Jacob Willie

Antwerp Zoo Centre for Research and Conservation

Great apes lose suitable habitats required for their reproduction and survival due to human activities across their distribution range in Africa. Little is known about habitat suitability of the Nigeria–Cameroon chimpanzee [Pan troglodytes ellioti (Matschie, 1914)], particularly for populations inhabiting forest reserves in North-West Cameroon. To...

Chimpanzees feed on driver ants ( Dorylus sp.) using different tools and predation techniques that vary among populations and can be affected by availability of ant species as well as ecological and social-learning factors. At the Kom-Wum Forest Reserve (KWFR) in Cameroon, we investigated tool use behavior in Nigerian-Cameroon chimpanzees ( Pan tro...

Knowledge on the population history of endangered species is critical for conservation, but whole-genome data on chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) is geographically sparse. Here, we produced the first non-invasive geolocalized catalog of genomic diversity by capturing chromosome 21 from 828 non-invasive samples collected at 48 sampling sites across Afr...

As natural habitats continue to shrink in Kenya's Amboseli Ecosystem, livestock depredation by lions Panthera leo threatens both the livelihoods of pastoralist communities and the lion populations affected by retaliatory killings. Finding ways for people and carnivores to coexist at the landscape scale is crucial to the long-term persistence of man...

We estimated the abundance of Colobus guereza ssp. guereza in the moist evergreen riparian forest part of Nech Sar National Park, Ethiopia. The survey was conducted using the distance sampling method. Based on a preliminary study, 17 newly cut line transects were randomly aligned across the study area. The survey data were then collected for three...

Evaluating the effectiveness of conservation actions in tropical forests is essential. Generally based on the monitoring of living wildlife communities, combination with bushmeat extraction indicators is seldom used. It is therefore interesting to carry out a monitoring of indices related to these two categories of indicators in order to identify i...

Obtaining and analysing sound data can be a tedious and lengthy process. We present sound data consisting of 20,485 1-minute sound recordings obtained in three sites within a rainforest landscape in southeast Cameroon. The sites differ in anthropogenic disturbance. We also present meta data corresponding to these recordings with the identification...

The study of soundscapes and biological sounds is becoming the focus of increasing scientific attention. Studying biological sounds involves the deployment of acoustic sensors to record sounds and the identification of animal species and other sources of sound in audio recordings. In addition, data extracted from audio recordings may be pooled toge...

Aim: Modelling African great ape distribution has until now focused on current or past conditions, while future scenarios remain scarcely explored. Using an ensemble forecasting approach, we predicted changes in taxon-specific distribution under future scenarios of climate, land use and human populations for (1) areas outside protected areas (PAs)...

Studying soundscapes to improve knowledge about an environment with limited visibility is gaining popularity. However, the structure and drivers of biological sounds remain poorly understood although this information can improve understanding of landscape dynamics. To describe biological sounds and provide a better understanding of their drivers, w...

Paleoclimate reconstructions have enhanced our understanding of how past climates have shaped present-day biodiversity. We hypothesize that the geographic extent of Pleistocene forest refugia and suitable habitat fluctuated significantly in time during the late Quaternary for chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Using bioclimatic variables representing m...

Environmental conditions and human activity influence the selection of nest sites by chimpanzees and may have serious conservation implications. We examined the characteristics of nesting trees preferred by chimpanzees, investigated the effect of vegetation composition and topography on nest site locations and seasonality on nesting heights of chim...

This paper documents a community of eastern chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii Giglioli, 1872) inhabiting three relict forest fragments situated on the Lake Albert escarpment, down the Ituri highlands, of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The area explored had a combined forested surface of ±18.15 km2 in 2017, shrinking by 1....

A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-21010-z.

A large community of scientists has demonstrated that millions of people located in tropical zones derive a significant proportion of their livelihoods from the extraction of non-timber forest products (NTFPs). Despite these results, questions remain as to whether the valorisation of NTFPs can sustainably contribute to the improvement of the liveli...

Large brains and behavioural innovation are positively correlated, species-specific traits, associated with the behavioural flexibility animals need for adapting to seasonal and unpredictable habitats. Similar ecological challenges would have been important drivers throughout human evolution. However, studies examining the influence of environmenta...

Human ethnographic knowledge covers hundreds of societies, whereas chimpanzee ethnography encompasses at most 15 communities. Using termite fishing as a window into the richness of chimpanzee cultural diversity, we address a potential sampling bias with 39 additional communities across Africa. Previously, termite fishing was known from eight locati...

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Aim Modelling African great ape distribution has until now focused on current or past conditions, whilst future scenarios remain scarcely explored. Using an ensemble forecasting approach, we predicted changes in taxon-specific distribution under future scenarios of climate, land-use and human population changes. Location Sub-Saharan Africa Method...

Hunting may be the greatest threat to wildlife populations across the Congo basin. Largebodied species are the most vulnerable; alterations in assemblages of such keystone species can affect many important ecological functions. There may be a reduction or loss of ecological services, such as seed dispersal. Monitoring functional diversity within a...

Human activities can lead to a shift in wildlife species' spatial distribution. Understanding the specific effects of human activities on ranging behavior can improve conservation management of wildlife populations in human-dominated landscapes. This study evaluated the effects of forest use by humans on the spatial distribution of mammal species w...

Hunting may be the greatest threat to wildlife populations across the Congo basin. Largebodied species are the most vulnerable; alterations in assemblages of such keystone species can affect many important ecological functions. There may be a reduction or loss of ecological services, such as seed dispersal. Monitoring functional diversity within a...

As well as leading to a loss of biodiversity (i.e. species richness and abundance), human activities also affect ecosystem functioning. Documenting how the suite of ecological roles changes following disturbance provides a complementary source of information for conservation management. To this end, we measured mammal diversity in terms of communit...

