Project Information
Gombe Mother-Infant Research
It’s a fact: Moms matter. By studying the long-term impact of maternal care, researchers hope to better understand this essential relationship in chimpanzees and humans alike.
Studying The Benefits of Play
Play is fun, but it must also confer some benefits to have endured over the years. By studying chimpanzees as they play, scientists hope to unlock why we all play.
Gombe Ecosystem Health Project
Understanding chimpanzee health is essential to conserving these endangered animals. To establish a baseline for good health, scientists follow apes as they move through the forest.
Gombe Mother-Infant Research
They cling to mom as she moves through her home. They rely on her for food and protection. And even after they mature, they return for regular visits offering comfort and companionship.
The relationship between a chimpanzee mother and her infant is deep—and perhaps familiar. The importance of the relationship, coupled with the similarities chimpanzees share with humans, makes it a rich area for study. By measuring the long-term impact of maternal care in Gombe Stream National Park, scientists can help us understand the relationship between maternal behavior and offspring success in chimpanzees…and perhaps in humans as well.
Stress Test
Unsurprisingly, in any attempt to study maternal behavior, an important variable to account for is stress. Studies have shown that primate mothers can substantially change their behavior under stressful conditions, becoming more abusive or rejecting toward offspring.
To weigh the impact of stress on the mother-infant relationship, Lincoln Park Zoo researchers, in partnership with the Jane Goodall Institute, are asking some basic questions. What are sources of stress for female chimpanzees? What is the impact of stress on maternal behavior? How is maternal stress tied to offspring stress, health and development? What implications might this have for human families? By making use of nearly 50 years of data collected by the Jane Goodall Institute, Lincoln Park Zoo scientists are hoping to find answers.
Harnessing a Body of Knowledge
Interest in the relationship between chimpanzee mothers and infants is rooted in the early days of Dr. Goodall’s research at Gombe. While studying chimpanzee behavior, the scientist was fascinated by the relationships between mothers and infants as well as the varying ways in which mothers—without help from males—rear their offspring.
Researchers working with Goodall began following mother-infant pairs in the park in 1970, pausing every minute to record the interactions on display. Grooming, proximity, playing, feeding—all of these rearing behaviors are recorded in one of the richest sets of data on the planet. More than 40 mothers have been observed over the years, and the resulting “mother load” of data offers an incredible resource for researchers seeking to understand the mother-infant relationship in chimpanzees—and humans.
To better use this wealth of knowledge, Lincoln Park Zoo researchers Carson Murray, Ph.D., and Elizabeth Lonsdorf, Ph.D., are digitizing the records to enable easier searching and sorting. Once digitized, the data will be analyzed to produce distinct maternal “styles,” allowing researchers to link a mother’s caregiving approach to outcome for offspring.
Learning From Our Closest Cousins
Ultimately, the mother-infant project aims to use knowledge gained from chimpanzees to better understand how maternal behavior influences infant health and development in humans. Chimpanzees provide a useful parallel to humans; our species share a long evolutionary history, similar social patterns and a long period of offspring development and dependence.
Despite these commonalities, relatively little is known about what influences chimpanzee maternal behavior and how that behavior translates to offspring health and development. The results from this study could prove valuable to many issues impacting human families today, including infant abuse, neglect and the impact of stress on future success.
Supplemental Links
Using Hormones to Measure Health
Staff and Collaborators
Elizabeth Lonsdorf, Ph.D.
Director, Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes, Lincoln Park Zoo
Martha McClintock, Ph.D.
Professor and Director, Institute of Mind and Biology, University of Chicago
Carson Murray, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Anthropology Department, George Washington University
Anne Pusey, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota
Rachel Santymire, Ph.D.
Director, Davee Center for Epidemiology and Endocrinology, Lincoln Park Zoo
Edward Wilkerson
Informatics Analyst, Davee Center for Epidemiology and Endocrinology, Lincoln Park Zoo
Partners and Sponsors
Arcus Foundation
Davee Center for Epidemiology and Endocrinology
The Jane Goodall Institute
Leo S. Guthman Foundation
National Instititutes of Health
University of Minnesota
Kittens unravel balls of yarn, puppies sprint for games of fetch, children chase each other in endless games of tag. Play is a common behavior for mammals, a shared part of the development process.
But while it’s clear that many animals play, why they play is uncertain. From an evolutionary standpoint, play should carry some clear survival benefits to have persisted over time. But studies on the subject have been inconclusive, meaning more research is necessary to understand the benefits of play.
