ANPN Science Brief

English As nations assess the progress made over the past decade in addressing the factors that influence direct pressures on biodiversity and in formulating new policies and strategies for the coming decade, Gabon can look back on a more than positive record. Gabon created a network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in 2017. This network far exceeds the 10% target set in 2010. The implementation of such an initiative has been possible in Gabon thanks to several stakeholders. Indeed, a consortium of policy makers and practitioners helped implementing a comprehensive and ecologically representative network of 20 MPAs. To achieve this, it was important for the country to create a national framework, build long-term stakeholder support, and focus on research that guides implementation and policy. Then, it was necessary to outline a four-step approach that countries and donors could use as an example to help meet international commitments. Keywords Aichi biodiversity targets, conserva...

English To better know African forest elephant ( Loxodonta cyclotis ) abondance and repartition, a study was done throughout Gabon. To that end, elephant dungs were systematically collected at 18 sites across Gabon. Then, a total of 4058 dung samples were collected, from which 2370 allowed to estimate elephant density at 0.38 per km 2 . Results also showed that Gabon is a forest elephant stronghold, with a population size of 95110 and a spatial distribution covering 250782 km 2 . Furthermore, protected areas and anthropogenic pressures do not seem to be good predictors of elephant density in this study. Key words: African forest elephant, Density estimation, Gabon, Loxodonta cyclotis, Non-invasive genetic, sampling, Single nucleotide polymorphism, Spatial capture-recapture The following persons from the ANPN Cellule Scientifique were part of this study research team:   S. Bourgeois, H. G. Bikang Bi Ateme, et Simira Banga Daouda. The field work took place in the following...

English With giant pangolins under severe threat due to increasing demand for their meat and scales, it seems essential to study their ecological requirements in order to gather more information for their conservation. This paper explores a method that involved anaesthetising and fitting three individuals (two males and one female) with tags and global positioning systems. The results obtained support the use of ketamine in combination with medetomidine to immobilize giant pangolins. This method will help to collect more biological, geographical distribution, and habitat association data on the giant pangolins. Français  Anesthésie de trois pangolins géants ( Smutsia gigantea ) dans des forêts tropicales vierges Face à la forte menace qui pèse sur les pangolins géants en raison d'une demande croissante de leur viande et leurs écailles, il semble essentiel d’étudier leurs besoins écologiques afin d’élargir les informations indispensables pour leur conservation. Cet article e...

Francais Tous les partenaires du Projet de Suivi Satellitaire des Tortues Olivâtres nidifiantes au Gabon aimeraient partager les informations du projet. L'objectif est de décrire les déplacements des tortues marines et leur comportement de plongée dans les eaux côtières, pour mieux comprendre leur vulnerabilité aux menaces telles que les pecheries, les navires et les activités pétrolières. Le projet espére que les résultats permettront d'appuyer les initiatives de protection et de gestion par l'etat Gabonais. Vous êtes invités à visiter le site Web du projet, de manière à suivre les tortues en ligne dans leurs déplacements quotidiens : http://www.seaturtle.org/tracking/?project_id=1165 Si vous cliquez sur "Subscribe to receive daily project updates" vous pouvez recevoir des courriels quotidiens sur leurs progrès. Et vous pouvez même adopter une tortue si vous le souhaitez ! English The partners of the Gabon Olive Ridley Tracking Projet would like to...

Francais La moitié de la biomasse des forêts d'Afrique centrale est stocké dans seulement 5% de ses arbres. Telle est la conclusion d'une étude récente menée à 175 parcelles forestières au Cameroun, Gabon, la RCA et la RDC. L'équipe de recherche a constaté qu'un petit nombre de grands arbres sont le plus important en termes de stockage de carbone; et que, en mesurant la plus grande 5% des arbres, la biomasse de toute la forêt peut être estimé avec une précision de 90%. Dans l'ensemble, seulement 18 species- donc 1,5% de toutes les espèces retrouves- contenaient 50% de la biomasse de la forêt. Certains d'entre eux sont couramment exploitées - p.ex. Azobé ( Lophira alata ), Niové ( Staudtia kamerunensis ) et Tali ( Erythrophleum suaveolens ). Cette étude apporte des implications importantes pour la gestion des forêts et de l'aménagement du territoire, afin de savoir la taille et la nombre des  arbres a protéger dans une concession pour conserver son potent...

English Since the return of a single male lion to Gabon’s Plateaux Batéké National Park, this park now harbours four species of wild felids; more than any other park within Central Africa’s Congo Basin. Besides the lion ( Panthera leo ), the park is home to important populations of leopards ( Panthera pardus ), African golden cats ( Caracal aurata ), and Gabon’s only protected population of the serval ( Caracal serval ). Servals are open habitat specialists which mainly feed on small rodents. The species is most easily recognized by its long legs, short tail and large, rounded ears. Commonly, the medium-sized serval is boldly spotted black on a tawny underground. There are also melanistic individuals in certain areas, which appear completely black. Even rarer, is the so-called ‘servaline’ form, which has much smaller, freckled spots, and was once thought to be a separate species. All three forms have been filmed in and around Plateaux Batéké National Park, making this the only ...