Bushmeat markets on Bioko Island as a measure of hunting pressure

Counts of the number of animal carcasses arriving at Malabo market, Bioko I sland, Equatorial Guinea, were made during two, 8-month study periods in 19 91 and 1996. Comparisons of the availability and abundance of individual sp ecies between years showed that more species and more carcasses appeared in 1996 than in 1991. In biomass terms, the increase was significantly less, only 12.5%, when compared with almost 60% more carcasses entering the marke t in 1996. A larger number of carcasses of the smaller-bodies species (i.e. , rodents and the blud duiker [Cephalophus monticola]) were recorded in 199 6 and in 1991. Although an additional four species of birds and one squirre l were recorded in 1996, these were less important in terms of their contri bution to biomass or carcass numbers. Concurrently, there was a dramatic re duction in the larger-bodies species, Ogilby's duiker (C. ogilbyi) and seve n diurnal primates. We examined these changes, especially the drop in the n umber of larger animals. We considered the possible following explanations: (1) the number of hunters dropped either because of enforced legislation o r scarcity of larger prey; (2) a shift in the use of hunting techniques occ urred (from shotguns to snares); or (3) consumer demand for primate and dui ker meat dropped, which increased demand for smaller game. Our results sugg est that the situation in Bioko may be alarmingly close to a catastrophe in which primate populations of international conservation significance are b eing hunted to dangerously low numbers. Although there is still a need for surveys of actual densities of prey populations throughout the island, work ing with the human population on Bioko to find alternatives to bushmeat is an urgent priority.