Guinea-Bissau Endangered Chimpanzee Conservation Genetics

Project reference

Project title

Chief Investigator
Catarina Casanova

Proposing institution
Instituto Superior de Ciências Sociais e Políticas (ISCSP/ULisboa)

Main area
Social Sciences - Anthropology


Research Team:

Researcher Name
Institutional Filiation
Catarina Casanova CAPP
Carlos Fernandes --
Cláudia Sousa --
Luís Vicente --
Michael W. Bruford --
Rui Miguel Moutinho Sá --

2 Masters (BI) - 6 months, renewable until 24 months


Conservation genetics aims to apply genetic methods to help biodiversity conservation, dealing with species and populations maintenance, loss, and restoration. Genetics methodologies are growing rapidly and hold promise for providing information important to the management of non-human primate (NHP) populations.
Genetic methodologies have been extensively applied to primate species living in top biodiversity hotspots [1-3]. Due to such advances, molecular techniques have become an essential tool for anthropologists to study a wide range of parameters, related not only with genetic structure and evolution, but also with behaviour and conservation. Now, researchers routinely incorporate a molecular component into their field research programs, something that so far, has not been applied to the Guinea-Bissau (GB) chimpanzees living in the only studied field site run by Portuguese researchers [4].These apes have been studied since 2003 but only from an ecological (indirect) perspective because they are difficult to follow and study [5,6]. An alternative strategy for collecting data that can be conveniently used while GB apes remain un-habituated is the use of genetic methods such as DNA profiling from non-invasively collected samples [6-10] which can provide information on kinship, migration and dispersal patterns, group size and composition, reproductive success of individuals, sex ratio and genetic diversity [6-25]. Molecular markers such as microsatellites have found broad application in population genetics as well as conservation assessments and are a powerful tool for paternity analysis [21]. This kind of information is particularly important for conservation assessments or national action plans as it is the case of the GB Chimpanzee National Action Plan [4].
Processes such as deforestation have a strong impact in the structure of animal populations and their geographic distribution. As a consequence, formerly widely distributed populations become divided in subpopulations in the remaining forest fragments [22-24]. Habitat fragmentation inhibits gene flow often resulting in a loss of genetic diversity. Classically k-selected species such as the great apes are more prone to extinction [26,27], especially in closed or fragmented habitats [27]. Many NHP populations are undergoing a strong decline, which is predicted to result in their extinction in the wild from entire regions in the near future. Deforestation (logging, agriculture and large scale plantations), hunting and bush-meat and disease (e.g. ebola virus and other hemorrhagic fevers) constitute major threats to many NHP species [19,22-29] such as the endangered Guinean chimpanzee which, among other NHP, is one of the most representative and visible members of the GB biodiversity. This ape acts as a flagship to the conservation of the diverse natural habitats of the country [4].
The Guinean coastal chimpanzee population (southwestern, Tombali and Quinara regions) is rated as one of the seven “very important priority areas” for conservation actions since it is facing extreme threats [30]. The project has one main goal: to assess the genetic diversity of this endangered ape in a conservation priority area [30] in order to contribute to such conservation (and therefore to the conservation of biodiversity in this country). Such knowledge will allow for the development of effective conservation strategies with the proposal of ecological corridors that correspond to the chimpanzee real conservation needs via the population genetic management.
This project also represents the first step towards the application of the Guinea-Bissau Chimpanzee National Action Plan [4] avoiding genetic isolation and depletion of the population and several partners will co-operate: from governmental organizations (IBAP - Instituto da Biodiversidade e das Áreas Protegidas; DGFF - Direcção Geral das Florestas e da Fauna; DGA - Direcção Geral do Ambiente) to national and international NGO’s such as AD - Acção para o Desenvolvimento and IUCN - International Union for the Conservation of Nature. The ecological corridors based on the conservation genetic knowledge may be nationally and internationally regulated (via IBAP) and will represent the development of GB Chimpanzee National Action Plan [4].


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[2] 2001. Grativol, AD., Ballou, JD., and Fleischer, R. C. Microsatellite variation within and among recently fragmented populations of the golden lion tamarin (Leontopithecus rosalia). CONSERVATION GENETICS, 2: 1-9.

[3] 2004. Schad, J., Sommer, S., and Ganzhorn, JU. MHC Variability of a Small Lemur in the LittoralForest Fragments of Southeastern Madagascar. CONSERVATION GENETICS, 5(3): 299-309.


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[8] 2002. Goossens B, Funk SM, Vidal C, Latour, S, Jamart, A, Ancrenaz M, Wickings EJ, Tutin CEG and BRUFORD, MW. Measuring genetic diversity in translocation programs: principles and application to a chimpanzee release project. ANIMAL CONSERVATION, 5: 225-36.