A Perfect Play Laboratory
For researchers looking to understand the benefits of play, Gombe Stream National Park is a great place to start. Because chimpanzees have relatively long developmental periods—like people, they remain “kids” for many years—researchers have plenty of primate play to witness. Throw in 50 years of behavioral observations begun by Dr. Jane Goodall, and you have plenty of data to analyze.
A Serious Study of a Silly Subject
To take advantage of these ample resources, Lincoln Park Zoo is partnering with the Jane Goodall Institute to study the immediate and long-term impacts of play behavior in chimpanzees. Graduate student Matthew Heintz, who studies at the University of Chicago under Elizabeth Lonsdorf, Ph.D., director of the Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes, is leading the effort in Gombe Stream National Park.
Heintz’s study has two main objectives. First, he hopes to use his own observations and health data to determine how play influences stress, parasite levels and developmental milestones. Second, he plans to harness Gombe’s decades of behavioral records to determine if there’s a correlation between play and adult success.
Heintz hypothesizes that play helps reduce stress in the short-term, boosting health and benefiting development. As a result, he surmises, chimpanzees that play more when young could be more successful later in life, as measured by rank in the group and number of offspring.
While Heintz and his collaborators are studying play in chimpanzees, the results of their project could benefit humans as well. By learning more about play in one of our closest cousins, we can come to a better understanding of the importance of play for human children.
Supplemental Links
Using Hormones to Measure Health
Staff and Collaborators
Matt Heintz
Ph.D. Candidate, Committee of Evolutionary Biology, Fellow, Institute of Mind and Biology, University of Chicago
Elizabeth Lonsdorf, Ph.D.
Director, Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes, Lincoln Park Zoo
Carson Murray, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Anthropology Department, George Washington University
Gombe Ecosystem Health Project
Habitat loss. Hunting. The bushmeat trade. These are among the most-prominent threats facing chimpanzees and gorillas in the wild. In recent years, though, another threat has been identified as impacting endangered populations. Infectious-disease outbreaks—Ebola, anthrax and other illnesses—have been responsible for a spike of deaths among great apes in Africa.
These outbreaks have underscored the fact that an understanding of ape health is an essential element of ape conservation. To help advance our understanding of ape health, Lincoln Park Zoo is partnering with the Jane Goodall Institute to lead the Gombe Ecosystem Health Project.
Establishing a Baseline
To know whether an animal population is unhealthy, it is first necessary to understand what it means for that population to be well. Establishing a baseline for chimpanzee health is a core component of the Gombe Ecosystem Health Project. Field researchers in Gombe Stream National Park observe the park’s chimpanzees, recording observed information about their health, while also collecting fecal samples for lab analysis. These samples can be analyzed for parasites, levels of stress hormones and other indications of disease.
The results of this non-invasive health monitoring are entered into a database shared with the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project. By analyzing the data, researchers are able to quickly detect—and sometimes even predict—disease outbreaks, boosting their ability to conserve the endangered population.
Collecting Health Data
Researchers in the Gombe Ecosystem Health Project use a variety of methods to collect health data. Health checklists are now part of the Gombe behavioral monitoring project, ensuring that researchers have standardized monthly updates on animal health.
As they conduct observations, researchers also collect fecal and urine samples. These samples are shipped to labs in the United States, where specialists analyze them for parasite loads, levels of stress hormones and the presence of diseases such as Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV), a cousin of HIV.
Finally, while researchers are careful not to influence the chimpanzees they study, they are also diligent about learning what they can from animals that have passed away. Veterinarians conduct necropsies (animal autopsies) at Gombe to increase our knowledge of the diseases and chronic conditions affecting the park’s chimpanzees. Together, all of this information helps to create a fuller picture of chimpanzee health, boosting Lincoln Park Zoo and the Jane Goodall Institute's efforts to conserve this endangered species.
Supplemental Links
Using Hormones to Measure Health
Probing for Parasites
Studying Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV)
Learning from Loss
Staff and Collaborators
Thomas Gillespie, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Global Health Institute Faculty, Emory University
Beatrice Hahn, M.D.
Professor, Medicine and Microbiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Mike Kinsel, D.V.M.
Chief, Zoological Pathology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign College of Veterinary Medicine
Elizabeth Lonsdorf, Ph.D.
Director, Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes, Lincoln Park Zoo
Carson Murray, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Anthropology Department, George Washington University
Rachel Santymire, Ph.D.
