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http://hdl.handle.net/1893/31738| Appears in Collections: | Biological and Environmental Sciences Journal Articles |
| Peer Review Status: | Refereed |
| Title: | Long-term collapse in fruit availability threatens Central African forest megafauna |
| Author(s): | Bush, Emma R Whytock, Robin C Bahaa-el-din, Laila Bourgeois, Stéphanie Bunnefeld, Nils Cardoso, Anabelle W Dikangadissi, Jean Thoussaint Dimbonda, Pacôme Dimoto, Edmond Edzang Ndong, Josué Jeffery, Kathryn J Lehmann, David Makaga, Loïc Momboua, Brice Momont, Ludovic R W Tutin, Caroline E G White, Lee J T Whittaker, Alden Abernethy, Katharine |
| Issue Date: | 4-Dec-2020 |
| Date Deposited: | 25-Sep-2020 |
| Citation: | Bush ER, Whytock RC, Bahaa-el-din L, Bourgeois S, Bunnefeld N, Cardoso AW, Dikangadissi JT, Dimbonda P, Dimoto E, Edzang Ndong J, Jeffery KJ, Lehmann D, Makaga L, Momboua B, Momont LRW, Tutin CEG, White LJT, Whittaker A & Abernethy K (2020) Long-term collapse in fruit availability threatens Central African forest megafauna. Science, 370 (6521), pp. 1219-1222. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abc7791 |
| Abstract: | Afrotropical forests host many of the world’s remaining megafauna, but even here they are confined to areas where direct human influences are low. We use a rare long-term dataset of tree reproduction and a photographic database of forest elephants to assess food availability and body condition of an emblematic megafauna species at Lopé National Park, Gabon. We show an 81% decline in fruiting over a 32-year period (1986-2018) and an 11% decline in body condition of fruit-dependent forest elephants from 2008-2018. Fruit famine in one of the last strongholds for African forest elephants should raise concern for the ability of this species and other fruit-dependent megafauna to persist in the long-term, with consequences for broader ecosystem and biosphere functioning. |
| DOI Link: | 10.1126/science.abc7791 |
| Rights: | This is the author’s version of the work. It is posted here by permission of the AAAS for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Science on 4 Dec 2020, Vol. 370, Issue 6521, pp. 1219-1222. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abc7791 |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bush Whytock et al. 2020_FinalAuthorVersion.pdf | Fulltext - Accepted Version | 8.73 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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