A preliminary assessment of large mammal and bird use of different habitats in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

A preliminary assessment demonstrates that road-side observations can serve as a low-cost, effective method for monitoring habitat use by large mammals and birds. In Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, a restricted bamboo zone covering only 0.3% of the park area showed significant nonrandom distributions of species in both space (P < 0.02) and time, with variations observed hourly (P < 0.040) and monthly (P < 0.0001). Francolins were more frequently recorded in visible bamboo zones (P = 0.002), while black-and-white colobus, L’Hoest’s monkey, and jackals favored nonbamboo forest (P ≤ 0.05). This study highlights the potential of road-based surveys for cost-efficient conservation assessments.

Olupot, W., & Sheil, D. (2011). A preliminary assessment of large mammal and bird use of different habitats in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. African Journal of Ecology, 49(1), 21–30. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2028.2010.01225.x