Director, Davee Center for Epidemiology and Endocrinology, Lincoln Park Zoo
Karen Terio, D.V.M., Ph.D.
Clinical Assistant Professor, Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign College of Veterinary Medicine
Dominic Travis, D.V.M.
Associate Professor of Epidemiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota
Partners and Supporters
Arcus Foundation
Davee Foundation
Leo S. Guthman Foundation
Mazuri Fund
Morris Animal Foundation
National Institutes of Health
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Using Hormones to Measure Health
Decades of observations aren’t the only data scientists use to measure chimpanzee well-being. Since 2004, researchers from Lincoln Park Zoo and the Jane Goodall Institute have been collecting comprehensive chimpanzee health data as well. This project, led by Elizabeth Lonsdorf, Ph.D., Dominic Travis, D.V.M., and Rachel Santymire, Ph.D., will provide a clear benchmark for weighing the health of chimpanzees throughout Gombe Stream National Park.
A key part of the researchers’ tool kit is fecal samples collected from Gombe’s chimpanzees. These samples are sent to the Davee Center for Epidemiology and Endocrinology, where Santymire measures the levels of stress hormones found within. The resulting data helps scientists link behavioral observations and biological evidence—key information for understanding the mother-infant relationship, the benefits of play or the baselines of health in Gombe Stream National Park.
Staff and Collaborators
Elizabeth Lonsdorf, Ph.D.
Director, Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes, Lincoln Park Zoo
Carson Murray, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Anthropology Department, George Washington University
Rachel Santymire, Ph.D.
Director, Davee Center for Epidemiology and Endocrinology, Lincoln Park Zoo
Dominic Travis, D.V.M.
Associate Professor of Epidemiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota
Fecal samples collected by researchers at Gombe Stream National Park provide a window into chimpanzee health. While feces are used to measure stress-hormone levels or test for Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV), a portion are also sent to parasitologist Thomas Gillespie, Ph.D., at Emory University, who tests them for parasites. By identifying parasite species and quantifying the overall parasite load individuals are carrying, Gillespie provides a baseline against which future changes can be measured.
His analyses focus on understanding routes of parasite transmission between the environment, humans and chimpanzees in an effort to monitor and preserve chimpanzee health. This news highlights the risk of disease transmission between humans and chimpanzees, emphasizing the importance of efforts to monitor and preserve chimpanzee health.
Staff and Collaborators
Thomas Gillespie, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Global Health Institute Faculty, Emory University
Studying Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV)
In 1999, collaborator Beatrice Hahn, M.D., from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, established that HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, originated from a strain of Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV) infecting chimpanzees in west central Africa, probably through the hunting and butchering of chimpanzees. This finding prompted Hahn to further advance SIV research by developing a noninvasive test that relies on feces and urine samples to detect the virus.
By testing chimpanzees across Africa, Hahn is learning more about how SIV evolves and spreads, information that may be useful to helping humans fight HIV and AIDS. As part of her research, Hahn partnered with the Jane Goodall Institute and Lincoln Park Zoo to test Gombe’s chimpanzees for SIV.
Recently, Hahn’s research, coupled with the Jane Goodall Institute’s behavioral monitoring and the health data gathered by the Gombe Ecosystem Health Project, has brought about an important advancement in our understanding of SIV. While the virus was previously believed not to impact chimpanzees carrying it, this new study has shown that chimpanzees infected with SIV are actually 10–16 times more likely to die than those that are uninfected. These new findings underscore the importance of studying chimpanzee health, and they further efforts to understand and combat HIV and AIDS.
Staff and Collaborators
Beatrice Hahn, M.D.
Professor, Medicine and Microbiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham
While the Gombe research community mourns the natural loss of every chimpanzee, they are also careful to turn these losses into learning opportunities. Under a necropsy program led by veterinary pathologists Karen Terio, D.V.M., Ph.D., and Mike Kinsel, D.V.M., of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign College of Veterinary Medicine, field researchers conduct animal autopsies of chimpanzees that have passed away to learn more about their health.
Necropsies provide a window into health that would be impossible to gain otherwise. By chronicling the presence of disease, parasites and chronic health conditions, the necropsy program informs our overall view of chimpanzee health in Gombe Stream National Park.
Staff and Collaborators
Mike Kinsel, D.V.M.
Chief, Zoological Pathology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign College of Veterinary Medicine
Karen Terio, D.V.M., Ph.D.
Clinical Assistant Professor, Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign College of Veterinary Medicine
