Sobeya
West Africa > Republic of Guinea > Sobeya
Summary
- Western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) are present in Sobeya.
- A population size estimate for western chimpanzees has not been reported.
- The chimpanzee population trend is unknown.
- This site has a total size of 96 km².
- Key threats to chimpanzees are agriculture and livestock farming.
- Conservation activities were not reported.
- Sobeya was a temporary research site of the Pan African Programme: The Cultured Chimpanzee (PanAf).
Site characteristics
Sobeya is a temporary research site of the Pan African Programme: The Cultured Chimpanzee (PanAf) close to the village Sobeya in Guinea. More specifically this site located in the southern part of the Fouta Djallon. Research was conducted for 12 months in 2012 and 2013. The area is characterized by savanna and gallery forests. Species encountered include the Guinea baboon (Papio papio).
Table 1: Basic site information for Sobeya
| Area | 96 km² |
| Coordinates | 10.26 N, -11.71 W |
| Designation | None |
| Habitat types | Dry savanna, subtropical/tropical dry shrubland, subtropical/tropical dry forest, plantations |
IUCN habitat categories Site designations
Ape status
As part of the PanAf data collection protocol recce and line transect surveys were conducted in 2012 and 2013. However, chimpanzee density or abundance was not analyzed/not published (PanAf 2019).
Table 2: Great ape population estimates in Sobeya
| 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 | 2012-2013 | Present | Sobeya | Line transects (Distance) | PanAf 2019 | Abundance estimate was not published |
Threats
The area is used by farmers and herders from nearby villages. There was a breeder settlement within the study area and the village Sobeya. Cows were frequently captured on camera traps (unpublished PanAf report).
Table 3: Threats to great apes in Sobeya
| Category | Specific threats | Threat level | Quantified severity | Description | Year of threat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Residential & commercial development | 1.1. Housing & urban areas | Present | Village Sobeya, breeder settlement (unpublished PanAf report from 2013) | Ongoing (2013) | |
| 2. Agriculture & aquaculture | 2.1. Annual & Perennial Non-Timber Crops | Present | Plantations encountered on transects (unpublished PanAf report from 2013) | Ongoing (2013) | |
| 2.3. Livestock Farming & Ranching | Present | Cows captured on camera traps(unpublished PanAf report from 2013) | Ongoing (2013) | ||
| 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 | 7.1. Fire & Fire suppression | Present | Presence of fire reported (unpublished PanAf report from 2013) | Ongoing (2013) | |
| 8. Invasive & other problematic species, genes, diseases | Not reported | ||||
| 9. Pollution | Not reported | ||||
| 10. Geological Events | Absent | ||||
| 11. Climate change & severe weather | Unknown | ||||
| 12. Other options | Absent |
Conservation activities
Conservation interventions were not reported for Sobeya.
Table 4: Conservation activities in Sobeya
| 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 | Not reported | ||
| 12. Species Management | Not reported | ||
| 13. Livelihood; Economic & Other Incentives | Not reported |
Conservation activities list (Junker et al. 2017)
Impediments
No impediments were reported for Sobeya.
Table 5: Impediments reported for Sobeya
| Impediment | Source |
|---|---|
| Not reported |
Research activities
Data collected by the PanAf at Sobeya was used to for studies on chimpanzee behavior (Kühl et al. 2016, Kühl et al. 2019, Tagg et al. 2018) and diseases in apes (Murthy et al. 2019).
Documented behaviours
Table 6: Great ape behaviors reported for Sobeya
| Behavior | Source |
|---|---|
| Algae fishing | Kühl et al. 2016, Kühl et al. 2019 |
| Ant eating | Kühl et al. 2016, Kühl et al. 2019 |
| Stone throwing | Kühl et al. 2016, Kühl et al. 2019 |
| Termite fishing | Kühl et al. 2016, Kühl et al. 2019 |
Relevant datasets
References
Kühl HS et al. 2016. Chimpanzee accumulative stone throwing. Scientific Reports. 6:1–8.
Kühl HS et al. 2019. Human impact erodes chimpanzee behavioral diversity. Science. 363:1453–1455.
Murthy S. et al. 2019. Cytomegalovirus distribution and evolution in hominines. Virus Evolution 5(2):vez015
PanAf. 2019. Pan African Programme: The Cultured Chimpanzee. Online: panafrican.eva.mpg.de
Tagg N et al. 2018. Nocturnal activity in wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes): Evidence for flexible sleeping patterns and insights into human evolution. American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 166:510-529
Page completed by: A.P.E.S. Wiki Team Date: 14/10/2019