@article{446640f2c40b4417a7b52e05cf8fc7d0,
title = "The Gombe Ecosystem Health Project: 16 years of program evolution and lessons learned",
abstract = "Infectious disease outbreaks pose a significant threat to the conservation of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and all threatened nonhuman primates. Characterizing and mitigating these threats to support the sustainability and welfare of wild populations is of the highest priority. In an attempt to understand and mitigate the risk of disease for the chimpanzees of Gombe National Park, Tanzania, we initiated a long-term health-monitoring program in 2004. While the initial focus was to expand the ongoing behavioral research on chimpanzees to include standardized data on clinical signs of health, it soon became evident that the scope of the project would ideally include diagnostic surveillance of pathogens for all primates (including people) and domestic animals, both within and surrounding the National Park. Integration of these data, along with in-depth post-mortem examinations, have allowed us to establish baseline health indicators to inform outbreak response. Here, we describe the development and expansion of the Gombe Ecosystem Health project, review major findings from the research and summarize the challenges and lessons learned over the past 16 years. We also highlight future directions and present the opportunities and challenges that remain when implementing studies of ecosystem health in a complex, multispecies environment.",
keywords = "chimpanzees, disease transmission, ecosystem health, human–primate interactions",
author = "Lonsdorf, {Elizabeth V.} and Travis, {Dominic A.} and Jane Raphael and Shadrack Kamenya and Iddi Lipende and Dismas Mwacha and Collins, {D. Anthony} and Michael Wilson and Deus Mjungu and Carson Murray and Jared Bakuza and Wolf, {Tiffany M.} and Parsons, {Michele B.} and Deere, {Jessica R.} and Emma Lantz and Kinsel, {Michael J} and Rachel Santymire and Lilian Pintea and Terio, {Karen A.} and Hahn, {Beatrice H.} and Pusey, {Anne E.} and Jane Goodall and Gillespie, {Thomas R.}",
note = "Funding Information: The authors thank the Jane Goodall Institute and Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA) for initiating and supporting the 60+ year research tradition at Gombe, including the current health-monitoring project. In addition, our deepest gratitude goes to the Gombe Stream Research Centre staff, without whom our work would not be possible. Special thanks are due to the Honorable Dr. Titus Mlengeya Kamani and to the Gorilla Doctors for key support of this study at its inception. Permission to carry out research at Gombe was granted by the Government of Tanzania, Tanzania National Parks, Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology, and the Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute. This study was supported by grants from the US Fish and Wildlife Great Ape Conservation Fund, the Arcus Foundation, the Leo S. Guthman Foundation, the National Institutes of Health (R01 AI58715, R01 AI120810, R00 HD057992), the National Science Foundation (FSML 1624552), the Morris Animal Foundation (MAF D09ZO-041, MAF D09ZO-634), Emory Global Health Institute, and the Emory Synergy II Program. Additionally, monetary support and invaluable time and effort were provided by staff and volunteers at Lincoln Park Zoo's Davee Center for Epidemiology and Endocrinology, Lester E. Fisher for the Study and Conservation of Apes, and Emory University. We are grateful to Michael Reid, Zarin Machanda, and an anonymous reviewer for helpful comments that improved the manuscript. The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Funding Information: The authors thank the Jane Goodall Institute and Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA) for initiating and supporting the 60+ year research tradition at Gombe, including the current health‐monitoring project. In addition, our deepest gratitude goes to the Gombe Stream Research Centre staff, without whom our work would not be possible. Special thanks are due to the Honorable Dr. Titus Mlengeya Kamani and to the Gorilla Doctors for key support of this study at its inception. Permission to carry out research at Gombe was granted by the Government of Tanzania, Tanzania National Parks, Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology, and the Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute. This study was supported by grants from the US Fish and Wildlife Great Ape Conservation Fund, the Arcus Foundation, the Leo S. Guthman Foundation, the National Institutes of Health (R01 AI58715, R01 AI120810, R00 HD057992), the National Science Foundation (FSML 1624552), the Morris Animal Foundation (MAF D09ZO‐041, MAF D09ZO‐634), Emory Global Health Institute, and the Emory Synergy II Program. Additionally, monetary support and invaluable time and effort were provided by staff and volunteers at Lincoln Park Zoo's Davee Center for Epidemiology and Endocrinology, Lester E. Fisher for the Study and Conservation of Apes, and Emory University. We are grateful to Michael Reid, Zarin Machanda, and an anonymous reviewer for helpful comments that improved the manuscript. The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC.",
year = "2022",
month = may,
doi = "10.1002/ajp.23300",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "84",
journal = "American Journal of Primatology",
issn = "0275-2565",
publisher = "John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.",
number = "4-5",
}