| prevalence of antibodies to alphaviruses and flaviviruses in free-ranging game animals and nonhuman primates in the greater congo basin. | vector-borne and zoonotic pathogens have comprised a significant proportion of the emerging infectious diseases in humans in recent decades. the role of many wildlife species as reservoirs for arthropod-borne viral pathogens is poorly understood. we investigated the exposure history of various african wildlife species from the congo basin to mosquito-borne flaviviruses and alphaviruses by testing archived serum samples. sera from 24 african forest buffalo (syncerus caffer nanus), 34 african elep ... | 2013 | 23778608 |
| y-chromosome variation in hominids: intraspecific variation is limited to the polygamous chimpanzee. | we have previously demonstrated that the y-specific ampliconic fertility genes daz (deleted in azoospermia) and cdy (chromodomain protein y) varied with respect to copy number and position among chimpanzees (pan troglodytes). in comparison, seven y-chromosomal lineages of the bonobo (pan paniscus), the chimpanzee's closest living relative, showed no variation. we extend our earlier comparative investigation to include an analysis of the intraspecific variation of these genes in gorillas (gorilla ... | 2011 | 22216243 |
| are the gorillas in bwindi impenetrable national park "true" mountain gorillas? | the gorillas that inhabit bwindi impenetrable national park in uganda are the least known of the eastern gorillas. because they are an allopatric population living a minimum of 25 km from the well-studied population of mountain gorillas (gorilla beringei beringei) in rwanda and have certain morphological and ecological differences from these gorillas, their taxonomic status has been in question in recent years. this study presents new craniodental metrics from bwindi individuals and compares the ... | 2010 | 19927278 |
| morphological and molecular evidence reveals recent hybridization between gorilla taxa. | molecular studies have demonstrated a deep lineage split between the two gorilla species, as well as divisions within these taxa; estimates place this divergence in the mid-pleistocene, with gene flow continuing until approximately 80,000 years ago. here, we present analyses of skeletal data indicating the presence of substantial recent gene flow among gorillas at all taxonomic levels: between populations, subspecies, and species. complementary analyses of dna sequence variation suggest that low ... | 2010 | 19804402 |
| hominoid seminal protein evolution and ancestral mating behavior. | hominoid mating systems show extensive variation among species. the degree of sexual dimorphism in body size and canine size varies among primates in accordance with their mating system, as does the testes size and the consistency of ejaculated semen, in response to differing levels of sperm competition. to investigate patterns of evolution at hominoid seminal proteins and to make inferences regarding the mating systems of extinct taxa, we sequenced the entire coding region of the prostate-speci ... | 2008 | 18561295 |
| diet and seasonal changes in sympatric gorillas and chimpanzees at kahuzi-biega national park. | based on 8 years of observations of a group of western lowland gorillas (gorilla beringei graueri) and a unit-group of chimpanzees (pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) living sympatrically in the montane forest at kahuzi-biega national park, we compared their diet and analyzed dietary overlap between them in relation to fruit phenology. data on fruit consumption were collected mainly from fecal samples, and phenology of preferred ape fruits was estimated by monitoring. totals of 231 plant foods (116 ... | 2006 | 16142424 |
| species and sex identification of western lowland gorillas (gorilla gorilla gorilla), eastern lowland gorillas (gorilla beringei graueri) and humans. | methods for the identification of the sex and species of individuals from samples non-invasively taken from humans and gorillas were established. amplification of a segment of amelogenin (amg), which is an x-y homologous gene, using two pairs of primers from human amg, revealed both x- and y-specific bands. the possibility of sex identification was examined by typing the amg gene using hair and fecal samples from captive western lowland gorillas (gorilla gorilla gorilla) in japan and hair sample ... | 2005 | 15635453 |
| intra-specific variation in social organization of gorillas: implications for their social evolution. | we analysed intra-specific variation in the social organization of gorillas and ecological and social factors influencing them, based on recent data on diet, day journey length, home range size, group size and proportion of multi-male groups in three subspecies [western lowland gorillas (wlg); eastern lowland gorillas (elg); mountain gorillas (mg)]. median group size was similar across subspecies and across habitats, but the extraordinarily large group including >30 gorillas was only found in ha ... | 2003 | 12942370 |
| chromosomal localization of rdna in the gorilla. | twenty-five specimens of lowland gorilla, including 24 specimens of the western lowland gorilla (gorilla gorilla gorilla) and 1 specimen of the eastern lowland gorilla (g. gorilla graueri), were investigated by fluorescence in situ hybridization with a human-derived 18s + 28s rdna probe. specific hybridization was constitutively seen on the short arms of gorilla acrocentric chromosome pairs 22 and 23, corresponding to human pairs 21 and 22. only one specimen of western lowland gorilla investigat ... | 1998 | 9678355 |
