Titel Deelnemers "Korte inhoud" "Campylobacter troglodytis sp. nov., isolated from feces of human-habituated wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) in Tanzania" "Taranjit Kaur, Jatinder Singh, Michael A Huffman, Klára J Petrzelková, Nancy S Taylor, Shilu Xu, Floyd E Dewhirst, Bruce J Paster, Lies Debruyne, Peter Vandamme, James G Fox" "The transmission of simian immunodeficiency and Ebola viruses to humans in recent years has heightened awareness of the public health significance of zoonotic diseases of primate origin, particularly from chimpanzees. In this study, we analyzed 71 fecal samples collected from 2 different wild chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) populations with different histories in relation to their proximity to humans. Campylobacter spp. were detected by culture in 19/56 (34%) group 1 (human habituated for research and tourism purposes at Mahale Mountains National Park) and 0/15 (0%) group 2 (not human habituated but propagated from an introduced population released from captivity over 30 years ago at Rubondo Island National Park) chimpanzees, respectively. Using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, all isolates were virtually identical (at most a single base difference), and the chimpanzee isolates were most closely related to Campylobacter helveticus and Campylobacter upsaliensis (94.7% and 95.9% similarity, respectively). Whole-cell protein profiling, amplified fragment length polymorphism analysis of genomic DNA, hsp60 sequence analysis, and determination of the mol% G+C content revealed two subgroups among the chimpanzee isolates. DNA-DNA hybridization experiments confirmed that both subgroups represented distinct genomic species. In the absence of differential biochemical characteristics and morphology and identical 16S rRNA gene sequences, we propose to classify all isolates into a single novel nomenspecies, Campylobacter troglodytis, with strain MIT 05-9149 as the type strain; strain MIT 05-9157 is suggested as the reference strain for the second C. troglodytis genomovar. Further studies are required to determine whether the organism is pathogenic to chimpanzees and whether this novel Campylobacter colonizes humans and causes enteric disease." "The Influence of Transect Use by Local People and Reuse of Transects for Repeated Surveys on Nesting in Western Lowland Gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) and Central Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) in Southeast Cameroon" "Nikki Tagg, Jacob Willie" "The influence of vegetation structure on sleeping site selection by chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes)" "Luc Tédonzong, Maxwell Bienvenu Mfula Ndju'u, Martin Tchamba, Tsi Evaristus Angwafo, Luc Lens, Nikki Tagg, Jacob Willie" "Sleep is an important aspect of great ape life; these animals build sleeping platforms every night. In a community of chimpanzees, each subgroup selects a sleeping site where each individual builds a sleeping platform, mostly on a tree. Previous studies have measured the heights of sleeping platforms and sleeping trees to test the predation avoidance and thermoregulation hypotheses of sleeping site selection. However, it remains unclear how components of vegetation structure (vertical and horizontal) together determine the selection of sleeping sites by chimpanzees. Using botanical inventories around sleeping sites in a tropical rainforest of Cameroon, we found that chimpanzees preferentially sleep in trees measuring 40–50 cm in diameter. Regarding height, on average, sleeping trees measured 26 m and sleeping platforms were built at 16 m. To build sleeping platforms, chimpanzees preferred four tree species, which represent less than 3% of tree species in the study area. We demonstrate that the variation in abundance of tree species and the vertical and horizontal structure of the vegetation drive chimpanzee sleeping site selection. It was previously thought that preference for vegetation types was the driver of sleeping site selection in chimpanzees. However, results from this study indicate that the importance of vegetation types in sleeping site selection depends on their botanical characteristics including the variation in tree size, the abundance of all trees, the abundance of sleeping trees, and the occurrence of preferred sleeping tree species, which predict sleeping site selection. The height and diameter of trees are considered by chimpanzees when selecting a particular tree for sleeping and when selecting a site with a specific vertical structure. In addition to tree height, the abundance of smaller neighboring trees may also play a role in the chimpanzee antipredation strategy. Our results demonstrate that chimpanzees consider several vegetation parameters to establish sleeping sites. © 2023 Wiley Periodicals LLC." "Ground Night Nesting in Chimpanzees: New Insights from Central Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) in South-East Cameroon." "Nikki Tagg, Jacob Willie, Charles-Albert Petre, Olivia Haggis" "Some chimpanzee populations exhibit ground night nesting, which occurs in different habitat types, is driven by a variety of interconnected factors, and may reflect cultural or social differences. This has important implications for ape conservation management, given that accurate nest builder identification is required to estimate density, crucial in monitoring, and allows inferences about environmental and social factors that may have contributed to the transition from tree to ground sleeping in early hominins. We conducted a 24-month marked nest count survey in La Belgique, Cameroon, and recorded the occurrence of chimpanzee tree and ground night nests, temperature and rainfall, predator and large mammal abundance, human activities, nesting tree species, and Uapaca spp. consumption. Ground night nesting occurred at a rate of 3.47% (n = 1,008), with more in swamps, in the dry season and with increasing human activities. We found no influence of leopard/elephant presence, but a possible influence of lack of nesting trees. We suggest chimpanzees visit swamps in the dry season (low water levels) for relief from hunting pressure and to consume Uapaca spp. fruits. Ground nesting may be enabled due to high abundance of