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Papers by Sally A Lahm, Ph.D.
Folia Primatologica, 1998
The sun-tailed monkey Cercopithecus (lhoesti) solatus Harrison 1988, an endemic guenon from Gabon... more The sun-tailed monkey Cercopithecus (lhoesti) solatus Harrison 1988, an endemic guenon from Gabon [1], has an unfragmented distribution area estimated at about 10,300 km2 mainly centered in the Forêt des Abeilles, central Gabon [2]. It is limited in the north by the Ogooué river and in the east by the Ogooué, Lolo and Bouenguidi rivers. The southern limit is unclear, but Gautier et al. [2]suggested that it corresponds to an elevation in altitude because the sun-tailed monkey is absent at altitudes higher than 500 m above sea level (asl). In the west, the limit was considered to be the Offoué river, but it was suspected that the species could occur on the left bank of this river. This was confirmed by forestry prospector C. Wilks [pers. commun.] who saw C. solatus monkeys along the left bank of the Offoué river in the south of the Lopé Reserve in 1994, and by White and Mackanga [3]who observed individuals in the northern part of the Lopé Reserve, about 30 km west of the Offoué river. Thus, as recommended in the African Primates Conservation Action Plan [4], the western limit of the species needs to be clarified.
Animal Conservation, 2010
Small to medium-sized central African forest artiodactyls constitute a diverse yet heavily hunted... more Small to medium-sized central African forest artiodactyls constitute a diverse yet heavily hunted group composed primarily of species within the genera Cephalophus, Neotragus, Tragelaphus and Hyemoschus. Of these genera, Cephalophus is the richest with as many as seven sympatric species known to occur in central African forests. However, differentiating species from their faeces or from tissue where the whole carcass is unavailable is very difficult. In order to develop a robust molecular diagnostic for species identification, a database of mitochondrial cytochrome b (553 bp) and control region ($675 bp) sequences was compiled from all forest Cephalophus species and other similarly sized, sympatric Tragelaphus, Neotragus and Hyemoschus species. Reference phylogenies from each marker were then used to recover the identity of sequences obtained from unknown faecal samples collected in the field. Results were then compared to determine which region best recovered species identity with the highest statistical support. Restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) were also assessed as an alternative method for rapid species identification. Of the methods examined, tree-based analyses built on a geographically comprehensive database of control region sequences was the best means of reliably recovering species identity from central African duikers. However, three sister taxa appear indistinguishable (Cephalophus callipygus, Cephalophus ogilbyi and Cephalophus weynsi) and not all species were monophyletic. This lack of monophyly may be due to incomplete lineage sorting commonly observed in recently derived taxa, hybridization or the presence of nuclear translocated copies of mitochondrial DNA. The high level of intra-specific variation and lack of robust species-specific diagnostic sites made an RFLP-based approach to duiker species identification difficult to implement. The tree-based control region diagnostic presented here has many important applications including fine-scale mapping of species distributions, identification of confiscated tissue and environmental impact assessments.
The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 2016
The fi ndings and conclusions in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily r... more The fi ndings and conclusions in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the offi cial position of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We declare no competing interests. 1 De Cock KM, El-Sadr WM. When to start ART in Africa-an urgent research priority. N Engl J Med 2013; 368: 886-89. 2 The INSIGHT START study group. Initiation of antiretroviral therapy in early asymptomatic HIV infection.
The Lancet Global Health, 2015
Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 2007
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2007
The role of Pleistocene forest refugia and rivers in the evolutionary diversification of tropical... more The role of Pleistocene forest refugia and rivers in the evolutionary diversification of tropical biota has been the subject of considerable debate. A range-wide analysis of gorilla mitochondrial and nuclear variation was used to test the potential role of both refugia and rivers in shaping genetic diversity in current populations. Results reveal strong patterns of regional differentiation that are consistent with refugial hypotheses for central Africa. Four major mitochondrial haplogroups are evident with the greatest divergence between eastern (A, B) and western (C, D) gorillas. Coalescent simulations reject a model of recent east–west separation during the last glacial maximum but are consistent with a divergence time within the Pleistocene. Microsatellite data also support a similar regional pattern of population genetic structure. Signatures of demographic expansion were detected in eastern lowland (B) and Gabon/Congo (D3) mitochondrial haplogroups and are consistent with a his...
Journal of Tropical Ecology, 1998
This paper presents a method for estimating monkey numbers in a large area of forest where there ... more This paper presents a method for estimating monkey numbers in a large area of forest where there is a gradient of monkey densities. The method is illustrated using data collected in the northeastern forests of Gabon during an earlier project. These forests are sparsely populated and there are few roads. The density of Cercopithecus nictitans increases with distance from the nearest road. A geographic information system (GIS) divided the forest into bands of increasing distance from the nearest road. The number of monkeys in each band is the product of the monkey density in that band and the area of the band. Summing across bands gives the population estimate; the standard error can be estimated by bootstrapping. The optimum sample size can be estimated by simulation. Combining estimates of the density gradient with a GIS is a cost-effective method of censusing primates in extensive forests.