| mitochondrial dna variability in grauer's gorillas of kahuzi-biega national park. | eastern lowland gorillas (gorilla gorilla graueri) are the least studied of the three gorilla subspecies; particularly at the molecular level. we sequenced an internal region of the mitochondrial dna cytochrome oxidase subunit ii (coii) region and a hypervariable portion of the mitochondrial dna control region (d-loop) from wild gorillas in both the montane and lowland habitats of kahuzl-blega national park, democratic republic of congo. all individuals (n = 38) were identical at the coii region ... | 1998 | 9542160 |
| mitochondrial dna diversity in gorillas. | a highly variable portion of the mitochondrial dna control region was sequenced in 63 free-living and captive gorillas including representatives of the three recognized subspecies. this region has proven useful for evaluation of relative levels of genetic variability in populations, for clarification of the subspecies identity of a wild population, and for examination of the phylogenetic relationships of the three subspecies. the eastern lowland (gorilla gorilla graueri) and mountain gorilla (go ... | 1996 | 8812304 |
| nomenclature of the "eastern lowland gorilla". | | 1967 | 6061809 |
| nomenclature of the "eastern lowland gorilla". | | 1967 | 6061808 |
| a review of the diets of captive gorillas (gorilla gorilla). | it is clear that most zoos feed their gorillas a principally frugivorous diet, while the diets of wild gorilla populations are undoubtedly basically herbivorous. the primary food plant of western and eastern lowland gorillas is aframomum, and blancou (1955) even maintains that these plants possess active parasiticidal qualities, but this subscription is not borne out by recent research. however, it is possible that another plant food, combretum, could have some propensities as a deparasitant. ma ... | 1976 | 1028348 |
| systematic relationships of gorillas from kahuzi tshiaberimu and kayonza. | previous classifications of gorillas from mt. kahuzi, mt. tshiaberimu and the kayonza forest, placing them in gorilla gorilla graueri or g.g. beringei, somewhat over-simplify a complex situation. both kahuzi and tshiaberimu gorillas are close to graueri and should be placed in that subspecies, but each (in different ways) shows some approach to beringei, either through independent adaptation to extreme montane conditions, or because they may be points along a (now disrupted) cline from one race ... | 1979 | 540892 |
| tooth cusp sharpness as a dietary correlate in great apes. | mammalian molars have undergone heavy scrutiny to determine correlates between morphology and diet. here, the relationship between one aspect of occlusal morphology, tooth cusp radius of curvature (roc), and two broad dietary categories, folivory and frugivory, is analyzed in apes. the author hypothesizes that there is a relationship between tooth cusp roc and diet, and that folivores have sharper teeth than frugivores, and further test the correlation between tooth cusp roc and tooth cusp size. ... | 2014 | 24227163 |
| asymmetry of the midfacial skeleton of eastern lowland gorillas (gorilla beringei graueri) and potential association with frontal lobe asymmetries. | | 2014 | 24742879 |
| the interpretive power of infraorbital foramen area in making dietary inferences in extant apes. | the infraorbital foramen (iof) is located below the orbit and transmits the sensory infraorbital nerve (ion) to mechanoreceptors located throughout the maxillary region. the size of the iof correlates with the size of the ion; thus, the iof appears to indicate relative touch sensitivity of maxillary region. in primates, iof size correlates well with diet. frugivores have relatively larger iofs than folivores or insectivores because fruit handling/processing requires increased touch sensitivity. ... | 2014 | 24898102 |
| the complete mitochondrial genome of eastern lowland gorilla, gorilla beringei graueri, and comparative mitochondrial genomics of gorilla species. | in this study, we determined the complete mitochondrial (mt) genome of eastern lowland gorilla, gorilla beringei graueri for the first time. the total genome was 16,416 bp in length. it contained a total of 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer rna genes, 2 ribosomal rna genes and 1 control region (d-loop region). the base composition was a (30.88%), g (13.10%), c (30.89%) and t (25.13%), indicating that the percentage of a+t (56.01%) was higher than g+c (43.99%). comparisons with the other publi ... | 2016 | 25162588 |
| brain organization of gorillas reflects species differences in ecology. | gorillas include separate eastern (gorilla beringei) and western (gorilla gorilla) african species that diverged from each other approximately 2 million years ago. although anatomical, genetic, behavioral, and socioecological differences have been noted among gorilla populations, little is known about variation in their brain structure. this study examines neuroanatomical variation between gorilla species using structural neuroimaging. postmortem magnetic resonance images were obtained of brains ... | 2015 | 25360547 |
| recent divergences and size decreases of eastern gorilla populations. | compared with other african apes, eastern gorillas (gorilla beringei) have been little studied genetically. we used analysis of autosomal dna genotypes obtained from non-invasively collected faecal samples to estimate the evolutionary histories of the two extant mountain gorilla populations and the closely related eastern lowland gorillas. our results suggest that eastern lowland gorillas and mountain gorillas split beginning some 10 000 years ago, followed 5000 years ago by the split of the two ... | 2014 | 25376805 |
