Impacts of artisanal small-scale gold mining on chimpanzees (Pan

337 Pages·2017·4.28 MB·English

Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Dissertations
2017
Chimpanzees in the Island Of Gold: Impacts of
artisanal small-scale gold mining on chimpanzees
(Pan troglodytes verus) in Fongoli, Senegal
Kelly Morgan Boyer Ontl
Iowa State University
Follow this and additional works at:https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd
Part of theBiological and Physical Anthropology Commons,Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Commons, and theNatural Resources and Conservation Commons
Recommended Citation
Ontl, Kelly Morgan Boyer, "Chimpanzees in the Island Of Gold: Impacts of artisanal small-scale gold mining on chimpanzees (Pan
troglodytes verus) in Fongoli, Senegal" (2017).Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 15594.
https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/15594
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Chimpanzees in the Island of Gold:
Impacts of artisanal small-scale gold mining on chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus)
in Fongoli, Senegal

by

Kelly Morgan Boyer Ontl

A dissertation submitted to the graduate faculty

in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Major: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Program of Study Committee:
Jill D. Pruetz, Major Professor
Brent Danielson
Robert Klaver
Cassandra Nunez
Francis Owusu

The student author, whose presentation of the scholarship herein was approved by the
program of study committee, is solely responsible for the content of this dissertation. The
Graduate College will ensure this dissertation is globally accessible and will not permit
alterations after a degree is conferred.

Iowa State University

Ames, Iowa

2017

Copyright © Kelly Morgan Boyer Ontl, 2017. All rights reserved.
ii
DEDICATION

To my mother, Ellen Slentz.

For helping to make my dreams become a reality

and

In memory of

Saiba Keita
iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................................................. vviiiii
LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................... Xx
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................. XVxv
ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................... XVxIvIIi ii

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION: WEST AFRICAN CHIMPANZEES ..........................1
Senegal’s savanna chimpanzees .............................................................................................3
Ethnoprimatology ...................................................................................................................7
Anthropogenic activity and West African chimpanzees .........................................................8
Mali .............................................................................................................................9
Guinea Bissau .............................................................................................................9
Guinea .......................................................................................................................10
Sierra Leone ..............................................................................................................11
Liberia .......................................................................................................................12
Côte d’Ivoire .............................................................................................................12
Ghana ........................................................................................................................13
Summary ...............................................................................................................................14
Dissertation structure ............................................................................................................15
Literature cited ......................................................................................................................16

CHAPTER II ARTISANAL SMALL-SCALE GOLD MINING IN CONTEXT..........28
West Africa’s story of gold ...................................................................................................30
Modern gold rush and the environmental impacts ...................................................31
ASGM in Fongoli Senegal ....................................................................................................37
Oundoundou mine .....................................................................................................38
Kerouani mine ...........................................................................................................38
Coucoukoto and Wolokoto mines..............................................................................39
Ngari Camp and Niakora mine .................................................................................39
Djendji mine ..............................................................................................................39
iv
Summary ...............................................................................................................................40
Literature cited ......................................................................................................................40

CHAPTER III FONGOLI SAVANNA CHIMPANZEE PROJECT: THE STUDY
OF A COUPLED HUMAN AND NATURAL SYSTEM ...................................................58
Coupled human and natural systems.....................................................................................58
Location ................................................................................................................................61
The human systems ...............................................................................................................62
Governance and history ............................................................................................62
Permanent human communities ................................................................................64
Transient human communities ..................................................................................67
Fongoli Savanna Chimpanzee Project......................................................................68
The natural systems...............................................................................................................70
Climate and seasons .................................................................................................70
Forest resources and land cover...............................................................................71
Water resources ........................................................................................................72
Chimpanzees and other wildlife ................................................................................72
System interactions ...............................................................................................................74
Telecoupling processes .........................................................................................................79
Conclusions ...........................................................................................................................80
Literature Ccted ....................................................................................................................80

