IMAGE: Samples of chimpanzee fertilizers were collected across Africa to determine whether numbers were recently linked despite historical barriers to gene flow. view more
Cliu: © PanAf
Researchers from the Pan African Program: The Chimpanzee Culture (PanAf) at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (MPI-EVA) and a team of international researchers, collected more than 5000 fecal samples from 55 sites in 18 country across the chimpanzee range over 8 years. This is the most complete sampling of the species to date, with a known location for all samples, thus addressing the sampling boundaries of previous studies. “Collecting these samples was often a daunting task for our amazing field teams. Almost all the chimpanzees were involved in the presence of humans, so it took a lot of patience, skill and luck to ‘find chimpanzee manure at each of the sites, “explained Mimi Arandjelovic, co – director of the PanAf and senior author of the study.
Jack Lester, the study’s first author, explains: “We used fast-growing genetic markers that reflect the recent population history of species and, in conjunction with the dense sampling from air throughout their range, we show that the chimpanzee subspecies has been attached, or, more likely, reconnected, for long periods during the most recent expansion of African forests. “
Thus, although chimpanzees have been isolated in different subspecies in the past, prior to the recent emergence of anthropogenic disturbances, the proposed geographical barriers were identified. with chimpanzee spread. Paolo Gratton, co-author of the study and researcher at the “Tor Vergata” at Università di Roma, said: “Chimpanzees are widely believed to have survived in forest refugia during glacial periods, which are likely to be dependent on the segregation of population groups that we now recognize as a subspecies.Our results from fast-growing microsatellite DNA markers, however, indicate that there are genetic links in the Recent millennia usually reflect geographic distance and local factors, obscuring the oldest subdivisions. “
Furthermore, “these results suggest that the large behavioral diversity observed in chimpanzees is not due to local genetic modification but is dependent on behavioral flexibility, similar to humans, to cope with changes. in their environment, “notes Hjalmar Kuehl, co – director. of PanAf and a researcher at the German Center for Integrated Biodiversity Research (iDiv).
The team also saw signs of decreases in diversity at some sites that appeared to be related to recent anthropogenic pressures. Indeed, in some places PanAf crews have not been visited by, or very few, chimpanzees despite recordings of their presence within the last few decades. “While not expected, we were saddened to find the impact of human impacts at some field sites where genetic diversity was significantly lower than expected,” says Jack Lester.
These results highlight the importance of genetic connection to chimpanzees in their recent history. “Every effort should be made to re-establish and maintain distribution corridors across their area, with perhaps special attention to transnational defense areas,” notes Christophe Boesch, co-director PanAf and director of the Wild Chimpanzee Foundation. Chimpanzees are known to be adaptable from human disturbance and can live in human-altered landscapes, however, habitat loss, zoonotic diseases, bush meat and pet crafts are all present. the dangers to chimpanzee survival. These results warn of future critical impacts on genetic health and viability if habitat fragmentation and isolation remain unchanged.
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Original publication:
Jack D. Lester et al.
Recent genetic predisposition and clinical differentiation in chimpanzees
Communication Biology, 5 March 2021
Contact:
Jack Lester
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig
+49 341 3550-262
[email protected]
Dr. Mimi Arandjelovic
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig
+49 341 3550-239
[email protected]
Dr. Hjalmar Kühl
German Center for Integrated Biodiversity Research (iDiv) &
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig
+49 341 3550-236
[email protected]
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