terrestrial herbaceous vegetation, and may be favoured for inconspicuousness and safety from gun hunters. © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel." "Use of a tool-set by Pan troglodytes troglodytes to obtain termites (Macrotermes) in the periphery of the Dja Biosphere Reserve, southeast Cameroon" "Isra Deblauwe, Patrick Guislain, Jef Dupain, Linda Van Elsacker" "At the northern periphery of the Dja Biosphere Reserve (southeastern Cameroon) we recorded a new use of a tool-set by Pan troglodytes troglodytes to prey on Macrotermes muelleri, M. renouxi, M. lilljeborgi, and M. nobilis. We recovered 79 puncturing sticks and 47 fishing probes at 17 termite nests between 2002 and 2005. The mean length of the puncturing sticks (n = 77) and fishing probes (n = 45) was 52 cm. and 56 cm, respectively, and the mean diameter was 9 mm and 4.5 mm, respectively. Sixty-eight percent of 138 chimpanzee fecal samples contained major soldiers of four Macrotermes species. The chimpanzees in southeastern Cameroon appeared to be selective in their choice of plant material to make their tools. The tools found at our study site resemble those from other sites in this region. However, in southeastern Cameroon only one tool-set type was found, whereas two tool-set types have been reported in Congo. Our study suggests that, along with the different vegetation types and the availability of plant material around termite nests, the nest and gallery structure and foraging behavior of the different Macrotermes spp. at all Central African sites must be investigated before we can attribute differences in tool-use behavior to culture." "Getting closer: contributions of zoo studies to research on the physiology and development of Bonobos Pan paniscus, Chimpanzees Pan troglodytes and other primates" "Verena Behringer, Jeroen Stevens, T. Deschner, G. Hohmann" "Behavioural studies on animals incorporate data on morphology, physiology and energetic status, as well as kinship and genetic information. Such measures have become the state of the art when assessing the function of a given behaviour. Zoos provide opportunities for research of a kind that is difficult to undertake in the wild. In this article several advantages of studying captive animals are highlighted; for example, accessibility, ease of sample collection, control of environmental factors, long-term monitoring and known life histories, which can be tracked throughout the life of an individual. The data collected from such studies can be used to provide benchmarks for physiological and life-history features. To demonstrate the type of studies to which zoos can contribute, examples are given from work with Bonobos Pan paniscus and Chimpanzees Pan troglodytes. Such studies improve our basic understanding of physiological processes in these apes, which could be applied to other non-human primates. Data from zoo-living animals promote validation and refinement of methods, add information that may be difficult to obtain from wild specimens and provide the means by which to scrutinize specific questions in experimental settings. Such data can serve as a benchmark for studies on wild conspecifics and inspire field studies by providing novel tools for data collection." "Mammalian cytogenetics. VIII. Q-banding of chromosomes of Pan troglodytes, Gorilla gorilla beringei and Pongo pygmaeus" "L Koulicher, J Tyskens, J Mortelmans" "Molecular identification of Entamoeba species in savanna woodland chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii)" "Katerina Jirku-Pomajbíková, Ivan Cepicka, Barbora Kalousová, Milan Jirku, Fiona Stewart, Bruno Levecke, David Modrý, Alex K Piel, Klára J Petrzelkova" "Left nipple preferences in infant Pan paniscus and P-troglodytes" "William D. Hopkins, Mieke De Lathouwers" "We investigated laterality in nipple preference in 16 mother-infant dyads, 8 bonobos, and 8 chimpanzees via an event sampling procedure in infants 5-55 mo of age. Both bonobo and chimpanzee infants preferred the left nipple, and the results were stable over time. Maternal age, experience, and rearing history did not influence laterality in offspring nipple preferences. We discuss the results in the context of the role of early mother-infant interactions on the development of laterality in primates." "Comparing infant and juvenile behavior in bonobos (Pan paniscus) and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes): a preliminary study" "Mieke De Lathouwers, Linda Van Elsacker" "The dichotomy between the two Pan species, the bonobo (Pan paniscus) and chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) has been strongly emphasized until very recently. Given that most studies were primarily based on adult individuals, we shifted the ``continuity versus discontinuity'' discussion to the infant and juvenile stage. Our aim was to test quantitatively, some conflicting statements made in literature considering species differences between immature bonobos and chimpanzees. On one hand it is suggested that infant bonobos show retardation in motor and social development when compared with chimpanzees. Additionally it is expected that the weaning process is more traumatic to chimpanzee than bonobo infants. But on the other hand the development of behaviors is expected to be very similar in both species. We observed eight mother-infant pairs of each species in several European zoos. Our preliminary research partially confirms that immature chimpanzees seem spatially more independent, spending more time at a larger distance from their mother than immature bonobos. However, the other data do not seem to support the hypothesis that bonobo infants show retardation of motor or social development. The development of solitary play, environmental exploration, social play, non-copulatory mounts and aggressive interactions do not differ between the species. Bonobo infants in general even groom other group members more than chimpanzee infants. We also found that older bonobo infants have more nipple contact than same aged chimpanzees and that the weaning process seems to end later for bonobos than for immature chimpanzee. Additionally, although immature bonobos show in general more signs of distress, our data suggest that the weaning period itself is more traumatic for chimpanzees."