[9] 2001. Tutin, CEG, Ancrenaz, M, Parades, J, Vacher-Vallas, M, Vidas, C, Goossens, B, BRUFORD, MW and Jamart, A. The conservation biology framework of the release of wild-born orphaned chimpanzees into the Conkouati reserve, Congo. CONSERVATION IN PRACTICE, 15 (5):1247-1257

[10] 2000. Goossens, B, Latour, S, Vidal, C, Jamart, A, Ancrenaz, M, BRUFORD, MW. Twenty new microsatellite loci for use with hair and faecal samples in the chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes troglodytes). FOLIA PRIMATOLOGICA, 71(3): 177-180.

[11] 2002. Frankham, R; JD Ballou and DA Briscoe. INTRODUCTION TO CONSERVATION GENETICS. CambridgeUniversity Press. 617pp

[12] 2005. Ckikhi, L. and BRUFORD, MW. Mammalian population genetics and genomics, In Ruvinsky, A., and Graves, J. M. (Eds.), MAMMALIAN GENOMICS. CABI Publishers, London, 539-84.

[13] 2001. Vigilant, L., Hofreiter, M., Siedel, H. and Boesch, C. Paternity and relatedness in wild chimpanzee communities. PROC. NAT. ACADEMY SCIENCES, 98(23):12890-5.

[14] 2006. Boesch, C., Kohou, G., Néné, H., and Vigilant, L. Male competition and paternity in wild chimpanzees of the Taï forest AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY, 130(1): 103-15.

[15] 2001. Constable, JL., Ashley, MV., Goodall, J., and Pusey, AE. Noninvasive paternity assignment in Gombe chimpanzees, MOLECULAR ECOLOGY, 10(5): 1279-300.

[16] 2003. Di Fiore, A. Molecular genetic approaches to the study of primate behavior, social organization, and reproduction. YEARBOOK OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY, 46: 62-99

[17] 2004. Schüke, O., Kappeler, PM., and Zischler, H. mall testes size despite high extra-pair paternity in the pair-living nocturnal primate Phaner furcifer. BEHAVIOR ECOLOGY AND SOCIOBIOLOGY, 55(3):293-301.

[18] 2007. Lawler, RR. Fitness and extra-group reproduction in male Verreaux's sifaka: An analysis of reproductive success from 1989-1999. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSYCAL ANTHROPOLOGY, 312(2): 267-77

[19] 1996. Altmann, J., Alberts, SC., Hainesi, SA., Dubach, J., Musuthi, P., Coote, T., Geffen, E., Cheesman, DJ., Mututua, RS., Saiyalel, SN., Wayne, RK., Lacy, RC., and BRUFORD, MW. Behavior predicts genetic structure in a wild primate group. PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONALACADEMY OF SCIENCES (USA), 93, 5797-801.

[20] 2005. Lukas, D., Reynolds, V., Boesch, C. and Vigilant, L. To what extent does living in a group mean living with kin? MOLECULAR ECOLOGY, 14(7): 2181-96.

[21] 1993. BRUFORD, MW., and Wayne, RK. Microsatellites and their application to population genetic studies. Current Opinion in GENETICS & DEVELOPMENT: 3, 939.

[22] 2006. Goossens B, Chikhi L, Ancrenaz M, Lackman-Ancrenaz I, Andau P and BRUFORD MW. Genetic signature of anthropogenic population collapse in orang-utans. PLoS Biol. 4: 285-291.

[23] 2005. Goossens B, Chikhi L, Jalil MF, Ancrenaz M, Lackman-Ancrenaz I, Mohamed M, Andau P, BRUFORD MW . Patterns of genetic diversity and migration in increasingly fragmented and declining orang-utan (Pongo pygmaeus) populations from Sabah, Malaysia. MOLECULAR ECOLOGY, 14: 441-456.

[24] 2008. SOUSA, C.; C. CASANOVA and C. FERNANDES. Contribution of Molecular Data to the Study of Non-Human Primates, in Lima, M and C Santos eds. ADVANCES IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND ITS APPLICATIONS TO BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY. Po. 115-166. Kerala: Research Signpost

[25] 2006. Rönn AC, O. Andres, MW BRUFORD, B Crouau-Roy, G. Doxiadis, X Domingo-Roura, AD Roeder, E Verschoor, H Zischler and AC Syvänen. Multiple displacement amplification for generating an unlimited source of DNA for genotyping in non-human primate species. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY, 27(4):1145-67.

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[27] 2003. Cardillo, M. Biological determinants of extinction risk: why are smaller species less vulnerable? ANIMAL CONSERVATION, 6(1): 63-9

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[30] 2005. SOUSA,C; S Gippoliti and M. Akilas. Republic of Guinea-Bissau, in Caldecoot, J & L Miles eds., World Atlas of Great Apes and Their Conservation. 362-65. Berkeley: University of California Press, GRASP, UNEP and WCMC.

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