Current populations of Colobus vellerosus (Geoffory, 1834) & Cercopithecus lowei (Thomas, 1923) and land-use, land cover changes in Boabeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary, Ghana

Abstract

Background and Research aim: This study evaluated the density of two primate species Colobus vellerosus and Cercopithecus lowei and the change in land-use types in Boabeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary in Ghana, from 2007 to 2019. Method: Total counts of individual monkeys were done in all six patches of forest in the Sanctuary in 2019. Using Landsat imagery, land-cover maps of the study area were examined to evaluate the change that has occurred over a nine-year period between 2010 and 2019. Results: A total of 602 individuals of C. vellerosus were counted in 34 groups (0.58 group/ha). Group locations were: 15 at Boabeng (0.12 groups/ha), five at Fiema (0.08 group/ha), three at Bomini (0.09 group/ha), four at Busuyna (0.13 group/ha), three at Bonte (0.06 group/ha), and four at Akrudwa (0.11 group/ha). C. lowei was only encountered at Boabeng and Fiema, with a total of 351 individuals distributed in 26 groups. In 2010, forest covered a land area of 1,540.08 ha, and it was estimated to have increased to 2,643.12 ha in 2019. Farmlands covered 5,069.07 ha in 2010, and in 2019 were estimated to cover 4,155.03 ha. Built-up areas in 2010 covered an area of 433.89 ha, and in 2019 had declined to 244.89 ha. Conclusion: The monkey populations have increased and spread to occupy all patches in the Monkey Sanctuary. On LULCC, 72% increase, 18% reduction, and 44% reduction in forest cover, farmland and built-up areas were observed respectively. Implications for conservation: There is a blend of traditional and conventional conservation efforts contributing to the increase in primate population, the occupancy of previously ‘empty’ forest patches and change in areas of land-use types.