When
School of Anthropology Lecture: Anthropogenic Impacts on Chimpanzee Health and Aging
Location: Haury 215
Or join us via Zoom:
https://arizona.zoom.us/j/82478223103
Jacob Negrey, Ph.D.
As one of our closest living relatives, chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) play an important role in the study of human comparative biology and evolution. Unfortunately, large-scale human activity continues to degrade chimpanzee habitats, expose chimpanzees to life-threatening pathogens, and reshape chimpanzee life histories. Anthropogenic factors therefore have profound consequences for both the conservation and study of wild chimpanzees. In this talk, Dr. Negrey will discuss his work on the Ngogo chimpanzee subpopulation of Kibale National Park, Uganda, which has been mostly buffered from large-scale human activity. Dr. Negrey will describe a suite of biodemographic, endocrinological, and viromic evidence indicating that Ngogo chimpanzees enjoy favorable ecological conditions and good health. He will also describe how physiological aging patterns at Ngogo differ dramatically from those of other chimpanzee study groups. Dr. Negrey will conclude by considering how anthropogenic factors can shape the evolutionary conclusions drawn from studies of wild chimpanzees.