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IPS Conference 2006
Abstracts
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Abstract # 42:
Scheduled for Monday,
June 26, 2006
02:00 PM-02:20 PM:
Session 6 (Kama A)
Paper Session
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RED COLOBUS ABUNDANCE IN FOREST FRAGMENTS: THE ROLE OF NUTRITION, PARASITISM, AND STRESS |
M. D. Wasserman1, C. A. Chapman2,3, T. R. Gillespie4, M. L. Speirs2, M. J. Lawes5 and T. E. Ziegler6
1University of California, Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, 137 Mulford Hall #3114, Berkeley, CA, 94720-3114, USA, 2McGill University, 3Wildlife Conservation Society, 4University of Illinois, 5University of KwaZulu-Natal, 6University of Wisconsin |
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| Identifying factors that determine the abundance of animals is a fundamental goal in ecology. We studied eight forest fragments adjacent to Kibale National Park, Uganda, to determine if nutritional status, parasite infections, and stress had synergistic effects on red colobus (Procolobus rufomitratus tephrosceles) abundance. We quantified food availability by conducting inventories of all trees in 2000 and 2003, monitored gastrointestinal parasites, and evaluated faecal cortisol levels. Red colobus populations declined an average of 21% among fragments, while the cumulative basal area of food trees declined by an average of 29.5%. Parasitological analyses revealed an average of three of the five major parasite species of Kibale in any one fragment and an average nematode prevalence of 58% among fragments. The change in colobus population size was correlated both with changes in food availability (r = 0.827, p = 0.006) and a number of indices of parasite infections (e.g., parasite richness r = -0.668, p = 0.035), while cortisol was generally unrelated to these variables. A path analysis suggested that change in nutritional state had both a strong direct effect on population size and a relatively weaker indirect effect via parasite infections. Since human modifications to landscapes can alter interactions between parasites and their hosts, our results raise the intriguing question of how anthropogenic disturbances might cause disease to play a significant role in determining wildlife abundance. |
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Modified: 18 December 2005
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