CHAPTER IV DYNAMICS OF HUMAN-CHIMPANZEE ENCOUNTERS
AT FONGOLI, SENEGAL, 2006-2014 ...............................................................................95
Abstract .................................................................................................................................96
Introduction ...........................................................................................................................97
Humans and primates – conflict and commensalism ................................................99
Human-chimpanzee interface in Fongoli, Senegal .................................................101
Scope of study .....................................................................................................................110
Study site .............................................................................................................................110
Methods...............................................................................................................................112
v
Results .................................................................................................................................114
Human activities .....................................................................................................115
Chimpanzee reactions .............................................................................................116
Human-initiated interactions ..................................................................................119
Gender.....................................................................................................................120
Time of day ..............................................................................................................120
Discussion ...........................................................................................................................121
Chimpanzee reactions .............................................................................................122
Human-initiated interactions ..................................................................................124
Gender.....................................................................................................................125
Conclusion ..........................................................................................................................125
Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................126
Literature cited ....................................................................................................................127

CHAPTER V IMPACTS OF ARTISANAL SMALL-SCALE GOLD MINING
ON THE LONG-TERM RANGING BEHAVIOR OF THE FONGOLI
CHIMPANZEES.................................................................................................................166
Abstract ...............................................................................................................................167
Introduction .........................................................................................................................168
Ranging in forests and savannas ............................................................................169
Anthropogenic activity ............................................................................................172
Methods...............................................................................................................................176
Study site .................................................................................................................176
Study subjects ..........................................................................................................177
Data collection and analyses ..................................................................................177
Results .................................................................................................................................181
Home range area ....................................................................................................181
Seasonal changes ....................................................................................................183
Impacts of ASGM affected areas on home range....................................................183
Discussion ...........................................................................................................................187
Impacts of artisanal small-scale gold mining .........................................................189
vi
Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................193
Literature cited ....................................................................................................................194

CHAPTER VI IMPACTS OF ARTISANAL SMALL-SCALE GOLD MINING
ON CHIMPANZEE HABITAT USE AND BEHAVIOR..................................................228
Abstract ...............................................................................................................................229
Introduction .........................................................................................................................230
Artisanal and small-scale gold mining and great apes ..........................................232
Hypotheses ..............................................................................................................235
Methods...............................................................................................................................236
Study subjects ..........................................................................................................236
Study site .................................................................................................................237
Data collection and variables .................................................................................238
Data analysis ..........................................................................................................242
Results .................................................................................................................................244
Overall habitat selection .........................................................................................244
Oundoundou mine ...................................................................................................247
Kerouani mine .........................................................................................................249
Discussion ...........................................................................................................................251
Behavioral impacts .................................................................................................255
Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................256
Literature cited ....................................................................................................................257
Appendix 1 ..........................................................................................................................301

