Birthe Bibi Linden

• PhD Zoology
• Lecturer at Aberystwyth University

Sub-Saharan Africa is under-represented in global biodiversity datasets, particularly regarding the impact of land use on species’ population abundances. Drawing on recent advances in expert elicitation to ensure data consistency, 200 experts were convened using a modified-Delphi process to estimate ‘intactness scores’: the remaining proportion of...

South Africa has six species of primates, three of which are bushbabies (family Galagidae). Very little information is available on their parasites due to the lack of longitudinal studies, although Rhipicephalus appendiculatus, Amblyomma hebraeum and Haemaphysalis elliptica were previously reported from the brown greater galago (Otolemur crassicaud...

Seed dispersal influences the survival and distribution of plant species and is an important mechanism for maintaining floristic diversity. Bushpigs (Potamochoerus larvatus) are large mammals of indigenous forests and well-wooded areas of eastern and southern Africa and may play an important role as seed dispersers. However, the diversity of fruits...

Simple Summary When wildlife cross roads, they risk fatality due to collisions with automobiles and motorbikes. As road infrastructure networks rapidly expand globally, especially in the tropics and subtropics, primates are increasingly at risk from these collisions. We created the Global Primate Roadkill Database (GPRD) as a comprehensive standard...

Over 84% of the river ecosystems in South Africa are threatened and, accordingly freshwater dependent species such as the Cape clawless otter (Aonyx capensis) and the water mongoose (Atilax paludinosus) are also declining in numbers. These species share a similar diet and habitat preference and in certain places in South Africa it is known that the...

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made. Abstract Fruit bats provide vital ecosystem services through seed d...

In March 2021, as the COVID-19 pandemic raged, two of us decided to organise a virtual symposium on canopy bridges for the American Society of Primatology and Smithsonian's Earth Optimism initiative. Afterall, canopy bridges are a conservation solution that invites optimism in the face of all the challenges confronting the natural world. We were as...

Associations between animals of different species have been observed for a large variety of taxa. These polyspecific groups are thought to provide advantages to at least one of the species involved, especially foraging benefits or reduced predation risk. In the case of primate-bird associations, both foraging benefits and reduced predation risk hav...

South Africa’s extensive linear infrastructure network (which includes roads and power lines) is severely impacting the country’s historically recognised five primate species: greater or thick-tailed bushbaby ( Otolemur crassicaudatus ), southern lesser bushbaby ( Galago moholi ), chacma baboon ( Papio ursinus ), vervet monkey ( Chlorocebus pygeryt...

Forests affected by fragmentation are at risk of losing their primate populations over the long term. The impact of fragmentation on primate populations has been studied in several places in Africa, Asia and South America; however, there has been no discernible pattern of how primates react to forest disturbance and fragmentation. In fragmented hab...

The taxonomy and number of Cercopithecus monkey radiation events in southern Africa are still debated. To date, genetic studies have largely been limited to single specimens per taxon and a scattered geographical distribution. A recent study focusing on South African Cercopithecus monkeys showed that populations can be divided into three distinct g...

Frugivory and seed dispersal contribute to the maintenance and regeneration of plant communities through transportation of seeds and enhancing germination through seed processing mechanisms. The effects of mammalian frugivore seed processing mechanisms on seed germination are generally well studied and the potential benefits include disinhibition (...

Roads affect the integrity of ecosystems worldwide as a cause of mortality to animals and a barrier to animal movement, decreasing gene flow and increasing local extinction probability. It is estimated that construction of linear infrastructure impacts up to 13% of primate species but research focusing on primate road fatalities and mitigation is n...

Assessment rationale: Samango Monkeys are restricted to a variety of forest habitats and comprise three subspecies within the assessment region: Samango Monkey (C. a. labiatus), Stair’s White-collared monkey (C. a. erythrarchus), and Schwarz’s White-collared Monkey (C. a. schwarzi). While C. a. labiatus is endemic to the assessment region, C. a. e...

The samango monkey is South Africa's only exclusively forest dwelling primate and represents the southernmost extent of the range of arboreal guenons in Africa. The main threats to South Africa's forests and thus to the samango are linked to increasing land-use pressure and increasing demands for forest resources, resulting in deforestation, degrad...

Primate seed dispersal in South African forests and its potential benefit to forest plants has not been extensively investigated. South African forests are inhabited by only one exclusively forest-dwelling, large-bodied, diurnal, frugivorous primate, the samango monkey (Cercopithecus mitis). Our study presents first insights into seed dispersal by...

The samango monkey is South Africa's only exclusively forest dwelling primate and represents the southernmost extent of the range of arboreal guenons in Africa. The main threats to South Africa's forests and thus to the samango are linked to increasing land-use pressure and increasing demands for forest resources, resulting in deforestation, degrad...

Poster presentation. Seed dispersal by forest dwelling frugivorous primates in sub-tropical and tropical forests is important for maintaining floristic diversity by facilitating plant dispersal and forest regeneration. Cercopithecines in particular have been suggested to be amongst the most important seed dispersers in Afro-tropical forests. The ro...

This paper reports the results of the first study on secondary seed removal of seeds dispersed by Sykes' monkeys (Cercopithecus albogularis) using camera traps in Africa. Patterns of primary seed dispersal are often superimposed by secondary conveyance, emphasising the need to study these secondary processes carefully. As the agents and mechanisms...