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

Gabon Tropical forest diversity Endemicity Viable 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 Equatorial Guinea 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 MFC MTD

Analysis of Molecular Variance (AMOVA) Among group Among populations Within populations

Signatures of demographic expansion MTG A ELG B WLG D3 ** Significant at P < 0.05 * Significant at P < 0.01 ELGFu’s F ** Growth (g) = MTGFu’s F * Growth (g) = HD3Fu’s F ** Growth (g) =

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 adapt b)Buffer change c)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 ( ) Research symposium for workshop participants (2015, 2017) Academic exchange programs ( ) 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