmed and chimpanzee density estimated at 1.72 individuals/km2 (Koops 2011). Genetic analyses are currently ongoing and include 707 chimpanzee faecal samples collected at the Seringbara study site between 2003-2014 (Koops et al. in prep.).

Table 2. Ape population estimates in Seringbara

Species	Year	Abundance estimate (95% CI)	Density estimate [ind./ km²] (95% CI)	Encounter rate (nests/km)	Area	Method	Source	Comments	A.P.E.S. database ID
Pan troglodytes verus	1999			Present	Seringbara	Unknown	Shimada 2000
Pan troglodytes verus	2000-2001			Present	Seringbara	Unknown	Humle & Matsuzawa 2001
Pan troglodytes verus	2003-2004		1.72		Seringbara	Line transect (Distance)	Koops 2011
Pan troglodytes verus	2003-2014			Present	Seringbara	Capture-recapture method	Koops et al. (in prep.)	Genetic sampling (i.e., microsatellites), analyses are currently being finalized

Threats

Threats to chimpanzees in Seringbara include mining, habitat encroachment, poaching, and disease (Table 3, see also: Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve, Guinea).

Table 3. Threats to great apes in Seringbara

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Quantified severity	Description	Year of threat
1. Residential & commercial development		Absent
2. Agriculture & aquaculture	2.1 Annual & perennial non-timber crops	High		Slash-and-burn agriculture, habitat loss analyses ongoing (Fitzgerald et al. in prep)	Ongoing (2019)
3. Energy production & mining	3.2 Mining & quarrying	High		Mining enclave north of the study site will commence iron ore mining in coming years (Koops & Fitzgerald pers. com.)	Planned
4. Transportation & service corridors	4.1 Roads & railroads	High		Mining companies will build infrastructure to transport iron ore (Koops & Fitzgerald pers. com.)	Planned
5. Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	High		Local human communities harvesting forest resources (Koops & Fitzgerald pers. com.)	Ongoing (2019)
	5.2 Gathering terrestrial plants	High		Local human communities harvesting forest resources (Koops & Fitzgerald pers. com.)	Ongoing (2019)
	5.3 Logging & wood harvesting	High		Local human communities harvesting forest resources (Koops & Fitzgerald pers. com.)	Ongoing (2019)
6. Human intrusions & disturbance		Absent
7. Natural system modifications	7.1 Fire & fire suppression	Medium		Fires used to clear land for agriculture and cattle grazing extend into the forest (Koops & Fitzgerald pers. com.)	Ongoing (2019)
8. Invasive & other problematic species, genes, diseases	8.1 Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases	Present		Risk of disease transmission between humans and chimpanzees (Koops & Fitzgerald pers. com.)	Ongoing (2019)
9. Pollution		Unknown
10. Geological Events		Absent
11. Climate change & severe weather		Unknown
12. Other options		Absent

IUCN Threats list

Conservation activities

Conservation interventions at the Seringbara study site implemented by the Institut de Recherche Environnementale de Bossou (IREB) and Kyoto University Primate Research Institute (KUPRI) include environmental education, community projects, and snare removal www.greencorridor.info.

Table 4. Conservation activities in Seringbara

Category	Specific activity	Description	Year of activity
1. Residential & commercial development	Absent
2. Agriculture & aquaculture	Absent
3. Energy production & mining		Chimpanzee researchers at Seringbara consult mining company regarding mitigation of impact of mining to chimpanzees (Koops & Fitzgerald pers. com.)	Ongoing (2019)
4. Transportation & service corridors	Absent
5. Biological resource use	5.9. Regularly de-activate/remove ground snares	Researchers cut snares and report hunting evidence (Koops & Fitzgerald pers. com.)	Since 2003
	5.17. Provide sustainable alternative livelihoods; establish fish- or domestic meat farms	Fish-farming projects in collaboration with local NGO (Koops & Fitzgerald pers. com.)	2003-2004
6. Human intrusions & disturbance	Absent
7. Natural system modifications	Absent
8. Invasive & other problematic species, genes, diseases	8.7. Wear face-masks to avoid transmission of viral and bacterial diseases to primates	Researchers wear face masks and clean shoes before entering forest (Koops & Fitzgerald pers. com.)	Since 2003
	8.8. Keep safety distance to habituated animals	Researchers keep minimum distance to chimpanzees (Koops & Fitzgerald pers. com.)	Since 2003
	8.10. Implement quarantine for people arriving at, and leaving the site	Quarantine for new researchers arriving at the study site (Koops & Fitzgerald pers. com.)	Since 2003
	8.12. Ensure that researchers/tourists are up-to-date with vaccinations and healthy	Researchers required to be vaccinated (Koops & Fitzgerald pers. com.)	Since 2003
9. Pollution	Absent
10. Education & Awareness	10.1. Educate local communities about primates and sustainable use	IREB and KUPRI periodically conduct environmental education activities in local schools, sessions in villages close to study site by researchers at Seringbara (Koops & Fitzgerald pers. com.)	Since 2003
	10.5. Implement multimedia campaigns using theatre, film, print media, discussions	Education sessions include group discussions, presentations, showing videos (Koops & Fitzgerald pers. com.)	Since 2003
11. Habitat Protection	11.2. Legally protect primate habitat	Designated a Strict Nature Reserve in 1944 (UNEP-WCMC and IUCN 2018)	Since 1944
12. Species Management	Absent
13. Livelihood; Economic & Other Incentives	13.2. Provide non-monetary benefits to local communities for sustainably managing their forest and its wildlife (e.g. better education, infrastructure development)	Local capacity building (e.g. schools, water pumps, etc.) by researchers at Seringbara (KUPRI) and local counter parts (IREB) (Koops & Fitzgerald pers. com.)	Since 2003

