La Tour du Valat

Institut de recherche pour la conservation des zones humides méditerranéennes

Titre :	Seasonal variation in hornbill abundance in a West African national park detected using analysis of acoustic recordings
Auteurs :	Hugo J. Rainey, Auteur ; Klaus Zuberbuhler, Auteur
Type de document :	Article
Dans :	Bird Conservation International (17(3) SEP 2007)
Article en page(s) :	235-244
Langues:	Anglais
Résumé :	Distance sampling, line transects and radio-tracking have been used previously to estimate population abundances and movements of hornbills. We used a large dataset of audio recordings made over 10 years to estimate seasonal variation in abundance of three species: Black-casqued Hornbill Ceratogymna atrata, Yellow-casqued Hornbill C. elata and Brown-cheeked Hornbill Bycanistes cylindricus, in Tai National Park, Cote d'Ivoire. The latter two species are Near Threatened. Recordings of hornbill wing-beats were used to control for potential seasonal variation in call production. Yellow- and Black-casqued Hornbill calls were 10 times as abundant from July to February as they were from March to June. Brown-cheeked Hornbills showed a similar trend, but less pronounced. From these data we concluded that large numbers of Yellow- and Black-casqued Hornbills had left the Tai National Park during this period. The significance of these findings is discussed in relation to the fragmentation and regeneration of the Upper Guinea forests and the relatively small size of the remaining forest habitat in the region.

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