Mutual allo-grooming is part of affiliative relationships to reduce tension and aggression between individuals.
A chimpanzee can practice self-grooming or allo-grooming. This behavior is called “grooming,” and some chimpanzees invest as much as a fifth of their time grooming. With the exception of three studies that reported tick infestation in the nostrils of chimpanzees and primatologists working in the Ugandan forest, little is known about the risks ticks may pose to chimpanzee health, also regarding their implication for human beings living or working in close proximity to ape habitats.Ĭhimpanzees, like other non-human primates, have protective methods to remove their ectoparasites like ticks. According to the IUCN red list, our closest relative is an endangered species threatened with extinction in the near future, so understanding the factors affecting its health demands urgent attention. The chimpanzee ( Pan troglodytes) population has been estimated at around 345,000 individuals belonging to four sub-species across 21 countries. In parallel, ticks are known to feed on a large variety of vertebrate hosts including mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, but only a few studies have been performed on wild animals since the first inventories. For instance, some Amblyomma species, a vector of Rickettsia africae, and Rhipicephalus appendiculatus, a vector of Theileria parva, cause African bite fever and East Coast fever, respectively, a huge hurdle to the development of the livestock industry. In Africa, a great diversity of ticks is present, and some species are potential carriers of tick-borne pathogens of major importance. In the tropical zone, most efforts are being made to understand the impacts of ticks and tick-borne pathogens on the health of humans and domestic animals because of the associated economic losses. In conclusion, this study presented ticks and tick-borne pathogens in a Ugandan wildlife habitat whose potential effects on animal health remain to be elucidated. The Afrotopical tick Amblyomma tholloni found in one chimpanzee nest was infected by Rickettsia sp. Molecular detection revealed the presence of at least six genera of tick-borne pathogens ( Babesia, Theileria, Borrelia, Cryptoplasma, Ehrlichia and Rickettsia). The presence of ticks, irrespective of species, was influenced by temperature and type of vegetation but not by relative humidity. ResultsĪ total of 470 ticks were collected, which led to the identification of seven tick species: Haemaphysalis parmata (68.77%), Amblyomma tholloni (20.70%), Ixodes rasus sensu lato (7.37%), Rhipicephalus dux (1.40%), Haemaphysalis punctaleachi (0.70%), Ixodes muniensis (0.70%) and Amblyomma paulopunctatum (0.35%).
Molecular techniques were used to detect and identify tick-borne piroplasmids and bacterial pathogens. We identified adult and nymph ticks through morphological features. We used non-invasive methods of flagging the vegetation and visual search of ticks both on human team members and in chimpanzee nests. In this study, we collected ticks in the forested habitat of a community of 100 chimpanzees living in Kibale National Park, Western Uganda, and assessed how their presence and abundance are influenced by environmental factors. Little is known about ticks and their pathogens in wild habitats and wild animals like the endangered chimpanzee, our closest relative. In Africa, much research on ticks has focused on domestic animals. Knowledge of tick-borne pathogens is crucial for prescription of mitigation measures. Ticks and tick-borne pathogens significantly impact both human and animal health and therefore are of major concern to the scientific community.
0 kommentar(er)
