Paper short abstract:

A comparison of the genetic diversity, demographic history and population structure of Piliocolobus badius and Colobus polykomos in two different protected areas: Gola National Park (Sierra Leone) and Cantanhez National Park (Guinea-Bissau).

Paper long abstract:

With most of the human population growth occurring in areas of high levels of biodiversity, it is crucial to understand and assess the impacts of anthropogenic activities on wildlife. This includes the case of West Africa, a region characterized by a highly anthropogenic landscape, yet home to many endangered non-human primates. The focus of this study is directed to scanning for possible connections between human presence/activity and the genetic diversity, effective population size and population structure of two sympatric colobines extant in the Gola Rainforest National Park (GRNP, Sierra Leone). We analysed 12 microsatellites and 400 bp of the mitochondrial D-loop region for 146 Piliocolobus badius (Western red colobus) and 25 Colobus polykomos (King colobus). We compared the results to published data from populations of the same species, sampled in the Cantanhez Forest National Park (CFNP, Guinea Bissau) in 2008. The colobus monkeys are hunted in both parks, but the extension and continuity of the forest habitat differs. The forests of CNP are highly fragmented and the presence of humans is intense. Contrastingly, GRNP has larger and continuous forests with lower levels of human pressure. We have found higher levels of genetic diversity at GRNP, which suggest that human presence - along with habitat size and connectivity, are likely the main factors contributing to the maintenance or loss of genetic diversity. Our results reinforce the importance of maintaining well-preserved forests for the conservation of arboreal primates.