Monitoring Dama Gazelles Nanger dama in the Termit Massif (Niger) Project Progress Report Part I

Transcription

1 Monitoring Dama Gazelles Nanger dama in the Termit Massif (Niger) Project Progress Report Part I Thomas Rabeil 1, Tim Wacher 2, John Newby 1, Abdoulaye Harouna 3 & Alkabouss Matchano 3 Introduction In 2010, the Mohammed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund generously awarded the Sahara Conservation Fund (SCF) a grant 4 of $26,200 for the purchase and deployment of a grid of Reconyx camera traps to help monitor and manage a significant population of the critically endangered Dama Gazelle Nanger dama in the newly created Termit and Tin Toumma National Nature Reserve in Niger (Fig. 1). In agreement with the fund s managers, the project s start date was postponed until This report provides an update on progress to date and is the first part of case study detailing the project s initiation and subsequent progress. Fig. 1 Location map showing the project area in the Termit Massif, Niger. 1 Sahara Conservation Fund 2 Zoological Society of London 3 Sahara Conservation Fund / PCBR Niger 4 Project registered under number

2 Status of the dama gazelle Listed as Critically Endangered (CR) by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN 2013), the dama gazelle is one of the world s rarest and most endangered antelopes (Fig. 2). Formerly common across its grassland and thinly-wooded habitats of the Sahelian zone of Africa, the dama gazelle now only exists in a small handful of tiny, isolated populations in Niger and Chad (Scholte 2013). With overhunting by far the major cause for its demise, the dama gazelle is also prone to encroachment of its preferred habitats by livestock development and agriculture, as well by severe drought and desertification. In all, there are probably no more than 300 dama gazelles in the wild today (Newby et al. in prep.), spread between small populations in the Aïr Mountains and Termit Massif of Niger, and the Manga region and Ouadi Rimé-Ouadi Achim Game Reserve in Chad. The focal area of this project, the Termit Massif in eastern Niger, is comprised of stony plateaux and secluded wadis that act as a refuge for this species. Work to conserve the gazelle has been going on for several years and the need for more non-intrusive ways of monitoring presence and distribution of this shy and highly vulnerable species are urgently required to formulate viable management plans. Fig. 2 Adult female dama gazelle captured on a camera trap placed in typical habitat in the Termit Massif, Niger. Community involvement In the recent past, the local population of Toubou pastoralists (Fig. 3) has been the gazelles main threat, with animals being shot opportunistically in ones and twos. Work with the herders and their community representatives in the framework of a multi-donor conservation project since is, however, having a positive impact. Hunting apart, other forms of human disturbance of the gazelles last remaining refuges is also a threat, especially in an area where rainfall and the resulting pasture is so limited, creating conditions for competition between the gazelles and the camels and goats of the local people. Working out a viable compromise that allows a sharing of space and resources is a key objective and to facilitate this, the Saint Louis Zoo Wildcare Institute donated $10,000 to the Sahara Conservation Fund to employ community game guards with a dama gazelle-specific mandate to work with the local community. The two guards were recruited from among the local Toubou people to help SCF in its efforts to raise awareness locally about the plight of the dama gazelle and serve as both 5 Projet MHE/CMS/FFEM/EU/SCF Antilopes Sahélo-Sahariennes 2

3 ambassadors and protectors for the dama conservation effort. The guards provide a vital link between SCF and the local people and their activities include assisting in the installation and maintenance of the camera trap grid. The funds donated cover the guards stipend for two years, a contribution towards the cost of using their camels for patrol work, and a GPS unit each to help them pinpoint sightings and activities for their reports. As a prerequisite to installing the cameras and implementing the monitoring activities, an awareness campaign was carried out from December 2011 to April 2012, to inform the local community and its leaders of the camera trap monitoring plan, and to win their support in protecting the cameras from theft or tampering once placed on site. As part of this critically important preparatory work, a local support group was established amongst the Toubou pastoralists inhabiting the area, comprising local leaders and their designated regional chief. Discussions were focused on the need to raise awareness about the project amongst the local population and to seek their support in insuring there would be no interference or Fig. 3 Toubou herders with their camels and goats in the Termit Massif. damage to the cameras. Within the larger community a number of people were identified by their peers to work alongside the reserve s already existing community game guards to monitor and protect the cameras. The head extension agent of the Termit Tin Toumma reserve explained the expected benefits from the operation for the conservation of this emblematic species and the broader project goal to maintain the habitat, which is also used by livestock at certain times of the year. A second meeting was held with the reserve s community game guards in order to brief them on the operation and to ensure maximum awareness for the initiative. Afterwards, SCF staff, including the community game guards, ran information campaigns in the local nomad camps (25 camps in total) (Fig. 4) around the Termit Massif, not only to protect the cameras but also to renew the conservation messages about the dama gazelle and the need for its protection. At the same time, the project leader and his deputy in charge of ecological monitoring informed the armed forces present in Fig. 4 Demonstrating the camera traps to Toubou community leaders. the area and their superior officers based in Zinder, the regional capital, that cameras were to be deployed in Termit for wildlife conservation purposes and also to seek their support. Site selection The next part of the project consisted of identifying suitable places to install the cameras. Previous survey work had established two main focal areas of dama gazelle distribution within the Termit 3

