The role of history and ecology in shaping biological diversity in tropical

forest

Gabon

Tropical forest diversityEndemicityViable populations

MTC

MFC

MTD

Shed hairs from night nests

Dung

Western lowland gorillas

Sampling and landscape features

Sangha

Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

Central African Republic (CAR)

Congo

Gabon

EquatorialGuinea

Cameroon

Nigeria

Angola

Uganda

Rwanda

Burundi

Ogooué

Sanaga

Congo

Tropical forest refugia

Localization of forest refuges during the last arid phase ~18,000 years ago

Predictions

• Pleistocene refugia leads to allopatric divergence and regional differentiation

• Evidence for demographic expansion out of regional centers

• Haplogroup admixture in areas of secondary contact

• Role of major rivers in population structuring?

Genetic variation in wild gorillas

?

?

MTC

MFCMTD

Analysis of Molecular Variance (AMOVA)

Among groupAmong populationsWithin populations

Signatures of demographic expansion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

0

10

20

30

40

MTG A

ELG B

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

0

200

400

600

800

WLG D3

** Significant at P < 0.05* Significant at P < 0.01

ELG Fu’s F -2.65857**Growth (g) = 630.3 + 110.4

MTG Fu’s F -1.47522*Growth (g) = -3.6 + 0.6

HD3 Fu’s F -4.49150**Growth (g) = 1006.5 + 188.2

Nuclear genetic analyses

Afi Mt.,Nigeria

C.A.R. Lopé,Gabon

Lossi-Odzala,Congo

Kahuzi-Biega,D.R.C.

Bwindi,Uganda

Gp C Gp D1 Gp D3 Gp B Gp A

Forest duikers as models for testing tropical diversity hypotheses

• high species richness • recent adaptive radiation• tied to forest habitats• major protein source• easy to sample

Combined non-invasive strategy across a suite of taxa

Species identification

• Forest artiodactyls cannot be differentiated by fecal pellet morphology

• Up to six species of forest duiker and as many as eleven artiodactyl species are in sympatry

?

Ntie et al., 2009

Construction of a reference phylogeny using the control region

(Ntie et al., 2009)

Understanding species responses to climate change: development of a conservation prioritization scheme for central Africa

Central African Biodiversity Alliance

Climate change across the region

Species have three options:

a) Evolve and adaptb) Buffer changec) Move

Strategies for conservation: conserving evolutionary process

Areas of high turnover = Regions of Elevated Adaptive Evolutionary Potential (REAPs)

Focal species• Butterfly - Bicyclus dorothea• Amphibian - Phrynobatrachus auritus• Plant - Megaphrynium macrostachyum• Birds - Andropadus virens and Cyanomitra

olivacea• Rodent - Hylomyscus stella• Reptile - Trachylepis affinis• Chimpanzee - Pan troglodytes• Duiker - Philantomba monticola

Identifying REAPS: the less bulbul

1. Species mapping 2. Identification of PAs 3. Map REAPs

Integrating socio-economic data• Are zones of elevated evolutionary potential

also found in zones of rapid economic development?

• What is the value of these top priority areas to local communities (household goods, cultural values)

Educational activities• Professional development workshop

(2013, 2015)• Undergraduate field course (2014, 2016)• Graduate seminars (2014-2016)• Research symposium for workshop

participants (2015, 2017)• Academic exchange programs (2013-

2017)• Distance learning (2016, 2017)

Undergraduate field course

Acknowledgements• National Science Foundation• University of New Orleans, University of California Los

Angeles, University of Albany• Université des Sciences et Techniques de Masuku• Institut de Recherche en Ecologie Tropicale• University of Buea• Agence Nationale des Parcs Nationaux• Direction Générale de la Faune et des Aires Protégées• Smithsonian Institute• Wildlife Conservation Society• Committee on the Advancement of Women Chemists

(COACh)

Biodiversité et sa Conservation