Parasite Monitoring in Free-ranging Gorilla Populations

A long standing health concern for wild populations of gorillas in whose home ranges human activities may take place is the potential for cross-species transmission of endoparasites, including helminths (worms) and protozoa parasites (e.g. amoebe). Among the first priorities of field workers with particular concerns for animal health have been surveys of endoparasites that may be undertaken by analysis of fecal material (corprologic studies). Studies of western lowland gorillas in the Central African Republic and Gabon and studies of mountain gorillas in Rwanda have enumerated a variety of endoparasites.

The identification of these parasites is based to date on traditional morphological characters which may or may not be suitable for identifying species of origin. This project involves collaboration between conservation nongovernmental organizations working to preserve populations of gorillas in their habitats and, especially, under circumstances where habituation of gorilla groups has taken place or is intended in order to provide tourism revenue in support of gorilla conservation efforts. Additional partners include local and international wildlife veterinarians.

Projects are initiated in response to requests from veterinarians and local wildlife officials responsible for the conservation management and health care of resident gorilla populations. PCR-based techniques are used to amplify DNA sequences that are broadly utilized in parasite diagnostic studies. Positive identifications could come from parasite materials from reference collections and other sources of samples with accompanying morphological data. Difficult to identify cryptic species of parasites that could be indicative of cross-species transmission may be able to be identified by this approach and may also provide increased opportunities for parasite monitoring due to the resilience of the PCR technique to identify DNA samples when morphological indicators are not present.

More

Comparative Genomics of Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Gorillas
Capacity Building for Gorilla Conservation Science in Range States