OCCURRENCE AND RELATIVE ABUNDANCE INDICES OF THE WESTERN ROAN ANTELOPE (HIPPOTRAGUS EQUINUS KOBA) AND OTHER MAMMALS AT MOUNT SANGBé NATIONAL PARK, CôTE D’IVOIRECélestin Yao Kouakou, Christelle Douhin Tiemoko, Jean-Claude Koffi Bene, André Djaha Koffi, Ange Alex Beda and Adama TondossamaAbstract Due to recent socio-political unrest in Côte dâIvoire, information data gaps of mammals, including the western roan antelope (Hippotragus equinus koba), have persisted. This study therefore aims at measuring the diversity and population status of mammals and their relative abundance at Mount Sangbé National Park (MSNP for conservation. We conducted camera trapping surveys from February until May 2018 at two sites in the northern and eastern sections of MSNP. After 731 trap days, we confirmed the presence of H. Equinuskoba and 26 other mammalsâ species belonging to five Orders: Cetartiodactyls, Carnivores, Primates, Rodents, and Tubulidentata with 15, five, four, two, and one species observed within the orders, respectively. The roan antelope occurred in the surveyed sites with a Relative Abundance Index (RAI) of 8.91 and 0.27, respectively. The RAI varied among three species: Potamochoerus porcus, Tragelaphus scriptus, and Philantomba maxwellii which we found to have relatively high RAI values of 11.76, 10.67, and 10.40, respectively. Alpha diversity indices differed between the woodland and savanna habitats in species richness (p<0.001), in their Shannon indices (p<0.001), in their dominance indices (p<0.001) and for the equitability index (p=0.008). Similarly, we found differences between the dry forest and savanna habitats in species richness (p<0.001), Shannon indices (p<0.001), in dominance indices (p<0.001), but no difference the equitability indices of these habitats (p=0.424). We recommend further studies in all habitat types of the entire park to better understand the population status of mammals inhabiting MSNP in order to ensure the conservation of its biodiversity. |