Giardia in mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei), forest buffalo (Syncerus caffer), and domestic cattle in Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda.
نویسندگان
چکیده
Mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) are critically endangered primates surviving in two isolated populations in protected areas within the Virunga Massif of Rwanda, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda. Mountain gorillas face intense ecologic pressures due to their proximity to humans. Human communities outside the national parks, and numerous human activities within the national parks (including research, tourism, illegal hunting, and anti-poaching patrols), lead to a high degree of contact between mountain gorillas and wildlife, domestic animals, and humans. To assess the pathogen transmission potential between wildlife and livestock, feces of mountain gorillas, forest buffalo (Syncerus caffer nanus), and domestic cattle (Bos taurus) in Rwanda were examined for the parasites Giardia and Cryptosporidium. Giardia was found in 9% of mountain gorillas, 6% of cattle, and 2% of forest buffalo. Our study represents the first report of Giardia prevalence in forest buffalo. Cryptosporidium-like particles were also observed in all three species. Molecular characterization of Giardia isolates identified zoonotic genotype assemblage B in the gorilla samples and assemblage E in the cattle samples. Significant spatial clustering of Giardia-positive samples was observed in one sector of the park. Although we did not find evidence for transmission of protozoa from forest buffalo to mountain gorillas, the genotypes of Giardia samples isolated from gorillas have been reported in humans, suggesting that the importance of humans in this ecosystem should be more closely evaluated.
منابع مشابه
Diversity of Microsporidia, Cryptosporidium and Giardia in Mountain Gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) in Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda
BACKGROUND Infectious diseases represent the greatest threats to endangered species, and transmission from humans to wildlife under increased anthropogenic pressure has been always stated as a major risk of habituation. AIMS To evaluate the impact of close contact with humans on the occurrence of potentially zoonotic protists in great apes, one hundred mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beri...
متن کاملLandscape predictors of current and future distribution of mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda
متن کامل
Are the gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park "true" mountain gorillas?
The gorillas that inhabit Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda are the least known of the eastern gorillas. Because they are an allopatric population living a minimum of 25 km from the well-studied population of mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) in Rwanda and have certain morphological and ecological differences from these gorillas, their taxonomic status has been in question...
متن کاملMinerals in the Foods Eaten by Mountain Gorillas (Gorilla beringei)
Minerals are critical to an individual's health and fitness, and yet little is known about mineral nutrition and requirements in free-ranging primates. We estimated the mineral content of foods consumed by mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda. Mountain gorillas acquire the majority of their minerals from herbaceous leaves, which constitu...
متن کاملPersonality dimensions and their behavioral correlates in wild Virunga mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei).
Studies of animal personality improve our understanding of individual variation in measures of life history and fitness, such as health and reproductive success. Using a 54 trait personality questionnaire developed for studying great apes and other nonhuman primates, we obtained ratings on 116 wild mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) monitored by the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund's Karisok...
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ورودعنوان ژورنال:
- Journal of wildlife diseases
دوره 50 1 شماره
صفحات -
تاریخ انتشار 2014