Line-transect data may not produce reliable estimates of interannual sex-ratio and age structure variation in West African savannah ungulates

Autor: Emmanuel M. Hema, Yaya Ouattara, Maomarco Abdoul Ismael Tou, Giovanni Amori, Mamadou Karama, Luca Luiselli
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2020
Předmět:
Zdroj: Tropical Zoology, Vol 33, Iss 1 (2020)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 0394-6975
1970-9528
DOI: 10.4081/tz.2020.67
Popis: Adult sex ratios and age structures are important wildlife population parameters, but they have been poorly investigated in ungulate species in West African savannahs. We used line transects to investigate these parameters in 11 ungulates from a protected area in south-western Burkina Faso during the period 2010-2018. We created an empirical model of “detectability” for each species based on its main ecological characteristics (habitat and group size) and body size, and then compared the observed interannual inconsistency in sex ratios and age structures with the a priori detectability score. Six out of 11 species showed low interannual inconsistency in sex ratio and age structure. In 82% of the study species, however, the predicted detectability score matched the observed score, with two exceptions being Tragelaphus scriptus and Sincerus caffer.
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