Abstract

The management and conservation of threatened animal populations require accurate knowledge on their distribution and abundance. At the same time, knowledge on the factors driving changes and fluctuation in distribution and abundance is also critical. Nevertheless, gaining such insight is especially challenging for species living in patchy and fragmented landscapes, as is the case for most mammals in tropical forests. This thesis addressed these issues by developing and validating analytical frameworks that allow to make robust spatial inference on population abundance, and ultimately aimed at gaining knowledge on the conservation status of selected mammal species in the rainforest of the Udzungwa Mountains of Tanzania, with emphasis on arboreal primates. This area is an outstanding hotspot for biodiversity and endemism at continental level and it is especially important for primates. Results of the research project were used to provide management recommendations for the conservation of target species and of the environment these inhabit, which is undergoing rapid and critical modifications through habitat depletion and fragmentation.