Conservation activities list (Junker et al. 2017)

Challenges

Table 5. Challenges reported for Seringbara

Challenge	Source
Lack of capacity/ training	Koops & Fitzgerald pers. com.
Lack of financial means	Koops & Fitzgerald pers. com.

Research activities

Initial research at Seringbara focused on tool use behaviour by the Nimba chimpanzees especially in comparison to the chimpanzees at Bossou (e.g., Humle & Matsuzawa 2001, Koops 2011, Shimada 2000, Sugiyama 1995). Subsequently, Seringbara research broadened to include chimpanzee tool use patterns (Koops et al. 2013, 2015), feeding ecology (Koops 2011, Koops et al. 2013, 2019), grouping and ranging patterns (van Leeuwen et al. in press), nesting behaviour (Koops et al. 2007, 2012a,b), habitat suitability modeling (Fitzgerald et al. 2018), molecular genetics (Koops et al 2012b, Koops et al. in prep), nutritional analyses (Koops et al. 2019), land cover change analyses (Fitzgerald et al, in prep) and conservation strategies (Fitzgerald et al. in prep).

Documented behaviours

Table 6. Great ape behaviors reported for Seringbara

Behavior	Source
Ant dipping	Humle & Matsuzawa 2001, Koops et al. 2015
Crab fishing	Koops et al. 2019
Fruit cleaving (Treculia)	Koops et al. 2010
Hand clapping	Koops & Matsuzawa 2006
Leaf biting	Koops 2011
Leaf cushions	Koops 2011
Leaf swallowing	Koops 2011
Making ground nests	Humle & Matsuzawa 2001, Koops et al. 2007, Koops 2011, Koops et al. 2012 a,b
Medicinal uses of leaves	Koops 2011

References

Fitzgerald et al 2018. Modeling habitat suitability for chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) in the Greater Nimba Landscape, Guinea, West Africa. Primates 59: 361-375.
Humle T, Matsuzawa T. 2001. Behavioural diversity among the wild chimpanzee populations of Bossou and neighbouring areas, Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa, A Preliminary Report, Folia Primatologica 72: 57-68.
Koops K, T. Matsuzawa. 2006. Hand clapping by a chimpanzee in the Nimba Mountain. Pan African News 13(2).
Koops K et al. 2007. Ground-nesting by the chimpanzees of the Nimba Mountains, Guinea: environmentally or socially determined? American Journal of Primatology 69: 407–419.
Koops K et al. 2010. Do chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) use cleavers and anvils to fracture Treculia africana fruits? Preliminary data on a new form of percussive technology. Primates 51:175-178.
Koops K et al. 2012a. Nest-building by chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) at Seringbara, Nimba Mountains: anti-predation, thermoregulation, and anti-vector hypotheses. International Journal of Primatology 33 (2): 356-380.
Koops et al 2012b. Terrestrial nest-building in wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus): Implications for the tree-to-ground sleep transition in early hominins. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 148: 351-361.
Koops et al 2013. Ecology of culture: Do environmental factors influence foraging tool use in wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus)? Animal Behaviour 85: 175-185.
Koops et al 2015. Chimpanzees prey on army ants at Seringbara, Nimba Mountains, Guinea: Predation patterns and tool characteristics. American Journal of Primatology 77: 319-329.
Koops et al 2019. Crab-fishing by chimpanzees in the Nimba Mountains, Guinea. Journal of Human Evolution 133: 230-241.
Koops K. 2011. Chimpanzees in the Seringbara Region of the Nimba Mountains, in Matsuzawa, T., Humle, T. and Sugiyama, Y. [eds.] The chimpanzees of Bossou and Nimba. Springer. Tokyo
Kormos R et al. 2003. The Republic of Guinea, in Kormos, R. Boesch, C., Bakarr, M.I. & Butynski, T.M. [eds.] Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan, IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK
Matsuzawa T. and Yamakoshi G. 1996. Comparison of chimpanzee material culture between Bossou and Nimba, West Africa, in Russon AE, Bard KA and Parker ST, eds. Reaching into thought: the minds of the great apes. University Press, Cambridge
Shimada MK. 2000. A Survey of the Nimba Mountains, West Africa from three routes: confirmed new habitat and ant-catching wand use of chimpanzees. Pan Africa News, 7, 7–10.
Sugiyama Y. 1995. Tool-use for catching ants by chimpanzees at Bossou and Monts Nimba, West Africa. Primates 36: 193-205.
The chimpanzees of Bossou and Nimba (2019) Green Corridor Project – Nimba, Online www.greencorridor.info

Page completed by: Kathelijne Koops & Maegan Fitzgerald Date: 02/12/2019