4 Massif: a northern and a southern block (see maps in Annex 1). Having been hunted for many years, the dama gazelles are very nervous of people and vehicles and therefore extremely difficult to monitor by conventional means. The cameras are deployed by using a numbered reference grid of 2 x 2 km squares overlaid on the two blocks. A camera is placed centrally in each grid square, selecting exact locations where movement of dama gazelles and other species might reasonably be detected. This methodology is based on an approach to standardize camera trap use increasingly adopted and reported on in the conservation literature (see Annex I and also Sanderson 2004, Tobler et al. 2008, and O Brien 2010). A reconnaissance mission to locate suitable camera trap sites in the Southern Block was carried out in May 2012 while the project was waiting for the cameras to arrive in Niger. During this mission 24 sites were identified. Trial supporting data on trap site habitat and local conditions were collected according to the protocol shown in Fig. 5 and Annexes 2 & 3. These site specific data, together with additional information from GIS studies of the reserve, will be used in analysis and interpretation of camera trap results. Pictures were also taken of the tree to which the camera was attached (Fig. 6) and the nearby environment of the site (Fig. 7). Grid # Camera ID Latitude Longitude Trees Grasses Maerua crassifolia Panicum turgidum Attachment Tree sp. Leptadenia Cenchrus biflorus Trail Habitat type attachment pyrotechnica Tree Maerua crassifolia No Small wadi Acacia raddiana Cenchrus ciliaris Direction of Presence human Distance nearest Soil Bait view settlements settlement 40 Sandy No No No >10 km Fig. 5 Information on the site selected for a camera to be placed in Unit 225 of the grid for the Southern Block of the Termit Massif, Niger. Fig. 6 Maerua crassifolia tree used to attach the camera. 4

5 Fig. 7 Photographs of the habitat neighbouring the tree used for the attachment of the camera. Camera installation: Southern Block In November 2012, 20 Reconyx HC600 cameras 6 were installed in the Southern Block at the sites identified in May by the SCF team based in Niger (Fig. 8). Between May and November, no changes were observed regarding the habitat or the human settlements in the area. The cameras were collected and the data downloaded in June Fig. 8 A selection of trees used to attach cameras in the Southern Block

6 Camera installation: Northern Block After downloading the data from the Southern Block in June 2013, the cameras were cleaned and serviced with new batteries. The team then identified appropriate sites to set up the cameras in the Northern Block (see Annex 1). The mission was carried out with the community game guards in order to show them the sites where cameras are newly installed so they can return to check the cameras are still well positioned and not damaged during the second deployment period. Like the Southern Block, the cameras will be left in place for six months. Should any of the cameras be found to be missing or damaged, the local dama gazelle support group and the reserve s community game guards will visit the camps nearby and investigate with the local people. During the initial deployment period of six months, one camera was stolen and two were tampered with to remove the batteries. Next steps The data recorded on the memory cards from the Southern Block will be saved and backups made and stored with SCF in Niger and Europe, as well as with ZSL in the UK. Analysis of the data (six months worth) will be carried out during the second semester of Metadata describing image filename, date, time, moon phase and camera status will be extracted from jpg files automatically using Exiv2 software ( to create master files of all photographs exported to MS Excel. Species/events causing triggering will be identified and entered against the photo filename for each new event, where time-lapsed since the previous event and day number of each event can also be calculated rapidly from the date and time information. Events will be defined as images (or sequences of images) of target species appearing more than one hour after the previous images of that species. Baseline relative abundance indices of dama gazelle will be derived as event rate: number of events / 100 days of camera trapping, naïve occupancy (% traps positive for dama) and modeled occupancy weighted by detectability (use of Presence software), which also has potential for analysis by habitat and other covariates collected for camera trap sites. The same parameters will be calculated for as many other species as possible detected in the camera array, with special attention to potential predators of dama gazelle, such as golden jackal, striped hyena and cheetah, or competitors such as livestock, Barbary sheep and possibly dorcas gazelle. Species discovery rate curves for the entire large mammal population of the Southern Block will also be derived using the software EstimateS, providing a baseline measure of species discovery rates and comparative species richness of the central part of the reserve. Camera installation and positioning will be reviewed to enable improved site selection and set up protocols as necessary. 6

