Browsing by Author "Bakuza, Jared Sylivester"

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    Infections of gastrointestinal parasites in Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes Schweinfurthii) at Gombe National Park Tanzania
    (University of Dar es Salaam, 2007) Bakuza, Jared Sylivester
    Parasites and other pathogens constitute an important component in the ecology of wild animals (Cheng, 1986, Tedra, 1986). They can have significant influence on host behaviour, distribution and density (Nunn et al, 2003; Husfater & Meade, 1982). In small mammals such as mice, parasitic infection are known to influence mate choice as female have been reported to preferentially select parasite-free males (Ehman & Scott, 2002. As a behavioural adaptation to parasite infection, baboons Paplo cynocephalus in Amboseli National Park, Kenya heva been observed to altemate their sleeping trees (Husfater & Meade, 1982), while mangabeys Laphocebus albigena avoid foraging in the same areas on consecutive days (Freeland, 1980). Smilarly, chimpanzees infected with intestinal parasites have been seen to feed on plants with medicinal properties which probably provide them with remedies against the infections (Huffman &Seifu, 1989; Wrangham, 1995; Huffman et al., 1996; 1997). Parasites and other pathogens can have a wide range of effects on the population, sometimes leading to its decimation such as the outbreaks of rinderpest in the African ungulates (Sinclair, 1979) and myxomatosis in European rabbits (Sumpton & Flowerdew, 1985). At the individual level, parasites can inflict a variety of problems to their hosts. For instance, Trichlnella spirals can cause calcification of skeletal muscles in mammals while Plasmodlum gallinaceum infection may result in the repturing of the brain vessels in primates (Cheng, 1986). In Gombe National Park (GNP), chimpanzees have suffered from a number of diseases where more than a dozen have died of various illnesses.