Krokosua Hills Forest Reserve
Summary
- Western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) are present in Krokosua Hills Forest Reserve.
- The population size is unknown.
- The chimpanzee population trend is unknown.
- This site has a total size of 481.7 km².
- Key threats to chimpanzees are logging, farming, and hunting.
- Information on conservation activities implemented at the site is lacking.
Site characteristics
Krokosua Hills Forest Reserve is located in southwestern Ghana, to the east of Bia National Park. The reserve was established in 1935 (UNEP-WCMC and IUCN 2019), and it consists of two forest blocks, one above and one below the Asempaneye-Kumasi road (Ernst et al. 2008). The highest peak at the site is 594 m (Ernst et al. 2008). In addition to the western chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus), other fauna found at the site include the western tree hyrax (Dendrohyrax dorsalis), royal antelope (Neotragus pygmaeus) (Oates 2006), olive colobus (Procolobus verus), black and white colobus (Colobus vellerosus) (Danquah et al. 2012), and a frog species discovered in the reserve, Arthroleptis krokosua (Ernst et al. 2008).
Table 1: Basic site information for Krokosua Hills Forest Reserve
| Area | 481.7 km² |
| Coordinates | 6.54 N, -2.86 W |
| Designation | Forest Reserve |
| Habitat types | Subtropical/Tropical Dry Forest,Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland Forest |
Ape status
Traces of chimpanzees have been encountered during surveys, in 2005 (Oates 2006), 2006-2008 (Gatti 2010), and more recently in 2009 (Danquah et al. 2012), but population estimates are not available. The site has also been identified as the most likely to support a fairly large population of chimpanzees in Ghana (Caldecott & Miles 2005).
Table 2: Great ape population estimates in Krokosua Hills Forest Reserve
| Species | Year | Abundance estimate (95% confidence interval) | Density estimate (per km²) | Encounter rate (nests/km) | Area | Method | Source | Comments | A.P.E.S. database ID |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pan troglodytes verus | 2005 | Present | Krokosua Hills Forest Reserve | Interview and index survey | Oates 2006 | Reconnaissance walk | |||
| Pan troglodytes verus | 2006-2008 | 0.0045 | Krokosua Hills Forest Reserve | Line transects (Distance) and index survey | Gatti 2010 | Reconnaissance walks were also conducted, and the total survey effort was 448.24 km | |||
| Pan troglodytes verus | 2009 | Present | Krokosua Hills Forest Reserve | Line transect (Distance) | Danquah et al. 2012 |
Threats
The lowlands in Krokosua Hills Forest Reserve have been heavily logged in the past, but the forest in steeper areas has been less affected (Oates 2006). Illegal farming activities have also been found inside the reserve (Oates 2006). Another major threat to chimpanzees at the site is hunting, which appears to be very high (Oates 2006, Danquah et al. 2012).
Table 3: Threats to great apes in Krokosua Hills Forest Reserve
| Category | Specific threats | Threat level | Quantified severity | Description | Year of threat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Residential & commercial development | 1.1 Housing & urban areas | Present | Villages are present in the reserve (Ernst et al. 2008) | Ongoing (2008) | |
| 2. Agriculture & aquaculture | 2.1 Annual & perennial non-timber crops | Present | Illegal cultivations patches of plantain, cocoyam, pepper, and marijuana found in the site (Oates 2006) | Ongoing (2006) | |
| 3. Energy production & mining | Not reported | ||||
| 4. Transportation & service corridors | Not reported | ||||
| 5. Biological resource use | 5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals | High | Encounter rate of hunting signs: 1 km-1 (Danquah et al. 2012). A survey in 2006-2008 reported 0.857 hunting signs per km (Gatti 2010). | Hunting signs at the site have been frequently found, especially wire-snare traps (Oates 2006, Danquah et al. 2012 | Ongoing (2006, 2012) |
| 5.3 Logging & wood harvesting | High | The area has been heavily logged (Oates 2006) | Ongoing (2006) | ||
| 6. Human intrusions & disturbance | Not reported | ||||
| 7. Natural system modifications | Absent | ||||
| 8. Invasive & other problematic species, genes, diseases | Unknown | ||||
| 9. Pollution | Absent | ||||
| 10. Geological Events | Absent | ||||
| 11. Climate change & severe weather | Unknown | ||||
| 12. Other options | Absent |
Conservation activities
Information on conservation activities implemented at the site is lacking.
Table 4: Conservation activities in Krokosua Hills Forest Reserve
| Category | Specific activity | Description | Year of activity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Residential & commercial development | Not reported | ||
| 2. Agriculture & aquaculture | Not reported | ||
| 3. Energy production & mining | Not reported | ||
| 4. Transportation & service corridors | Not reported | ||
| 5. Biological resource use | Not reported | ||
| 6. Human intrusions & disturbance | Not reported | ||
| 7. Natural system modifications | Not reported | ||
| 8. Invasive & other problematic species, genes, diseases | Not reported | ||
| 9. Pollution | Not reported | ||
| 10. Education & Awareness | Not reported | ||
| 11. Habitat Protection | 11.2. Legally protect primate habitat | The site is designated as forest reserve since 1935 (UNEP-WCMC and IUCN 2019) | Ongoing (2019) |
| 12. Species Management | Not reported | ||
| 13. Livelihood; Economic & Other Incentives | Not reported |
Impediments
Table 5: Impediments reported for Krokosua Hills Forest Reserve
| Impediment | Source |
|---|---|
| Corruption | Oates 2006 |
Research activities
No information on research activities has been documented.
Documented behaviours
Table 6: Great ape behaviors reported for Krokosua Hills Forest Reserve
| Behavior | Source |
|---|---|
| Not reported |
Relevant datasets
References
Caldecott, J. O., & Miles, L. (Eds.). (2005). World atlas of great apes and their conservation. Berkeley, Calif: University of California Press.
Danquah, E., Oppong, S.K., Akom, E., and Sam, M. (2012) Preliminary Survey of Chimpanzees and Threatened Monkeys in the Bia-Goaso Forest Block in Southwestern Ghana. African Primates 7 (2): 163-174.
Ernst, R., Agyei, A.C. & Rödel, M.-O. (2008) A new giant species of Arthroleptis (Amphibia: Anura: Arthroleptidae) from the Krokosua Hills Forest Reserve, south-western Ghana. Zootaxa, 1697, 58–68.
Gatti, S. (2010) Community Forest Biodiversity Project: Status of primate populations in Protected Areas targeted under CFBP.W APCA and WD/FC, Accra. p. 42.
Oates, J. (2006) Primate Conservation in the Forests of Western Ghana. Unpublished report to the Wildlife Division, Forestry Commission, Ghana.
UNEP-WCMC and IUCN (2019), Protected Planet: [Krokosua Hills FoR*; The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA)/The Global Database on Protected Areas Management Effectiveness (GD-PAME)] [On-line], [11/2019], Cambridge, UK: UNEP-WCMC and IUCN. Available at: www.protectedplanet.net.
Page completed by: A.P.E.S. Wiki Team Date: 22/11/2019