Demographic and Ecological Effects on Patterns of Parasitism in Eastern Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) in Gombe National Park, Tanzania

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Thomas R. Gillespie, Emory University; Elizabeth V. Lonsdorf, Lincoln Park Zoo; Elizabeth P. Canfield, Emory University; Derek J. Meyer, University of Illinois; Yvonne Nadler, Lincoln Park Zoo; Jane Raphael, Tanzanian National Park Authority; Anne E. Pusey, University of Minnesota; Joel Pond, Lincoln Park Zoo; John Pauley, Lincoln Park Zoo; Titus Mlengeya, Tanzanian National Park Authority; Dominic A. Travis, Lincoln Park Zoo
• Language: English
• Date: 2010-12
• Publisher: Wiley: 12 months
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
• Final Published Version (URL): http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajpa.21348/abstract;jsessionid=7F49A6DAC14009C0E6F7A5D70DEC862A.f03t03
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: American Journal of Physical Anthropology
• ISSN: 0002-9483
• Volume: 143
• Issue: 4
• Start Page: 534
• End Page: 544
• Grant/Funding Information: Grant sponsors: US Fish and Wildlife Great Ape Conservation Fund, Arcus Foundation, Lincoln Park Zoo, Emory University, and University of Illinois.
• Keywords: apes; health; gastrointestinal parasites; zoonoses; noninvasive analyses
• Research Categories: Environmental Sciences; Health Sciences, Pathology; Anthropology, Physical

Abstract

From January 2006 to January 2008, we collected 1,045 fecal samples from 90 individually-recognized, free-ranging, eastern chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) inhabiting Gombe National Park, Tanzania to determine how patterns of parasitism are affected by demographic and ecological covariates. Seventeen parasite species were recovered, including eight nematodes (Oesophagostomum sp., Necator sp., Probstmayria gombensis, Strongyloides fulleborni, Ascaris sp., Trichuris sp., Abbreviata caucasica, and an unidentified strongyle), 1 cestode (Bertiella sp.), 1 trematode (Dicrocoeliidae), and 7 protozoa (Entamoeba coli, Entamoeba histolytica/dispar, Iodamoeba bütschlii, Troglodytella abrassarti, Troglocorys cava, Balantidium coli, and an unidentified protozoa). Significant differences were observed in interannual infection prevalence and parasite richness between 2006 and 2007. Intercommunity comparisons demonstrated higher prevalence of parasites for the Mitumba compared with Kasekela chimpanzee community. Prevalence of several parasites was strongly correlated with monthly rainfall patterns for both 2006 and 2007. Subadult chimpanzees had lower prevalence for most parasite species compared with adults in both years and also yielded a lower average parasite species richness. No significant differences were observed between males and females in prevalence in 2006. However, in 2007 the prevalence of S. fulleborni and I. bütschlii were higher in males than in females. Parasite prevalence and richness were substantially higher in this multiyear study compared with previous short-term studies of the gastrointestinal parasites of Gombe chimpanzees. This coupled with the significant interannual and interseasonal variation, demonstrated in this study, emphasizes the importance of multiyear monitoring with adequate sample size to effectively determine patterns of parasitism in wild primate populations.