Studying Gorilla Habitat and Biodiversity

In recent years our work has expanded to include biodiversity research focusing on other species, many endangered, that live in gorilla habitat.

Both mountain gorillas and Grauer’s gorillas share their habitats with an enormous number of species, many of which are found nowhere else in the world.  In Rwanda, we have worked closely with the National University of Rwanda to develop a series of research areas that enable us to better understand the biodiversity of the Virungas and also to provide research opportunities for university students.  In Congo, our census teams record information on all large mammals they encounter, and we are contributing important data on the distribution and density of a number of species, including chimpanzees, elephants and okapi.

Biodiversity research at Karisoke™

Although study of the mountain gorillas has always been the main focus of our scientific work at the Karisoke™ Research Center in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park, our work has expanded to include studies of many more of the species that occupy gorilla habitat. Much of this research is being conducted by students from the National University of Rwanda, some of whom we have hired after graduation to continue their work. Many plants and animals unique to the Virungas are endangered, yet little research that could help save them was done until recently. Karisoke is making major contributions to this effort, including a biodiversity manual that describes 1,000 key species.

Some of our current biodiversity research projects:

Research on mammals in gorilla habitat

Karisoke™ is involved in studying mammals that share habitat with gorillas.  Our primary work in this area is focused on golden monkeys, which are a unique species of primate found in only two forests: the Virunga volcanoes and Gishwati forest.  Deogratias Tuyisingize, an assistant scientist with the Fossey Fund, first began working at Karisoke to study golden monkeys as part of his undergraduate degree.  His senior thesis examined many unknown aspects of this endangered monkey’s behavior, including its home range, social structure, foods, and activity patterns.  After graduating, he joined the Karisoke staff to continue work on golden monkeys as well as to conduct surveys of large and small mammals in the park.  Tuyisingize is currently finishing a master’s degree through the University of Cape Town. The golden monkey research will help Volcanoes National Park’s conservation planning and golden monkey tourism program.

In 2008, Karisoke launched a survey of large mammals in Volcanoes National Park, such as duikers, bushbuck and buffalo, financed by the Protected Areas Biodiversity Project.

Ornithology research in gorilla habitat

The Albertine Rift is also home to a number of rare endemic birds. Our work in this area was started by Claudien Nsabagasani, who completed his university studies at Karisoke with research on the Grauer's rush warbler, a little-known bird that lives in highland swamps in this region. Karisoke is currently maintaining a checklist of 145 bird species found in the area, and surveying Chubb’s Cisticola and the Cinnamon Bracken Warbler.

Botany research in gorilla habitat

Study of the many varieties of plants that make up the habitat for gorillas and other endemic animals is of critical importance to conservation of the area. We have various botany projects underway, including collection of plant species information, creation of a photo database, and identification of plants used as food by gorillas and golden monkeys.  Karisoke™ maintains an herbarium of more than 600 plant species and contributes specimens to Rwanda’s national herbarium.

Karisoke’s botany team has catalogued more than 1,300 plants found in the park; discovered several new species; surveyed plants in nearby Buhanga Park; studied the impact of ecotourism on plant diversity in Volcanoes National Park; conducted a special study of ferns; and developed a plan for long-term monitoring of orchids in the park.

An important question that we hope to answer is whether or not the availability of the gorillas' food has changed in the last 20 years. To do this, we are comparing vegetation patterns now with those observed in the 1980s. Finally, many of the students from the national university have completed their senior theses on botany-related questions, including crop raiding by animals in the park, aquatic ecosystems, and the consumption of medicinal plants by gorillas.

An innovative project has found that many medicinal plants are used both by gorillas and by traditional healers who live near Volcanoes National Park. The study will continue to explore whether the gorillas seek these plants and are protected by them.

Amphibian research in gorilla habitat

Very little is known about the amphibians and reptiles of the Virunga region.  We are currently working with Zoo Atlanta and the University of Texas to study important aspects of amphibian and reptile biology and conservation in the region's national parks.

Biodiversity research in Congo

The Congo landscape in which we work is enormous — roughly 25,000 square miles. Much of it is unexplored by scientists and thus the most pressing need is to discover what species still inhabit the forests after years of civil unrest in the region.  We are gathering such data through censuses of the region. Teams systematically walk designated sectors of the landscape, using GPS to record the location of large mammals and other species of particular interest.  These data can then be fed into computer programs to generate distribution maps for individual species. The Fossey Fund recently contributed critical information on the distribution of chimpanzees in this region, helping the region to be declared a Conservation Unit in the most recent Action Plan for Eastern Chimpanzee Conservation.