| the geographic distribution of genetic diversity within gorillas. | gorillas, like all non-human great apes, are endangered. understanding the distribution of genetic diversity across their range is important because low diversity may arise in small populations through increased inbreeding, and, by reducing reproductive fitness, may lead to decreased chances of persistence of a given population. previous studies found higher genetic diversity in the western (gorilla gorilla) than in the eastern gorillas (gorilla beringei), but rarely employed individuals of know ... | 2015 | 25975353 |
| geographic variation in gorilla limb bones. | gorilla systematics has received increased attention over recent decades from primatologists, conservationists, and paleontologists. studies of geographic variation in dna, skulls, and teeth have led to new taxonomic proposals, such as recognition of two gorilla species, gorilla gorilla (western gorilla) and gorilla beringei (eastern gorilla). postcranial differences between mountain gorillas (g. beringei beringei) and western lowland gorillas (g. g. gorilla) have a long history of study, but di ... | 2016 | 27260175 |
| catastrophic decline of world's largest primate: 80% loss of grauer's gorilla (gorilla beringei graueri) population justifies critically endangered status. | grauer's gorilla (gorilla beringei graueri), the world's largest primate, is confined to eastern democratic republic of congo (drc) and is threatened by civil war and insecurity. during the war, armed groups in mining camps relied on hunting bushmeat, including gorillas. insecurity and the presence of several militia groups across grauer's gorilla's range made it very difficult to assess their population size. here we use a novel method that enables rigorous assessment of local community and ran ... | 2016 | 27760201 |
| human herpes simplex virus type 1 in confiscated gorilla. | in 2007, we detected human herpes simplex virus type 1, which caused stomatitis, in a juvenile confiscated eastern lowland gorilla (gorilla beringei graueri) that had a high degree of direct contact with human caretakers. our findings confirm that pathogens can transfer between nonhuman primate hosts and humans. | 2014 | 25341185 |
| a genome-wide survey of genetic variation in gorillas using reduced representation sequencing. | all non-human great apes are endangered in the wild, and it is therefore important to gain an understanding of their demography and genetic diversity. whole genome assembly projects have provided an invaluable foundation for understanding genetics in all four genera, but to date genetic studies of multiple individuals within great ape species have largely been confined to mitochondrial dna and a small number of other loci. here, we present a genome-wide survey of genetic variation in gorillas us ... | 2013 | 23750230 |
| leaf swallowing and parasite expulsion in khao yai white-handed gibbons (hylobates lar), the first report in an asian ape species. | leaf swallowing behavior, known as a form of self-medication for the control of nematode and tapeworm infection, occurs widely in all the african great apes (pan troglodytes schweinfurthii, p. t. troglodytes, p. t. verus, p. t. vellerosus, pan paniscus, gorilla gorilla graueri), except mountain gorillas. it is also reported to occur in a similar context across a wide array of other animal taxa including, domestic dogs, wolves, brown bears, and civets. despite long-term research on asian great an ... | 2017 | 28118500 |
| inference of gorilla demographic and selective history from whole-genome sequence data. | although population-level genomic sequence data have been gathered extensively for humans, similar data from our closest living relatives are just beginning to emerge. examination of genomic variation within great apes offers many opportunities to increase our understanding of the forces that have differentially shaped the evolutionary history of hominid taxa. here, we expand upon the work of the great ape genome project by analyzing medium to high coverage whole-genome sequences from 14 western ... | 2015 | 25534031 |
| factors influencing the formation of ground nests by eastern lowland gorillas in kahuzi-biega national park: some evolutionary implications of nesting behavior. | to analyze the factors influencing nesting by gorillas on the ground, three kinds of data were collected in the kahuzi-biega national park: from a single group for 3 years, from 25 groups during a population census, and from a habituated group before and after two social events. the data on the proportion of ground nests built by the single group for 3 years show no significant differences between rainy and dry seasons. significant differences were found between some vegetation types: in particu ... | 2001 | 11161956 |
| morphological analysis of the hindlimb in apes and humans. i. muscle architecture. | we present quantitative data on the hindlimb musculature of pan paniscus, gorilla gorilla gorilla, gorilla gorilla graueri, pongo pygmaeus abelii and hylobates lar and discuss the findings in relation to the locomotor habits of each. muscle mass and fascicle length data were obtained for all major hindlimb muscles. physiological cross-sectional area (pcsa) was estimated. data were normalized assuming geometric similarity to allow for comparison of animals of different size/species. muscle mass s ... | 2006 | 16761973 |