Etotépé Aïkpémi SOGBOHOSSOU

Highlights

Associate Professor, Natural Resources Management

Secretary for the Doctoral Training in Natural Resources Management at the University of Abomey-Calavi

Co-author of more than 35 publications related to wildlife monitoring, endangered species conservation, human-wildlife conflicts, medicinal plants conservation.

Contact information

03 BP 294 Cotonou BENIN

Cel : +229 97 75 61 10

Email : [email protected]

[email protected]

Education

  • PhD Conservation Biology, Leiden University, THE NETHERLANDS (2011)
  • MSc in Natural Resources Management, University of Abomey-Calavi, BENIN (2007)
  • Diploma of Ingénieur Agronome (MSc Agric. Engineer), National University of Benin, BENIN (2000)

Skills, expertise & research interest

Natural Resources Management, Wildlife conservation and monitoring, Conservation Biology, Protected Areas and Rangeland Management, Carnivores conservation, Human-Wildlife Conflicts, Illegal Trade of Wildlife

Selected geographical region of experience

West & Central Africa  

Experience in research

  • Research in diverse fields related to natural resources management, wildlife monitoring and trade, endangered species conservation in Benin and other countries.
  • Hunting and illegal trade of wildlife monitoring. From 2017
  • Impact of fire on rangelands, wildlife and ecosystem services in Pendjari Biosphere Reserve. From 2015
  • Cheetah and other wildlife survey by camera trapping in Benin protected areas. From 2014
  • Human-wildlife conflicts around protected areas in Benin and Burkina Faso. 2003-2005, 2007-2013 & from 2016
  • Monitoring of elephants and giraffes and human-wildlife conflicts in the WAP protected ecosystem (Benin, Burkina Faso, Niger), 2012-2013.

Professional affiliations

IUCN Green List Standards Committee

Cat Specialist Group, IUCN

Conservation Breeding Specialist Group (CBSG), IUCN

World Commission for Protected Areas (WCPA), IUCN

Species Survival Commission (SSC), IUCN

The African Lion Working Group (ALWG)

Founder member of the Network on West and Central Africa Lion (ROCAL in French)

Society for Conservation Biology

Beninese Association of Pastoralism

Selected Honors and Awards

International Visitors Leadership Program (US Department of States)

Charlotte Fellowship (African Wildlife Foundation)

Kaplan Graduate Award (Panthera Foundation)

