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Ilík V, Kreisinger J, Modrý D, Schwarz EM, Tagg N, Mbohli D, Nkombou IC, Petrželková KJ, Pafčo B. High diversity and sharing of strongylid nematodes in humans and great apes co-habiting an unprotected area in Cameroon. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2023; 17:e0011499. [PMID: 37624869 PMCID: PMC10484444 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0011499] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2022] [Revised: 09/07/2023] [Accepted: 07/03/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Rapid increases in human populations and environmental changes of past decades have led to changes in rates of contact and spatial overlap with wildlife. Together with other historical, social and environmental processes, this has significantly contributed to pathogen transmission in both directions, especially between humans and non-human primates, whose close phylogenetic relationship facilitates cross-infections. Using high-throughput amplicon sequencing, we studied strongylid communities in sympatric western lowland gorillas, central chimpanzees and humans co-occurring in an unprotected area in the northern periphery of the Dja Faunal Reserve, Cameroon. At the genus level, we classified 65 strongylid ITS-2 amplicon sequencing variants (ASVs) in humans and great apes. Great apes exhibited higher strongylid diversity than humans. Necator and Oesophagostomum were the most prevalent genera, and we commonly observed mixed infections of more than one strongylid species. Human strongylid communities were dominated by the human hookworm N. americanus, while great apes were mainly infected with N. gorillae, O. stephanostomum and trichostrongylids. We were also able to detect rare strongylid taxa (such as Ancylostoma and Ternidens). We detected eight ASVs shared between humans and great apes (four N. americanus variants, two N. gorillae variants, one O. stephanostomum type I and one Trichostrongylus sp. type II variant). Our results show that knowledge of strongylid communities in primates, including humans, is still limited. Sharing the same habitat, especially outside protected areas (where access to the forest is not restricted), can enable mutual parasite exchange and can even override host phylogeny or conserved patterns. Such studies are critical for assessing the threats posed to all hosts by increasing human-wildlife spatial overlap. In this study, the term "contact" refers to physical contact, while "spatial overlap" refers to environmental contact.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vladislav Ilík
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Jakub Kreisinger
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Praha, Czech Republic
| | - David Modrý
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources/CINeZ, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Erich Marquard Schwarz
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States of America
| | - Nikki Tagg
- Centre for Research and Conservation/KMDA, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Donald Mbohli
- Association de la Protection des Grands Singes, Yaoundé, Cameroon
| | | | - Klára Judita Petrželková
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
| | - Barbora Pafčo
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
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Wieland M, Frost Yocum L, Vanegas L, Wright J, Mwinyihali R. From the forest to the fork: A conceptual framework of the wild meat supply–demand system to guide interventions in tackling unsustainable trafficking and consumption in the Congo Basin. Afr J Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/aje.12964] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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One Health Perspectives on New Emerging Viral Diseases in African Wild Great Apes. Pathogens 2021; 10:pathogens10101283. [PMID: 34684232 PMCID: PMC8539261 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens10101283] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2021] [Revised: 09/15/2021] [Accepted: 09/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The most recent emerging infectious diseases originated in animals, mainly in wildlife reservoirs. Mutations and recombination events mediate pathogen jumps between host species. The close phylogenetic relationship between humans and non-human primates allows the transmission of pathogens between these species. These pathogens cause severe impacts on public health and impair the conservation of habituated or non-habituated wild-living apes. Constant exposure of great apes to human actions such as hunting, deforestation, the opening of roads, and tourism, for example, contributes to increased interaction between humans and great apes. In spite of several studies emphasizing the risks of pathogen transmission between animals and humans, outbreaks of the reverse transmission of infectious agents threatening wildlife still occur on the African continent. In this context, measures to prevent the emergence of new diseases and conservation of primate species must be based on the One Health concept; that is, they must also ensure the monitoring of the environment and involve political and social aspects. In this article, we review and discuss the anthropological aspects of the transmission of diseases between people and wild primates and discuss new anthropozoonotic diseases in great apes in Africa from studies published between 2016 and 2020. We conclude that the health of great apes also depends on monitoring the health of human populations that interact with these individuals.
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Ruppert KA, Sponarski CC, Davis EO, Masiaine S, Larpei L, Lekalgitele J, Lekupanai R, Lekushan J, Lemirgishan J, Lenaipa D, Lenyakopiro J, Lerapayo S, Lororua M, Stacy-Dawes J, Glikman JA. Use of specialized questioning techniques to detect decline in giraffe meat consumption. J Nat Conserv 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jnc.2021.126029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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Robbins MM. Assessing attitudes towards gorilla conservation via employee interviews. Am J Primatol 2020; 83:e23191. [PMID: 32894603 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2020] [Revised: 08/03/2020] [Accepted: 08/08/2020] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
To determine the effectiveness of conservation strategies, not only should we monitor biological variables, such as population size and levels of illegal activity, but also we should examine changes in attitudes and behavior of local community members. Here, I use semistructured interviews of employees at two field sites, in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda and Loango National Park, Gabon, to understand if their employment influenced their attitude towards gorillas and conservation and led to behavior change. In contrast to western views of gorillas as "gentle giants," staff viewed gorillas as dangerous animals before working for these projects. Overall, employment leads to viewing conservation and gorillas more positively, and in many cases, viewing the gorillas as kin. The most common value attributed to the gorillas was economic, yet intrinsic and non-use existence values were frequently mentioned. Loango staff, but not Bwindi staff, reported behavior change related to hunting and bushmeat consumption, which likely is related to bushmeat consumption being commonplace in Gabon but not in Uganda. The Bwindi staff seemed to have a more positive and broader outlook toward conservation than the Loango staff, possibly because they had more years of formal education, they worked with gorillas longer, there is more history of conservation activities in Bwindi, and/or they have been less directly affected by negative consequences of conservation (e.g., crop raiding). This study shows the importance of explaining that gorillas are not dangerous if not provoked and using their human-like characteristics as a means to change conservation values and interest of local communities, while concurrently recognizing that providing economic benefits and reducing negative effects of wildlife are a reality for conservation buy-in.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martha M Robbins
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
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