Aerial surveys give new estimates for orangutans in Sabah, Malaysia.

Great apes are threatened with extinction, but precise information about the distribution and size of most populations is currently lacking. We conducted orangutan nest counts in the Malaysian state of Sabah (North Borneo), using a combination of ground and helicopter surveys, and provided a way to...

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Main Authors: Marc Ancrenaz, Olivier Gimenez, Laurentius Ambu, Karine Ancrenaz, Patrick Andau, Benoît Goossens, John Payne, Azri Sawang, Augustine Tuuga, Isabelle Lackman-Ancrenaz
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2005-01-01
Series:PLoS Biology
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC534813?pdf=render
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spelling doaj-e1add5e63cda4a2ca16919b4a57acc942021-07-02T13:42:23ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Biology1544-91731545-78852005-01-0131e310.1371/journal.pbio.0030003Aerial surveys give new estimates for orangutans in Sabah, Malaysia.Marc AncrenazOlivier GimenezLaurentius AmbuKarine AncrenazPatrick AndauBenoît GoossensJohn PayneAzri SawangAugustine TuugaIsabelle Lackman-AncrenazGreat apes are threatened with extinction, but precise information about the distribution and size of most populations is currently lacking. We conducted orangutan nest counts in the Malaysian state of Sabah (North Borneo), using a combination of ground and helicopter surveys, and provided a way to estimate the current distribution and size of the populations living throughout the entire state. We show that the number of nests detected during aerial surveys is directly related to the estimated true animal density and that a helicopter is an efficient tool to provide robust estimates of orangutan numbers. Our results reveal that with a total estimated population size of about 11,000 individuals, Sabah is one of the main strongholds for orangutans in North Borneo. More than 60% of orangutans living in the state occur outside protected areas, in production forests that have been through several rounds of logging extraction and are still exploited for timber. The role of exploited forests clearly merits further investigation for orangutan conservation in Sabah.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC534813?pdf=render
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Marc Ancrenaz
Olivier Gimenez
Laurentius Ambu
Karine Ancrenaz
Patrick Andau
Benoît Goossens
John Payne
Azri Sawang
Augustine Tuuga
Isabelle Lackman-Ancrenaz
spellingShingle Marc Ancrenaz
Olivier Gimenez
Laurentius Ambu
Karine Ancrenaz
Patrick Andau
Benoît Goossens
John Payne
Azri Sawang
Augustine Tuuga
Isabelle Lackman-Ancrenaz
Aerial surveys give new estimates for orangutans in Sabah, Malaysia.
PLoS Biology
author_facet Marc Ancrenaz
Olivier Gimenez
Laurentius Ambu
Karine Ancrenaz
Patrick Andau
Benoît Goossens
John Payne
Azri Sawang
Augustine Tuuga
Isabelle Lackman-Ancrenaz
author_sort Marc Ancrenaz
title Aerial surveys give new estimates for orangutans in Sabah, Malaysia.
title_short Aerial surveys give new estimates for orangutans in Sabah, Malaysia.
title_full Aerial surveys give new estimates for orangutans in Sabah, Malaysia.
title_fullStr Aerial surveys give new estimates for orangutans in Sabah, Malaysia.
title_full_unstemmed Aerial surveys give new estimates for orangutans in Sabah, Malaysia.
title_sort aerial surveys give new estimates for orangutans in sabah, malaysia.
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
series PLoS Biology
issn 1544-9173
1545-7885
publishDate 2005-01-01
description Great apes are threatened with extinction, but precise information about the distribution and size of most populations is currently lacking. We conducted orangutan nest counts in the Malaysian state of Sabah (North Borneo), using a combination of ground and helicopter surveys, and provided a way to estimate the current distribution and size of the populations living throughout the entire state. We show that the number of nests detected during aerial surveys is directly related to the estimated true animal density and that a helicopter is an efficient tool to provide robust estimates of orangutan numbers. Our results reveal that with a total estimated population size of about 11,000 individuals, Sabah is one of the main strongholds for orangutans in North Borneo. More than 60% of orangutans living in the state occur outside protected areas, in production forests that have been through several rounds of logging extraction and are still exploited for timber. The role of exploited forests clearly merits further investigation for orangutan conservation in Sabah.
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC534813?pdf=render
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