MAB UNESCO Young Researcher Grant

WINROCK fellowship for women leaders

Selected Publications

  • Sogbohossou E.A., Kassa B.D., Waltert M., Khorozyan I. 2018. Spatio-temporal niche partitioning between the African lion (Panthera leo leo) and spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) in western African savannas. European Journal of Wildlife Research 64, 1-8.
  • Efio S., Sogbohossou E. A., Magnon Z.Y., Houinato M.R.B., Habiyaremye M., Sinsin B.A & Tossou C.R. 2018. Human-wildlife conflicts and mitigation measures in Pendjari Biosphere Reserve, northern Benin. Annales des Sciences Agronomiques 22, 15 – 31.
  • Bauer H., Henschel P., Packer C., Sillero Zubiri C., Chardonnet B., Sogbohossou E.A., De Iongh H. H. & Macdonald D.W. 2017. Lion trophy hunting in West Africa: A response to Bouché et al. PLoS ONE 12(3), e0173691.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal. pone.0173691
  • Durant S.M., Mitchell N., Groom R., Pettorelli N., Ipavec A., Jacobson A.P., Woodroffe R., Böhm M., Hunter L.T.B., Becker M.S., Broekhuis F., Bashir S., Andresen L., Aschenborn O., Beddiaf M., Belbachir F., Belbachir-Bazi A., Berbash A., de Matos Machado I.B., Breitenmoser C., Chege M., Deon Cilliers, Davies-Mostert H., Dickman A.J., Ezekiel F., Farhadinia M.S., Funston P., Henschel P., Horgan J., de Iongh H.H., Jowkar H., Klein R., Lindsey P.A., Marker L., Marnewick K., Melzheimer J., Merkle J., M’soka J., Msuha M., O’Neill H., Parker M., Purchase G., Sahailou S., Saidu Y., Samna A., Schmidt-Küntzel A., Selebatso E., Sogbohossou E.A., Soultan A., Stone E., van der Meer E., van Vuuren R., Wykstra M., & Young-Overton K. 2017. The global decline of cheetah Acinonyx jubatus and what it means for conservation. PNAS 2017 114 (3), 528-533; doi:10.1073/pnas.1611122114
  • Marker L., Cristescu B., Morrison T., Flyman M.V., Horgan J., Sogbohossou E.A., Bissett C., Van Der Merwe V., de Matos Machado I.B., Fabiano E., Van Der Meer E., Aschenborn O., Melzheimer J., Young K., Farhadinia M.S., Wykstra M., Chege M., Abdoulkarim S., Amir O.G., Sh Mohanun A., Paulos O.D., Nhabanga A.R., M’soka J.L.J., Belbachir F., Ashenafi Z.T., Nghikembua M.T. 2017. Cheetah Rangewide Status and Distribution. In Marker L., Boast L., Schmidt-Kuentzel A. (eds). Cheetahs: Biology and Conservation. 1st Edition. Academic Press. https://www.elsevier.com/books/cheetahs-biology-and-conservation/nyhus/978-0-12-804088-1
  • Sabi Lolo Ilou B., Sogbohossou E.A., et al. 2017. Diversité et importance socio-économique des services écosystémiques dans la Réserve de Biosphère de la Pendjari au nord-Bénin. Journal de la Recherche Scientifique de l’Université de Lomé 19 (3), 15-28.
  • Houehanou T.D., Assede E., Habiyaremye F.M., Sogbohossou E.A., Kouton M., Agbani P.O., Yaoitcha A.S., Gbeffe A.K., Houinato M.R.B. 2017. La Réserve de Biosphère de la Pendjari (Bénin) Guide & lexique pour le suivi des parcours naturels : Habitats, Faune et Feux. IRNSB & LEA/UAC.
  • Sogbohossou E.A. & Kassa D.B. 2016.  The bushmeat trade and livelihoods in southern Benin: An exploratory survey. Nature & Faune 30 (2): 29-31.
  • Bertola L.D., Tensen L., van Hooft P., White P.A., Driscoll C.A., Henschel P., Caragiulo A., Dias-Freedman I., Sogbohossou E.A., et al.  2015. Autosomal and mtDNA Markers Affirm the Distinctiveness of Lions in West and Central Africa. PLoS ONE 10(10), e0137975. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0137975
  • Sogbohossou E.A., Kassa B.D., Aboubacar Z. & Mahamane A. 2013. Les conflits hommes-girafes dans l’aire centrale de répartition de la girafe (Giraffa camelopardalis peralta) au Niger. Annales des Sciences Agronomiques 17(2), 107-119.
  • Sogbohossou E.A., de Iongh H.H., Sinsin B., de Snoo G. & Funston P. 2011. Livestock – predator conflict around Pendjari Biosphere Reserve, Northern Benin. Oryx 45, 569-578.
  • Akpona H.A., Sogbohossou E., Sinsin B., Houngnihin R.A., Akpona  J-D.T. & Akouehou G. 2009. Botanical gardens as a tool for preserving plant diversity, threatened relic forest and indigenous knowledge on traditional medicine in Benin. In: Parrotta J.A., Oteng-Yeboah A., Cobbinah J. (eds). Traditional Forest-Related Knowledge and Sustainable Forest Management in Africa, IUFRO World Series Vol. 23. pp 5-13. ISBN 978-3-901347-81-8.

Other

 Fluent in English and French

Learn more atwww.researchgate.net/profile/Etotepe_Sogbohossou

 

 

LAST UPDATED ON: SEPTEMBER 27, 2018


Lions of West Africa Ecology of lion (Panthera leo Linnaeus 1758) populations and human-lion conflicts in Pendjari Biosphere Reserve, North Benin

PhD Dissertation: 

Etotépé A. SOGBOHOSSOU (2011). Lions of West Africa Ecology of lion (Panthera leo Linnaeus 1758) populations and human-lion conflicts in Pendjari Biosphere Reserve, North Benin. University of Leiden, The Netherlands. 158 p.

Promotors: Geert R. de SNOO & Brice SINSIN

Co-Promotor: Hans H. de IONGH.

 

Abstract: Earth’s biodiversity is disappearing at an alarming rate in the last decades. Many species, including carnivores, are becoming endangered. The lion was one of the most widely distributed terrestrial mammals and is today restricted to Gir ecosystem in India and to more or less fragmented populations in sub-saharan Africa. The species is considered as Vulnerable on IUCN Red List. In West Africa, due to its small and fragmented populations, the species is listed as Regionally Endangered. While the species is widely studied in other parts of Africa, it is poorly known in West Africa. The threats to lions, their ecology and their behaviour have not been assessed in the context of this region. In order to fill this gap, this research aims at investigating the ecology of the lion population and conflicts with humans in a West African protected area: Pendjari Biosphere Reserve, Benin. Pendjari Biosphere Reserve is one of the best-managed protected areas in West Africa and is part of the two most promising Lion Conservation Units in the region. It covers about 5,000 km² and is composed of the Pendjari National Park, and the Pendjari and Konkombri hunting zones.

