Dataset Information

Allostatic Load Indices With Cholesterol and Triglycerides Predict Disease and Mortality Risk in Zoo-Housed Western Lowland Gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla).

ABSTRACT: Allostatic load, or the physiological dysregulation accumulated due to senescence and stress, is an established predictor of human morbidity and mortality and has been proposed as a tool for monitoring health and welfare in captive wildlife. It is estimated by combining biomarkers from multiple somatic systems into allostatic load indices (ALIs), providing a score representing overall physiological dysregulation. Such ALIs have been shown to predict disease and mortality risk in western lowland gorillas. In these prior analyses, we were unable to include lipid markers, a potential limitation as they are key biomarkers in human models. Recently, we were able to assay serum cholesterol and triglycerides and add them to our previous ALI. We then re-examined associations with health outcomes using binomial generalized linear models. We constructed ALIs using 2 pooling strategies and 2 methods. By itself, a 1-unit increase in allostatic load was associated with higher odds of all-cause morbidity and mortality, but results were mixed for cardiac disease. However, the best fit models for all-cause morbidity and cardiac disease included only age and sex. Allostatic load was retained alongside age in the best fit models for mortality, with a 1-unit increase associated with 23% to 45% higher odds of death. Compared with previous results, ALIs containing cholesterol and triglycerides better predict disease risk in zoo-housed western lowland gorillas, as evidenced by larger effect sizes for some models and better goodness of fit for all ALIs. Based on these results, we address methodology for future allostatic load research on wildlife.

SUBMITTER: Edes AN

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7218307 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Allostatic Load Indices With Cholesterol and Triglycerides Predict Disease and Mortality Risk in Zoo-Housed Western Lowland Gorillas (<i>Gorilla gorilla gorilla</i>).

Edes Ashley N AN Edwards Katie L KL Wolfe Barbara A BA Brown Janine L JL Crews Douglas E DE

Biomarker insights 20200503

Allostatic load, or the physiological dysregulation accumulated due to senescence and stress, is an established predictor of human morbidity and mortality and has been proposed as a tool for monitoring health and welfare in captive wildlife. It is estimated by combining biomarkers from multiple somatic systems into allostatic load indices (ALIs), providing a score representing overall physiological dysregulation. Such ALIs have been shown to predict disease and mortality risk in western lowland ...[more]

PMID: 32425494

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Project description:Rehabilitation of animals followed by reintroduction into the wild can benefit conservation by supplementing depleted wild populations or reintroducing a species in an area where it has been extirpated or become extinct. The western lowland gorilla (WLG, Gorilla g. gorilla) is persistently poached; infants are often illegally traded and used as pets. Some are confiscated and rehabilitated, then kept in sanctuaries or reintroduced into the wild. Prior to reintroduction, the ability of the orphans to survive independently in their environment needs to be assessed. Here, we performed a multivariate analysis, including diet composition, activity-budget, and pattern of strata using of a group of five juvenile WLG in the process of rehabilitation and distinguished three sub-periods of ecological significance: the high furgivory period, the Dialium fruits consumption period, and the high folivory period. The consequences of these variations on their well-being (play behaviour) and the group cohesion (spatial proximity and social interactions) were examined. Like wild WLGs, diets shifted seasonally from frugivorous to folivorous, while the same staple foods were consumed and large amounts of Dialium fruits were seasonally gathered high in trees. When succulent fruit intake was the highest, thus providing high energy from sugar, juveniles spent less time feeding, more time playing and group cohesion was the highest. Conversely, the cohesion decreased with increasing folivory, individuals spent more time feeding and less time playing together. Nonetheless, the group cohesion also decreased after the death of one highly social, wild-born orphan. This may underscore the importance of skilled individuals in the cohesion and well-being of the entire group and, ultimately, to rehabilitation success. This study evaluates the rehabilitation success with regards to the methods used and highlights the need to consider a set of individual and environmental factors for enhancing rehabilitation while preserving the local biodiversity and individual well-being.

Project description:BackgroundInfectious diseases pose one of the greatest threats to endangered species, and a risk of gastrointestinal parasite transmission from humans to wildlife has always been considered as a major concern of tourism. Increased anthropogenic impact on primate populations may result in general changes in communities of their parasites, and also in a direct exchange of parasites between humans and primates.AimsTo evaluate the impact of close contact with humans on the occurrence of potentially zoonotic protists in great apes, we conducted a long-term monitoring of microsporidia, Cryptosporidium and Giardia infections in western lowland gorillas at different stages of the habituation process, humans, and other wildlife in Dzanga-Sangha Protected Areas in the Central African Republic.ResultsWe detected Encephalitozoon cuniculi genotypes I and II (7.5%), Enterocytozoon bieneusi genotype D and three novel genotypes (gorilla 1-3) (4.0%), Giardia intestinalis subgroup A II (2.0%) and Cryptosporidium bovis (0.5%) in gorillas, whereas in humans we found only G. intestinalis subgroup A II (2.1%). In other wild and domestic animals we recorded E. cuniculi genotypes I and II (2.1%), G. intestinalis assemblage E (0.5%) and C. muris TS03 (0.5%).ConclusionDue to the non-specificity of E. cuniculi genotypes we conclude that detection of the exact source of E. cuniculi infection is problematic. As Giardia intestinalis was recorded primarily in gorilla groups with closer human contact, we suggest that human-gorilla transmission has occurred. We call attention to a potentially negative impact of habituation on selected pathogens which might occur as a result of the more frequent presence of humans in the vicinity of both gorillas under habituation and habituated gorillas, rather than as a consequence of the close contact with humans, which might be a more traditional assumption. We encourage to observe the sections concerning hygiene from the IUCN best practice guidelines for all sites where increased human-gorilla contact occurs.

Dataset Information

Allostatic Load Indices With Cholesterol and Triglycerides Predict Disease and Mortality Risk in Zoo-Housed Western Lowland Gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla).

Publications

Allostatic Load Indices With Cholesterol and Triglycerides Predict Disease and Mortality Risk in Zoo-Housed Western Lowland Gorillas (<i>Gorilla gorilla gorilla</i>).

Similar Datasets

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