![]() The team also found a number of migratory events, as well as high levels of shared ancestry and genetic diversity. Christina Hvilsom, conservation geneticist at Copenhagen Zoo. "Infants and juveniles are not reliably included in fecal sampling and some areas of the mountain range remain under-sampled," says Dr. The actual number of chimpanzees in the area probably significantly exceeds this minimum estimate. The analysis identified a total of 136 chimpanzees living in four different communities or social groups. They analyzed the genetic material contained in these samples using a panel of 26 microsatellites - short pieces of DNA that allow the identification of individual animals as well as relatedness between them. During field work the researchers collected almost a thousand fecal samples of chimpanzees between 20. "Our study is the first to employ genetics on such a large scale to estimate the number and population structure of a critically endangered chimpanzee population in West Africa," says Koops. The international team included researchers from the University of Zurich, the University of Kent, Copenhagen Zoo, the University of Copenhagen, Texas A&M and the Environmental Research Institute of Bossou in Guinea. To this end, Koops and her colleagues used genetic censusing to estimate chimpanzee population size, community composition and range boundaries on the western flank of the massif in Guinea. ![]() "It is therefore crucial to establish tools to monitor this endangered chimpanzee population and assess the potential impact of mining," says Kathelijne Koops, professor in the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology at the University of Zurich. Guinea is rich in minerals with some of the highest grade iron-ore deposits in the world. However, this region is now under threat from mining activities immediately abutting its borders. The Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage site, located on the borders of Guinea, Liberia and Côte d'Ivoire in West Africa, harbors a unique population of this subspecies. The western chimpanzee is listed as "Critically Endangered" on the Red List of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
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