Understanding the mechanisms governing the coexistence of organisms is an important question in ecology, and providing potential solutions contributes to conservation science. In this study, we evaluated the contribution of several mechanisms to the coexistence of two sympatric frugivores, using western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) an...

More than just numbers We often frame negative human impacts on animal species in terms of numbers of individuals reduced or numbers of regions from which species are absent. However, human activities are likely affecting species in more complex ways than these figures can capture. Kühl et al. studied behavioral and cultural diversity in our closes...

Temperament and personality research in humans and nonhuman animals measures behavioral variation in individual, population, or species-specific traits with implications for survival and fitness, such as social status, foraging, and mating success [1-5]. Curiosity and risk-taking tendencies have been studied extensively across taxa by measuring bol...

Objectives We investigated occurrences and patterns of terrestrial nocturnal activity in wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and modelled the influence of various ecological predictors on nocturnal activity. Methods Data were extracted from terrestrial camera‐trap footage and ecological surveys from 22 chimpanzee study sites participating in the Pa...

The present study used abundance and habitat variables to design High Conservation Value Forests for wildlife protection. We considered great apes (Gorilla gorilla gorilla and Pan troglodytes troglodytes) as model species, and we used nest surveys, dietary analysis and botanical inventories to evaluate whether the traditional methods that use abund...

The composition of herbaceous vegetation was evaluated with the aim of characterizing forests at various ages of stand development. Herb stems were sampled in 250 4-m² square plots distributed within six habitat types. A total of 36 herb species belonging to 15 families were recorded. Species richness did not significantly differ between habitat ty...

Measuring hunting sustainability across West/Central African forests remains a challenge. Long-term assessment of trends is crucial. Via hunter-reported surveys we collected offtake data in three villages near the Dja Biosphere Reserve (southeast Cameroon). During four months (March-June) in 2003, 2009 and 2016, we gathered information on hunters,...

Wildlife monitoring data provide an objective basis for evaluating conservation efforts and refining conservation strategies. Central chimpanzee nest censuses were conducted in La Belgique Research Site, south-east Cameroon, in 2001 (reference year) and 2014 using the Standing Crop Nest Count methodology. In both study years, 10 6-km transects trav...

Wildlife monitoring data provide an objective basis for evaluating conservation efforts and refining conservation strategies. Central chimpanzee nest censuses were conducted in La Belgique Research Site, south-east Cameroon, in 2001 (reference year) and 2014 using the Standing Crop Nest Count methodology. In both study years, 10 6-km transects trav...

The study of the archaeological remains of fossil hominins must rely on reconstructions to elucidate the behaviour that may have resulted in particular stone tools and their accumulation. Comparatively, stone tool use among living primates has illuminated behaviours that are also amenable to archaeological examination, permitting direct observation...

Research programmes have been shown to exert a positive impact on faunal communities, but few studies provide empirical evidence. In this study, we surveyed three neighbouring sites, differing in terms of official protection status and level of active management, in the Dja Conservation Complex, southeast Cameroon. We recorded signs of human activi...

Understanding the ecological function of large frugivores in tropical forests is important considering their central position in seed-dispersal networks. This study illustrates the seed-dispersal effectiveness of a western lowland gorilla ( Gorilla gorilla gorilla ) population in Cameroon by looking at the interaction of seed quantity, species rege...

Research programmes have been shown to exert a positive impact on faunal communities, but few studies provide empirical evidence. In this study, we surveyed three neighbouring sites, differing in terms of official protection status and level of active management, in the Dja Conservation Complex, southeast Cameroon. We recorded signs of human activi...

The Sulawesi endemic species Macaca maura has been listed in the IUCN Red List as Endangered (A2cd) since 1996, mainly due to habitat disturbance and fragmentation. Nowadays, residual populations have increasingly been relegated to the karst areas of the island's Southern District. The main goal of this project is to point out preferences and strat...

Herbaceous vegetation studies are pivotal for a better understanding of the ecology of several animal species that use these plants as food items, nest-building materials, and tools. This article illustrates how such investigations can build on the knowledge base required for conservation planning and help to assess habitat quality. Although many d...

Some chimpanzee populations exhibit ground night nesting, which occurs in different habitat types, is driven by a variety of interconnected factors, and may reflect cultural or social differences. This has important implications for ape conservation management, given that accurate nest builder identification is required to estimate density, crucial...

We examined 834 nests built by western lowland gorillas in Cameroon between July 2008 and July 2011 to identify the plant species used in their construction. Preference for each plant species for nesting was assessed using a 'preference index' calculated by combining information on the occurrence of each species in the forest and in the nests. Fort...

Monitoring populations of endangered species over time is necessary to guide and evaluate conservation efforts. This is particularly important for nonprotected areas that ensure connectivity between protected populations but are prone to uncontrolled hunting pressure. We investigated whether use of transects by local people and transect reuse for r...

Abiotic factors significantly influence the structure of plant communities, with the effects varying in both space and time. Herbaceous plants belonging to 15 families were monitored in 250 4-m2 plots distributed in six habitat types in order to assess the effects of abiotic factors on the abundance of this resource. In each plot, we counted herb s...

The study of forest herb availability improves knowledge of ecology and conservation of gorillas that depend on such herbs. Density patterns of herbs and location of western gorilla nest sites were studied in different habitat types at a site in south-east Cameroon to assess their relationship. Herb stems of the families Marantaceae and Zingiberace...

Data from forest herbaceous plants in a site of known species richness in Cameroon were used to test the performance of rarefaction and eight species richness estimators (ACE, ICE, Chao1, Chao2, Jack1, Jack2, Bootstrap and MM). Bias, accuracy, precision and sensitivity to patchiness and sample grain size were the evaluation criteria. An evaluation...