PARENT SESSION
Poster Session #67: Conservation Ecology.
Friday, August 9. Presentation from 8:00 AM to 9:30 AM. Exhibit Hall B & C, TCC

Assessment of biodiversity and monitoring in the Gamba Complex, Gabon.

Alonso, Alfonso^*,1, Dallmeier, Francisco¹, Lee, Michelle¹, Comiskey, James¹, Campbell, Patrick¹, ¹ Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC

ABSTRACT- The Gamba Complex in Gabon is valued for its high level of biodiversity, yet little work has been done to determine its species composition, structure, or function. The Gamba Complex is composed of two faunal reserves, three hunting domains, and the Moukalaba Reserve and Monts Doudou region. The Smithsonian Institution Monitoring and Assessment of Biodiversity Program (MAB) has developed a framework for biodiversity assessment and monitoring that includes technical training and in-country capacity building. A biodiversity program has been defined to advance management decisions that promote natural resource conservation based on extensive consultation with national and international experts. The project strategy includes biological assessments of several components of ecological systems (vegetation, aquatic systems, amphibians and reptiles, arthropods, birds and mammals). The coastal plain with its extensive lagoons and lakes, open savanna and Guineo-Congolian rainforest gives way to dense rainforest and watersheds in a mosaic that nurtures significant biological richness. Research indicates forests are floristically diverse and rich in endemic species (greater than 22%). Fauna is also rich, estimated at more than 130 mammal species, including at least 20 species of monkeys, 600 species of birds, 70 species of reptiles and 100 species of amphibians.

KEY WORDS: Biodiversity, Central Africa, Conservation