Genetic variation of blood proteins within and between local populations of grivet monkey (Cercopithecus aethiops aethiops) in central Ethiopia

Human-wildlife conflict and community perceptions towards wildlife conservation in and around Wof-Washa Natural State Forest, Ethiopia

BACKGROUND

Human-wildlife conflict (HWC) is forecasted to increase globally in the vicinity of protected areas and covers various dimensions. It occurs in several different contexts and involves a range of animal taxonomic groups where the needs and requirements intersect with humans' needs and development. More often, human-monkey conflict occurs in developing countries and is amongst the main threats to biodiversity conservation in these regions. Grivet monkeys are slender agile monkeys of the genus Cercopithecus. This study was conducted to investigate the status of human grivet monkey conflict and the attitude of local communities towards grivet monkey conservation in and around Wof-Washa Natural State Forest (WWNSF), Ethiopia from September 2017 to May 2018. A questionnaire survey (143 respondents) was used to study the human-grivet monkey conflict and its conservation status.

RESULTS

The majority of respondents (male = 67.1%; female = 74.1%) were not supporting grivet monkey conservation due to the troublesome crop-damaging effect of the animal. Respondents having settlements/farmland nearer to the forest have significantly negative perceptions towards grivet monkey conservation than those far from it. The majority of respondents opined that eradication/relocation of grivet monkeys and financial compensation are the options to mitigate human-grivet monkey conflict. Based on the questionnaire result, 42.5 ± SD 8.68 of respondents in all villages elucidated that the main cause of crop damage by grivet monkeys was habitat degradation.

CONCLUSION

In the study area, Human-Grivet Monkey Conflict (HGMC) is exacerbated by the encroachment of local communities into the forest area, exploitation of resources that would be used by grivet monkeys, and enhanced crop damage by grivet monkeys. As a result grivet monkeys have been persecuted as a consequence of crop damage. This was due to the negative attitude developed from human perspective. Thus, awareness creation education programs and feasible crop damage prevention techniques need to be implemented.

High prevalence of simian T-lymphotropic virus type L in wild ethiopian baboons

Simian T-cell leukemia viruses (STLVs) are the simian counterparts of human T-cell leukemia viruses (HTLVs). A novel, divergent type of STLV (STLV-L) from captive baboons was reported in 1994, but its natural prevalence remained unclear. We investigated the prevalence of STLV-L in 519 blood samples from wild-living nonhuman primates in Ethiopia. Seropositive monkeys having cross-reactive antibodies against HTLV were found among 22 out of 40 hamadryas baboons, 8 of 96 anubis baboons, 24 of 50 baboons that are hybrids between hamadryas and anubis baboons, and 41 of 177 grivet monkeys, but not in 156 gelada baboons. A Western blotting assay showed that sera obtained from seropositive hamadryas and hybrid baboons exhibited STLV-L-like reactivity. A PCR assay successfully amplified STLV sequences, which were subsequently sequenced and confirmed as being closely related to STLV-L. Surprisingly, further PCR showed that nearly half of the hamadryas (20 out of 40) and hybrid (19 out of 50) baboons had STLV-L DNA sequences. In contrast, most of the seropositive anubis baboons and grivet monkeys carried typical STLV-1 but not STLV-L. These observations demonstrate that STLV-L naturally prevails among hamadryas and hybrid baboons at significantly high rates. STLV-1 and -2, the close relative of STLV-L, are believed to have jumped across simian-human barriers, which resulted in widespread infection of HTLV-1 and -2. Further studies are required to know if STLV-L is spreading into human populations.

Mitochondrial sequence diversity within a subspecies of savanna monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops) is similar to that between subspecies

Cercopithecus aethiops can be classified into four subspecies by morphology and by geographic distribution. However, the phylogenetic relationship between these subspecies is unclear. We previously found five distinct haplogroups of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in the subspecies C. aethiops aethiops at the restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) level, and found that those haplogroups are parapatrically distributed in their habitat. To determine the relationship between subspeciation and haplogroup formation in a subspecies, we compared mtDNA control region and 12S rRNA gene sequences (approximately 700 bp) in C. a. aethiops, two other subspecies of C. aethiops, and two species of Cercopithecus: The diversity between haplogroups in C. a. aethiops was almost the same as that between subspecies. This similar level of diversification between and within haplogroups may explain why a previously obtained mtDNA tree did not show monophyletic branching according to subspecies.