% pubman genre = article @article{item_3152717, title = {{Long-term inference of population size and habitat use in a socially dynamic population of wild western lowland gorillas}}, author = {Hagemann, Laura and Arandjelovic, Milica and Robbins, Martha M. and Deschner, Tobias and Lewis, Matthew and Froese, Graden and Boesch, Christophe and Vigilant, Linda}, language = {eng}, issn = {1572-9737}, doi = {10.1007/s10592-019-01209-w}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-12}, abstract = {{Genetic estimation of population sizes has been critical for monitoring cryptic and rare species; however, population estimates do not inherently reveal the permanence or stability of the population under study. Thus, it is important to monitor not only the number of individuals in a population, but also how they are associated in groups and how those groups are distributed across the landscape. Adding to the challenge of obtaining such information with high precision for endangered and elusive species is the need for long-term collection of such data. In this study we compare sampling approaches and genotype non-invasive genetic samples to estimate the number and distribution of wild western lowland gorillas occupying a {\u{}}005Ctextasciitilde{\th}inspace100 km2 area in Loango National Park, Gabon, for the periods 2005{\textendash}2007 and 2014{\textendash}2017. Based on the number of genotyped individuals we inferred a minimum of 83 gorillas during the first and 81 gorillas during the second study period. We also obtained similar capture{\textendash}recapture population size estimates for the two periods despite variance in social dynamics like group formations, group dissolutions and individual dispersal. We furthermore found area fidelity for two groups that were sampled for 10{\textendash}12 years, despite variation in group membership. Our results revealed how individual movements link groups in a {\textasciigrave}network{\textquotesingle} and show that western lowland gorilla populations can show a high degree of temporal and geographic stability concurrent with substantial social dynamics.}}, journal = {{Conservation Genetics}}, volume = {20}, number = {6}, pages = {1303--1314}, }