Global Positioning System Data-Loggers: A Tool to Quantify Fine-Scale Movement of Domestic Animals to Evaluate Potential for Zoonotic Transmission to an Endangered Wildlife Population

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Michelle Parsons, Emory University; Thomas Gillespie, Emory University; Elizabeth V. Lonsdorf, Franklin and Marshall College; Dominic Travis, University of Minnesota; Iddi Lipende, The Jane Goodall Institute; Baraka Gilagiza, The Jane Goodall Institute; Shadrack Kamenya, The Jane Goodall Institute; Lilian Pintea, The Jane Goodall Institute; Gonzalo Vazquez Prokopec, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2014-11-03
• Publisher: Public Library of Science
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: This is an open-access article, free of all copyright, and may be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, built upon, or otherwise used by anyone for any lawful purpose.
• License: Creative Commons Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0110984
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: PLoS ONE
• ISSN: 1932-6203
• Volume: 9
• Issue: 11
• Start Page: e110984
• End Page: e110984
• Grant/Funding Information: Funding for this study comes from the Morris Animal Foundation (MAF D09ZO-041 and MAF D09ZO-634), the Emory University Global Health Institute, the Arcus Foundation, the Leo S. Guthman Foundation and the National Institutes of Health (R01 AI58715).; QuickBird satellite imagery was kindly contributed to the Jane Goodall Institute at no cost by DigitalGlobe. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.; This article published with support from Emory Libraries' Open Access Publishing Fund.

Abstract

Domesticated animals are an important source of pathogens to endangered wildlife populations, especially when anthropogenic activities increase their overlap with humans and wildlife. Recent work in Tanzania reports the introduction of Cryptosporidium into wild chimpanzee populations and the increased risk of ape mortality associated with SIVcpz-Cryptosporidium co-infection. Here we describe the application of novel GPS technology to track the mobility of domesticated animals (27 goats, 2 sheep and 8 dogs) with the goal of identifying potential routes for Cryptosporidium introduction into Gombe National Park. Only goats (5/27) and sheep (2/2) were positive for Cryptosporidium. Analysis of GPS tracks indicated that a crop field frequented by both chimpanzees and domesticated animals was a potential hotspot for Cryptosporidium transmission. This study demonstrates the applicability of GPS data-loggers in studies of fine-scale mobility of animals and suggests that domesticated animal–wildlife overlap should be considered beyond protected boundaries for long-term conservation strategies.