The study area covers a region on the western coast of Gabon
in Central Africa (Fig. 1). The region extends from 0 5’ 19” S
to 1 53’ 50” S latitude and 8 E to 10 52’ 13” E longitude and
includes a major portion of the Ogooué River basin along the
coast of Gabon. The Ogooué River originates in the mountain
ranges of northern Lékoumou in Congo and crosses a variety
of landscapes from grassland and woody savannas to evergreen
dense forests. Along the coast, it creates a basin with a variety of
floodplain vegetation types and landscapes suitable for fisheries
and agriculture. The eastern portion of the study area has gently
sloped hills. Along the Ogooué basin in the west, the landscape
is flat, resulting in areas of very slowdrainage and creating small
wet and sometimes inundated pockets along the river and coast.