CHAPTER VII CONCLUSIONS .................................................................................308
Summary .............................................................................................................................308
Synthesis of chapters...........................................................................................................311
Disturbance attraction and direct learning of risk .................................................312
Literature cited ....................................................................................................................315
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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1.1 Estimates of chimpanzee communities across the Kedougou region of Senegal .......25
Table 3.1 Governance Structures for Senegal and the Fongoli Field Site .................................90
Table 4.1 The top 20 plant species eaten by the Fongoli chimpanzees during each season
(early dry = Nov. – Feb.; late dry = Mar. – May; wet = Jun. – Oct.) listed with
the proportion of use out of total observations and their uses by people. ................138
Table 4.2 Data collected during observations and used for analyses of human-chimpanzee
encounters. ................................................................................................................141
Table 4.3 Chimpanzee reactions defined ..................................................................................142
Table 4.4 Total days of observation, number of human-chimpanzee encounters, and the
average daily human-chimpanzee encounter rate used in analyses for each year
of the study for visual and auditory encounters. ......................................................143
Table 4.5 Summary of logistic regression models predicting the likelihood that
chimpanzees would visual encounter people and of encountering people
engaged in each of the nine activities listed. ............................................................144
Table 4.6 Summary of multinomial regression predicting the likelihood of each reaction
type over the nine-year study period. .......................................................................145
Table 4.7 Chi square analysis output for chimpanzee reaction to activity type. Adjusted
residuals that exceed +/- 2 are in bold. .....................................................................146
Table 4.8 Chi square analysis output for chimpanzee reaction to transportation type.
Adjusted residuals that exceed +/- 2 are in bold. .....................................................148
Table 5.1 Comparison of home range estimates using minimum convex polygon (MCP)
or kernel density estimator (KDE) methods of 12 chimpanzee communities
arranged by habitat and region. ................................................................................203
Table 5.2 Monthly and annual totals of days of data used in analyses. ...................................204
Table 5.3 Home range (100% MCP and 95% KDE) and core range (50% MCP and 50%
KDE) estimates for each year of the study period in km2. Each of the MCP and
KDE estimates are also shown adjusted for the number of days of observation
for each year (km2/day). .........................................................................................205
Table 5.4 Summary statistics of chimpanzee use of the Oundoundou mining area prior to
mining and during mining for each level of mining expansion. Seasons when
the chimpanzees visited the mine area as early dry (edry), late dry (ldry) or wet
season. ......................................................................................................................206
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Table 5.5 Summary statistics for chimpanzee use of the Kerouani mining area prior to
and during mining at the two levels of mining expansion. Seasons when the
chimpanzees visited the mine area as early dry (edry), late dry (ldry) or wet
season. ......................................................................................................................207
Table 5.6 Summary statistics for chimpanzees ranging at the Coucoukoto mining area
over the course of the study period. Seasons when the chimpanzees visited the
mine area as early dry (edry), late dry (ldry) or wet season. ....................................208
Table 5.7 Summary statistics for chimpanzees ranging inside or less than 5 m from the
edge of the Wolokoto mine over the course of the study period. Seasons when
the chimpanzees visited the mine area as early dry (edry), late dry (ldry) or wet
season. ......................................................................................................................208
Table 5.8 Data book entry from June 30, 2014 detailing the chimpanzees’ visit to the
Djendji mining site. ..................................................................................................209
Table 6.1 Number of 5-minute interval sampling observations (obs.) for each year of the
study period and each defined mining level in the dataset and in the data subset
of 10,0000 random (available) observations used in analyses. ................................267
Table 6.2 Categorization and descriptions of land cover types at the Fongoli field site.
Food availability ranking derived from habitat classifications and feeding tree
per hectares in Bogart (2009). ..................................................................................268
Table 6.3 Two scales of resource selection function modeling and the levels and
sublevels for each scale. ...........................................................................................272
Table 6.4 Parameter estimates for community-level resource selection function for the
Fongoli chimpanzees from 2005 through 2014. .......................................................273
Table 6.5 Parameter estimates for community-level resource selection function for the
Fongoli chimpanzees during each of the four levels of mining. ..............................274
Table 6.6 Parameter estimates for community-level resource selection function for the
Fongoli chimpanzees during the wet, early dry and late dry seasons from 2005
through 2014.............................................................................................................276
Table 6.7 Parameter estimates for resource selection function for the Fongoli
chimpanzees at the Oundoundou mining area. .........................................................278
Table 6.8 Behaviors observed (in minutes) at the Oundoundou mining, arranged by
physiognomies, seasons, and level of mining. No activity was observed during
the wet season or in pre-mining levels. Presence or absence of miners when the
activities were observed is given in parentheses. .....................................................279
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Table 6.9 Select data book entries for December 5, 2012 describing the chimpanzees’
reaction to mining activity at the Oundoundou mine. The chimpanzees were
traveling in a large group of 17 to 21 individuals during this encounter. ................280
Table 6.10 Occurrences of food species eaten at the Oundoundou mining area within
woodland and forest physiognomies and grassland and savanna
physiognomies, across mining levels, and either prior to mining activity or
during mining activity. .............................................................................................281
Table 6.11 Parameter estimates for resource selection function for the Fongoli
chimpanzees at the Kerouani mining area. ...............................................................282
Table 6.12 Occurrences of behaviors observed at the Kerouani mining area in
physiognomy groups, across mining levels, and subseasons. ..................................283
Table 6.13 Data book entries for drinking activity at the Kerouani mining area ....................284
Table 6.14 Proportion of time spent consuming food products at the Kerouani mining
area within forest and woodland versus grassland and savanna land cover
categories, across mining levels, and either prior to mining activity or during
mining activity. .........................................................................................................286
Table A1.1 Habitat preferences and avoidance of the 22 land cover types for each
season and behavioral activity. Intensity of preference or avoidance, relative to
the other seasons or behaviors, is indicated by number of symbols shown .............301