7 References Newby, J., Wacher, T., Durant, S., Pettorelli, N. & Gilbert, T. in prep. The status and distribution of the gazelles and antelopes of the Sahara and bordering Sahelian grasslands. O Brien, T Wildife Picture Index : Implementation Manual Verions.!.0 WCS Working Papers, No. 39. Junen 2010, 35 pp. _WPno39_WildlifePictureIndex.pdf? Sanderson, J.G Tropical Ecology, Assessment and Monitoring initiative. Camera Phototrapping Monitoring protocol. The center for Applied Biodiveristy Science (CABS), Conservation International, 1919 M Street, NW, Suite Washington D.C , USA. 18pp. EN-2.0.pdf Scholte, P Nanger dama Dama Gazelle; pp in Kingdon, J. & Hoffmann, M. (eds) Mammals of Africa: Volume I: Pigs, Hippotamuses, Chevrotain, Giraffes, Deer and Bovids. Bloomsbury Publishing, London. Tobler, M.W., Carrillo-Percastegui, S.E., Leite Pitman, R., Mares, R. and Powell, G An evaluation of camera traps for inventory of large- and medium-sized terrestrial rainforest mammals. Animal Conservation 11 (2008) IUCN IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version < Downloaded on 07 August Acknowledgements The authors wish to thank the Mohammed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund and the Saint Louis Zoo Wildcare Institute for their generous support for this critically important applied conservation research project. Thanks, too, to the staff of the Termit & Tin Toumma National Nature Reserve and the Partenariat pour la Conservation de la Biodiversité de la Réserve Naturelle Nationale de Termit & Tin Toumma (PCBR) project managed by Noé Conservation. Finally, this project and the conservation work that will be supported by its successful implementation would not be possible without the support and understanding of the population of the Termit Massif and their traditional leaders. To them goes our sincerest thanks. 7

8 Annex 1 Maps of the Termit Massif showing the Northern and Southern Blocks, together with the overlaid reference grid and current dama gazelle sightings. 8

9 Annex 2 Cybertracker sequence design Set up sequence 9

10 Recovery sequence 10

11 Annex 3 Protocol (French) for setting and recovery of camera traps Protocole à suivre pour la mise en place et la collecte des pièges photographiques A. Installation des appareils 1. Bien décrire l'habitat selon le protocole mis en place précédemment ex pour le point 225 : 2. Ne pas s'approcher trop prêt avec le véhicule. Ce dernier doit être au moins à 50 mètres de l'arbre. 3. Prendre les photos de l'arbre au niveau duquel sera fixé le piège, et les photos des 4 directions depuis l'arbre avec la première photo étant la vue qu'aura le piège et ensuite sur les côtés et derrière l'arbre. 4. Choisir la direction avec précaution afin de minimiser les effets de la lumière rasant lors du lever et du coucher du soleil. 5. Remplir la séquence du Cybertracker pour le camera trapping avec Set up. 6. Copier les mêmes informations sur le cahier. 7. Lors de l'installation du piège, s'assurer que la carte a été bien mise, que les piles sont à 100% et que les paramètres de sensibilité et déclenchement sont bien réglés (pas de changement à faire normalement puisqu'il s'agit d'utiliser les mêmes pièges mais vérifier tout de même que tout est OK). 8. S'assurer qu'il n'y a aucun élément devant la caméra susceptible de gêner ou déclencher les photos de manière intempestive. Bien faire attention à ne pas utiliser comme point d'attache des arbres cachés derrière des rochers ou des arbres morts afin de maximiser les chances de visite. S'assurer également avec l'approche de la saison des pluies, que la zone devant la caméra ne sera pas obstruée par des plantes de quelque sorte qu'il soit. 9. S'assurer lors du positionnement de la caméra que l'angle sera suffisamment important pour prendre la totalité de l'animal et ne soit pas trop incliné vers le sol ou le ciel. D'où l'importance de prendre une photo test avec un appareil photo de type compact. 10. Bien mettre le Python lock. 11. Prendre une photo avec sur une feuille blanche, la date et le numéro de la grille correspondant ainsi que la mention set up sur la feuille. Exemple : 15/06/2013 Grid Number 515 Set up B. Collecte des appareils 1. S'assurer que les dossiers devant contenir les données sont bien classés par bloc et par numéro dans la grille, exemple d'agencement de dossiers : Projet-Dama/Bloc-Nord /Gridnumber225/image001.jpeg 2. Prendre les deux ordinateurs de brousse du projet en cas de défaillance de l'un ou de l'autre et prendre 2 disques durs externes et une clé USB pour les sauvegardes de la séquence Cybetracker. 3. Faire une sauvegarde chaque jour des données sur le terrain. 4. Lors de la collecte des données de la carte et le ramassage du piège : a) Avant même de toucher la caméra, marcher doucement devant la caméra afin d'être certain que le piège continue de se déclencher. b) Avant de retirer la carte mémoire mettre une feuille blanche devant la caméra avec la date et le numéro de la grille correspondant ainsi que la mention recovery sur la feuille. Exemple : 13/06/2013 Grid Number 225 Recovery c) Remplir la séquence du Cybetracker PSWS pour la partie camera trapping recovery et bien noter toutes les informations liées au dérangement sur le piège (changement de position, endommagé, etc...) mais aussi s'il y a des traces de faune présentes devant le 11

12 piège, des traces de perturbations humaines ou quoique ce soit qui semble être différent par rapport au moment où le piège a été mis en place. Bien prendre soin de noter les infos propres au piège (nombre de photos, pourcentage de batterie, etc...). d) Noter ces informations sur un cahier en plus du Cybertracker en cas de défaillance de ce dernier. e) Décharger les données de la carte dans le dossier approprié (par exemple, toutes les images récupérées dans le piège placés au niveau du point 225 vont dans Gridnumber225). f) Faire une sauvegarde automatique sur un disque dur juste après avoir déchargé les données. 12