Local populations surrounding the Pendjari Biosphere Reserve suffer from livestock depredation mainly by hyena (53.6% of attacks), baboon (24.8% of attacks) and lion (18% of attacks). Most attacks occur during the rainy season when wild prey are scattered and more difficult to hunt. The depredation level is relatively low compared to many other regions in Africa. However the losses are significant, as local populations live below the poverty line. Fortunately, despite these losses and the fear of carnivores, people tolerated conflicts. No retaliatory killing of predators was reported. This could be partly attributed to the social and cultural importance of carnivores. The low level of conflicts in Pendjari is confirmed by the absence of livestock in the diet of lions. In the relatively well protected Sudanian savannah area that Pendjari represents, buffalo is the most consumed species (50% of the prey biomass consumed). However, like in other areas of West and Central Africa, the lion diet is dominated by medium prey (61.7%) while large prey composed 38.2% of the diet. Similarly to what is observed across Africa, smaller prey such as oribi and duiker were avoided and relatively large prey such as waterbuck and hartebeest were preferred. The predominance of small prey in the diet is then due to the relative abundance of these prey and not to the small size of lion groups in the region. There are about 1.6 lions/100 km² in the Pendjari Biosphere Reserve. The mean lion group size is of 2.6 lions with a significantly higher group size in the park compared to that in hunting zones. The adult sex ratio of 1 male : 1.04 female is skewed towards males. The small group size could be linked to the low prey and lion densities in the area. The lion population is particularly vulnerable to trophy hunting both in hunting zones of Pendjari and hunting zones of Burkina Faso, as the park’s lion population plays the role of source population while the hunting zone lions represent the sink populations. The mean home range of lionesses (95% MCP: 200 ± 141 km²) is consistent with findings across Africa. Riparian forests, woodlands and dry forests were the preferred lion habitats during the dry season while grasslands and swamps were used according to their availability. The few available results showed that during the rainy season, when most of the reserve is flooded, lions preferred woodlands on hills and avoid grasslands and swamps. The study of the home range and the social structure of lions in Pendjari highlighted the need for a concerted management of Benin and Burkina Faso lion populations for better efficiency. In summary, when protected areas are safe enough, lion population ecology and behaviour are similar across Africa. The Pendjari lion population was increasing and did not represent a great threat to livestock and humans surrounding the reserve. The lion population remained vulnerable, however, mainly because of legal and illegal hunting and human encroachment from neighbouring reserves. The impact of hunting and human activities on the social structure need to be better investigated. To save the lion in the region of West Africa, efforts should be made to safeguard only protected areas but also their surrounding areas. Studies on other issues such as the impact of lion trophy hunting and the relationship between the different large predators will contribute to improve the status of lions and other predators in West Africa.

Keywords lion Panthera leo; human-wildlife conflicts; social structure; feeding ecology; habitat use; West Africa

 

  • Lokoli (Photo credit: Dr Akomian Fortuné Azihou / Laboratoire d’Ecologie Appliquée (LEA), Octobre 2018)
  • Vue globale des bâtiments du Laboratoire d’Ecologie Appliquée (LEA). (Photo credit: Dr Akomian Fortuné Azihou / LEA, Octobre 2018)
  • Cascade de Tanongou (Photo credit: Dr Akomian Fortuné Azihou / Laboratoire d’Ecologie Appliquée (LEA), Octobre 2018)
  • Bâtiment Professeur Nestor SOKPON (en haut à gauche), bâtiment des volontaires (en bas à gauche), bâtiment Dr KASSA (à droite). (Photo credit: Dr Akomian Fortuné Azihou / Laboratoire d’Ecologie Appliquée (LEA), Octobre 2018)
  • Musée de Zoologie BIOTA et bâtiment Professeur Mama Adamou N'DIAYE. (Photo credit: Dr Akomian Fortuné Azihou / Laboratoire d’Ecologie Appliquée (LEA), Octobre 2018)
  • Système Agroforestier à palmier à huile. (Photo credit: Dr Akomian Fortuné Azihou / Laboratoire d’Ecologie Appliquée (LEA), Octobre 2018)
  • Système agroforestier à Faidherbia albida. (Photo credit: Dr Akomian Fortuné Azihou / Laboratoire d’Ecologie Appliquée (LEA), Octobre 2018)
  • FM Deve (Photo credit: Dr Akomian Fortuné Azihou / Laboratoire d’Ecologie Appliquée (LEA), Octobre 2018)
  • Building of the Laboratory of Applied Ecology (LEA). (Credit photo: Dr Akomian Fortuné Azihou / LEA, Abomey-Calavi, Benin, October 2018)
    Building of the Laboratory of Applied Ecology (LEA). (Credit photo: Dr Akomian Fortuné Azihou / LEA, Abomey-Calavi, Benin, October 2018)
  • Brousse tigrée (Photo credit: Dr Akomian Fortuné Azihou / Laboratoire d’Ecologie Appliquée (LEA), Octobre 2018)
  • Mare-Bali (Photo credit: Dr Akomian Fortuné Azihou / Laboratoire d’Ecologie Appliquée (LEA), Octobre 2018)
  • Odo Octhèrè (Photo credit: Dr Akomian Fortuné Azihou / Laboratoire d’Ecologie Appliquée (LEA), Octobre 2018)
  • Bâtiment Professeur Nestor SOKPON (à droite), bâtiment des volontaires de l'UAC (à gauche). (Photo credit: Dr Akomian Fortuné Azihou / Laboratoire d’Ecologie Appliquée (LEA), Octobre 2018)
  • Vue globale des 5 bâtiments du Laboratoire d’Ecologie Appliquée (LEA). (Photo credit: Dr Akomian Fortuné Azihou / LEA, Octobre 2018)