NDLI: Plant selection for nest building by western lowland gorillas in Cameroon

Content Provider	Springer Nature Link
Author	Willie, Jacob Tagg, Nikki Petre, Charles Albert Pereboom, Zjef Lens, Luc
Copyright Year	2013
Abstract	We examined 834 nests built by western lowland gorillas in Cameroon between July 2008 and July 2011 to identify the plant species used in their construction. Preference for each plant species for nesting was assessed using a ‘preference index’ calculated by combining information on the occurrence of each species in the forest and in the nests. Forty-six plant species representing about 15 % of the total number of species in the forest and 26 % of species used for nest building were frequently used by gorillas. Preference levels significantly varied among these species. Nests were mostly built with herbs of the families Marantaceae and Zingiberaceae and woody species such as Manniophyton fulvum (liana) and Alchornea floribunda (shrub). As observed in other gorilla populations, suitability for nest building and availability of gorilla food in stems were the likely determinants of plant selection. The total number of species used per nest ranged from 1 to 11, with an average of 4.9. This is high compared to other sites, emphasizing variability in the availability of nest building materials and habitat differences across the range of the western gorilla. Seasonal changes in the use of different habitat types for nesting did not appear to influence plant use for nest building as there was little variation in plant selection across seasons or the composition of nests. Our findings suggest that gorillas non-randomly select plant species to build nests, and use a particular set of species combined at varying proportions, with no clear seasonal or spatial patterns.
Starting Page	41
Ending Page	49
Page Count	9
File Format	PDF
ISSN	00328332
Journal	Primates
Volume Number	55
Issue Number	1
e-ISSN	16107365
Language	English
Publisher	Springer Japan
Publisher Date	2013-06-04
Publisher Place	Tokyo
Access Restriction	One Nation One Subscription (ONOS)
Subject Keyword	Dja Reserve Western lowland gorilla Habitat use Nest building Nesting behavior Plant selection Seasonal preference Zoology Animal Ecology Behavioural Sciences Evolutionary Biology
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Animal Science and Zoology

Sl.	Authority	Responsibilities	Communication Details
1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
5	Website/Portal (Helpdesk)	Queries regarding NDLI and its services	support@ndl.gov.in
6	Contents and Copyright Issues	Queries related to content curation and copyright issues	content@ndl.gov.in
7	National Digital Library of India Club (NDLI Club)	Queries related to NDLI Club formation, support, user awareness program, seminar/symposium, collaboration, social media, promotion, and outreach	clubsupport@ndl.gov.in
8	Digital Preservation Centre (DPC)	Assistance with digitizing and archiving copyright-free printed books	dpc@ndl.gov.in
9	IDR Setup or Support	Queries related to establishment and support of Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) and IDR workshops	idr@ndl.gov.in

Spatial memory and foraging competition in captive western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla)

The Influence of Transect Use by Local People and Reuse of Transects for Repeated Surveys on Nesting in Western Lowland Gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) and Central Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) in Southeast Cameroon

Food transfers in immature wild western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla)

Quantity estimation and comparison in western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla)

Tree structure and sex differences in arboreality among western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) at Bai Hokou, Central African Republic

Habitat Use and Structural Preferences of Captive Western Lowland Gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla(: Effects of Environmental and Social Variables

Behavioral responses of an infant gorilla to maternal separation in a captive social group of lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla)

Assessing Stress in Zoo-Housed Western Lowland Gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) Using Allostatic Load

Food dropping as a food transfer mechanism among western lowland gorillas in Moukalaba-Doudou National Park, Gabon

Plant selection for nest building by western lowland gorillas in Cameroon

Similar Documents

Spatial memory and foraging competition in captive western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla)

The Influence of Transect Use by Local People and Reuse of Transects for Repeated Surveys on Nesting in Western Lowland Gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) and Central Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) in Southeast Cameroon

Food transfers in immature wild western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla)

Quantity estimation and comparison in western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla)

Tree structure and sex differences in arboreality among western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) at Bai Hokou, Central African Republic

Habitat Use and Structural Preferences of Captive Western Lowland Gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla(: Effects of Environmental and Social Variables

Behavioral responses of an infant gorilla to maternal separation in a captive social group of lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla)

Assessing Stress in Zoo-Housed Western Lowland Gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) Using Allostatic Load

Food dropping as a food transfer mechanism among western lowland gorillas in Moukalaba-Doudou National Park, Gabon

Plant selection for nest building by western lowland gorillas in Cameroon