Genetic Work in Cameroon

In recent years, the CRES Central Africa Regional Program has begun to make a significant contribution to both the San Diego Zoo and external genetics research programs which have clear relevance to conservation objectives.

The Ebo gorilla population is probably the most endangered population of gorillas in Africa, separated from the western lowland gorillas of Gabon, Congo, and southern Cameroon by the Sanaga River and from the critically endangered Cross River gorilla population on the border region of Cameroon and Nigeria by more than 125 miles (200 kilometers). Genetic studies on the populations are being undertaken by CRES, although efforts are somewhat hampered by the small population size (currently believed to be less than 25 individuals) and the desire to disturb the population as little as possible. It is hoped that in years to come a more accurate idea of the total population size will be achieved by genotyping individual gorillas from fecal material. Researchers would also be able to track gorilla movements in this way.

Drills are among the most endangered primate species in Africa, at least partly because of their restricted distribution on southwest Cameroon, a small portion of the extreme east of Nigeria and an isolated population on the island of Bioko, Equatorial Guinea. Conventional methods of surveying primates are ineffective with drills: drills have very large home ranges, travel in very large groups, and are notoriously difficult to find in forests. Recent technical advances in determining identity of species and individuals from non-invasive fecal samples and ways of storing the material without significant degradation of genetic material offer the opportunity to investigate the number and composition of wild drill groups in the Ebo Forest and to examine changes in these parameters over time.

The commercial trade in bushmeat is probably the most significant threat to the long-tem survival of many long-lived species in Central Africa. DNA barcoding of species in the region is a novel and innovative approach to both identification of confiscated bushmeat species and therefore of value to government agencies in law enforcement efforts, both in Africa and in countries which experience high levels of annual bushmeat importation, often passed off as legitimately imported species. The Central African program will be central to these efforts in coming years by providing the essential link between the forests where the bushmeat is sourced to the national level of trade in the commercial bushmeat trade.

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Distribution and Ecology of the Drill in Cameroon
Barcoding for Species Conservation