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Determining Sensitive Parameters for the Population Viability of Reintroduced Sumatran Orangutans (Pongo abelii)

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Abstract

Although reintroduction has been a widely implemented conservation tool, in many cases it is unclear whether the released animals can successfully establish a viable and self-sustaining population. We constructed a population model for reintroduced Sumatran orangutans (Pongo abelii) and conducted a population viability analysis to evaluate the probability of persistence. We based our study on a reintroduced orangutan population at Bukit Tigapuluh, Jambi, Central Sumatra, Indonesia. We used various scenarios to assess the effects of adaptation time, number of released individuals, duration of release period, variation in infant survival, and carrying capacity on population extinction probability over time. We found that behavioral adaptation of individuals to living in the wild within <6 yrs after release enhanced population persistence, and that initial losses may be compensated by additional releases. Our analyses indicated that a lack of information about released orangutans prevented accurate evaluation of the effectiveness of reintroduction procedures. Consequently, we recommend that reintroduction projects improve data quality on the fates of released individuals in order to provide a reliable basis for a population viability analysis. The use of population viability analyses would allow proactive management and a better evaluation of reintroduction progress.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the Indonesian State Ministry of Research and Technology (RISTEK), the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), the Indonesian State Ministry of Forestry (PHKA), and the Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS) for making this research possible; Elizabeth Riemer and John Bissonette for proofreading; and Robert Mattmueller for assistance in Python Programming. We thank two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments. We thank Felix Knauer for support in the initial model setup and the fnet-team of the faculty of environment and natural resources, University of Freiburg, for providing computing capacities. This project was supported by scholarships from the Rosa-Luxemburg Foundation (to D. Kelle) and the Evangelisches Studienwerk Villigst e.V. (to D. Fechter). DK expresses her sincere thanks to the employees of the FZS for their help and support in the field and in Jambi.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chair of Wildlife Ecology and Management, Freiburg University, 79106, Freiburg, Germany

    Doris Kelle, Dominik Fechter & Ilse Storch

  2. Department of Ecological Modelling, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, 04318, Leipzig, Germany

    Alexander Singer

  3. Frankfurt Zoological Society, Jambi, Sumatra, Indonesia

    Peter Pratje

Authors
  1. Doris Kelle
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  2. Dominik Fechter
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  4. Peter Pratje
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Correspondence to Doris Kelle.

Appendices

Appendix A

Table V Number of orangutans released at Bukit Tigapuluh National Park from 2003 to 2009 per year/age class, sex class
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Appendix B

Table VI Cumulative probability of extinction (%) after 1000 yrs (P0(1000)) for scenario SR3 with adaptation after 6, 10, and 20 yrs, K = 1000 and further releases
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Appendix C

Table VII Adaptation, no release: Cumulative probability of extinction (%) at time steps 50–1000 for scenario SR3 with adaptation after 2, 6, 10, and 20 yrs, K = 1000 and no further releases
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Kelle, D., Fechter, D., Singer, A. et al. Determining Sensitive Parameters for the Population Viability of Reintroduced Sumatran Orangutans (Pongo abelii). Int J Primatol 34, 423–442 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-013-9671-2

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