DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTION OF BIRDLIFE ACCORDING TO VEGETATION TYPE AND SEASONS IN TWO DIFFERENT AREAS IN THE EQUATORIAL CLIMATE OF THE CONGO BASIN REGION: THE MOUANKO MANGROVE AND THE EDEA II EVERGREEN FOREST IN CAMEROON (LITTORAL, REGION)

Abstract

In Cameroon, bird studies are increasingly well-known and often quite long-established. In recent years, several studies have been conducted in various areas across the country. To further update knowledge about Cameroonian avifauna, a study was carried out in the evergreen forest of Edea II and the mangrove of Mouanko,in the Sanaga-Maritime department, Littoral Region. The Japanese mist netting method was used to capture birds between December 2022 and December 2024. PAST (v5.2.1), R Studio (v4.1.2), and Excel (2016) software were used to perform statistical analyses on the distribution and diversity of avifauna in thesetwo areas within the department. A total of 643 individuals were captured, belonging to 10 orders, 28 families, 59 genera, and 92 species.Our results showed that passerines were more abundant (83.2%) than non-passerines (16.8%). The most abundant and diverse familywas the Pycnonotidae, with 7 genera and 12 species.