Evolutionary genetics of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in Nigeria and Cameroon.
Item
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Title
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Evolutionary genetics of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in Nigeria and Cameroon.
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Identifier
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AAI9969690
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identifier
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9969690
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Creator
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Gonder, Mary Katherine.
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Contributor
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Adviser: John Oates
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Date
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2000
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Anthropology, Physical | Biology, Genetics | Biology, Zoology
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Abstract
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Chimpanzee populations have commonly been grouped into three subspecies: west African Pan troglodytes verus, central African P. t. troglodytes and east African P. t. schweinfurthii, with the western and central African subspecies said to be separated by the lower Niger River in Nigeria. The recent evolution and classification of P. troglodytes has been debated during the past decade as genetic evidence from wild chimpanzees has become available. Gonder et al . (1997) published mtDNA sequences from a limited sample of chimpanzees from Nigeria. These data suggested that a distinct chimpanzee lineage might be present in Nigeria and western Cameroon, and that the geographic barriers thought to delimit chimpanzees in western Africa might be different than proposed. This dissertation presents the most geographically comprehensive genetic database available for wild chimpanzees across Africa (n = 254), including 78 mtDNA d-loop sequences and 115 microsatellite genotypes of chimpanzees from many localities in Nigeria and Cameroon. Samples were collected on either side of putative biogeographic barriers throughout this region, including both sides of the Niger River.;These genetic data strongly suggest the need for recognizing two major lineages of chimpanzee, one in western Africa and one in western equatorial and eastern Africa. Chimpanzees in the Upper Guinea region, in Nigeria and in western Cameroon belong to a western African lineage. Chimpanzees in southern Cameroon, western equatorial Africa and eastern Africa belong to a central African lineage. The western African lineage might be further subdivided into two lineages, one represented by chimpanzees in the Upper Guinea region and one represented by chimpanzees in eastern Nigeria and western Cameroon. The results of this project do not support the view that chimpanzees in western equatorial and eastern Africa belong to two separate lineages.;The distributions of the western and central African lineages converge in Cameroon near the Sanaga River. The Sanaga River may have influenced chimpanzee distribution patterns for the last 100--200 thousand years, although a few migrants cross the Sanaga. The Niger River or the Dahomey Gap might separate chimpanzee populations in western Africa. These findings may partially be explained by the history of African forests during the Upper Pleistocene.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