The Journal of Applied Ecology, 1997
Conservation Genetics Resources, 2011
Conservation Biology, 2006
Biotropica, 2004
Here, we document the invasion of equatorial Africa by the little red fire ant (Wasmannia auropun... more Here, we document the invasion of equatorial Africa by the little red fire ant (Wasmannia auropunctata). Commercial logging and other forms of natural resource extraction have catapulted W. auropunctata into the interior of Gabon at a rate 60 times faster than the unassisted rate we measured over 19 years at the Lope Reserve. We also present photographic evidence suggesting that W. auropunctata is negatively affecting the country's exceptionally rich and intact large mammal fauna. RESUMEN Nous documentons l'invasion de l'Afrique Equatoriale par la fourmi électrique (Wasmannia auropunctata). L'exploitation forestière et les autres formes d'extraction des ressources naturelles ont catapulté Wasmannia auropunctata à l'intérieur du Gabon à un rythme 60 fois plus rapide que la progression non assistée que nous avons mesurée sur 19 ans à la Réserve de la Lopé. Nous présentons également des photographies suggérant que Wasmannia auropunctata a un impact négatif sur la faune de grands mammifères exceptionnellement riche et intacte du pays.
Biotropica, 2007
... Barbara M. Croes 1,* ,; William F. Laurance 2 ,; Sally A. Lahm 3 ,; Landry Tchignoumba 4 ,; A... more ... Barbara M. Croes 1,* ,; William F. Laurance 2 ,; Sally A. Lahm 3 ,; Landry Tchignoumba 4 ,; Alfonso Alonso 4 ,; Michelle E. Lee 4 ,; Patrick Campbell 4 ,; Ralph Buij 5. ... (1997) showed that long-distance calls in diana monkeys Cercopithecus diana of the Taï forest in Ivory Coast are ...
Animal Conservation, 2010
American Journal of Primatology, 1986
... Page 11. Diet and Habitat Preference of Mandrill / 19 50 45. ... 20 I Lahm TABLE 111. Inverte... more ... Page 11. Diet and Habitat Preference of Mandrill / 19 50 45. ... 20 I Lahm TABLE 111. Invertebrate Species Consumed by Mandrills Phylum: Mollusca Undetermined species (mollusc) (1) Order:Coleoptera Family: Scarabeidae Tribe: Onthophagini Genus: Onthophagus sp. ...
Annals of Global Health
Background: In Egypt, several infectious diseases of zoonotic origin have emerged in recent years... more Background: In Egypt, several infectious diseases of zoonotic origin have emerged in recent years like H1N1, MERSCoV and H5N1, the latter now endemic. Responding to these diseases requires a workforce trained in multidisciplinary approaches to zoonotic disease research and control. It is difficult to deliver multidisciplinary and one health training globally because of the limited number of higher education programs that support such training. In low and middle-income countries where the impacts of emerging zoonotic diseases are felt more directly there is enthusiasm for such training and the use of e-technology can foster international, long-term collaborations. Objectives: To provide health training for infectious diseases research and to foster multidisciplinary collaboration. Methods: We designed and simultaneously held two training workshops, one focused on pediatric infectious diseases and another on emerging infectious diseases to meet the objective. Both workshops had pre-and post-workshop activities for multidisciplinary methods with an emphasis on the use of mobile technologies to enhance emerging infectious diseases surveillance and research for public health professionals in Egypt. Faculty and scientists from all universities in Egypt and from the National Research Center were invited to participate.
The distribution and status of small carnivore species in Gabon have never been comprehensively a... more The distribution and status of small carnivore species in Gabon have never been comprehensively assessed. We collated data from general wildlife surveys, camera-trap and transect studies and analyses of bushmeat consumption and trade, to map their country-wide occurrence and assess current exploitation levels. Records of Common Slender Mongoose Herpestes sanguineus and Cameroon Cusimanse Crossarchus platycephalus represent the first confirmation of their occurrence in Gabon. Cameroon Cusimanse was believed to extend into north-east Gabon, but the Slender Mongoose records extend its known range well outside that previously suspected. We furthermore extended the known range for Egyptian Mongoose Herpestes ichneumon. Crested Genet Genetta cristata has also been proposed to occur in Gabon but our records were not suited to evaluating this possibility given the difficulties of separation from Servaline Genet G. servalina. Most species appear to be distributed widely across the country. W...
Folia Primatologica, 1998
The sun-tailed monkey Cercopithecus (lhoesti) solatus Harrison 1988, an endemic guenon from Gabon... more The sun-tailed monkey Cercopithecus (lhoesti) solatus Harrison 1988, an endemic guenon from Gabon [1], has an unfragmented distribution area estimated at about 10,300 km2 mainly centered in the Forêt des Abeilles, central Gabon [2]. It is limited in the north by the Ogooué river and in the east by the Ogooué, Lolo and Bouenguidi rivers. The southern limit is unclear, but Gautier et al. [2]suggested that it corresponds to an elevation in altitude because the sun-tailed monkey is absent at altitudes higher than 500 m above sea level (asl). In the west, the limit was considered to be the Offoué river, but it was suspected that the species could occur on the left bank of this river. This was confirmed by forestry prospector C. Wilks [pers. commun.] who saw C. solatus monkeys along the left bank of the Offoué river in the south of the Lopé Reserve in 1994, and by White and Mackanga [3]who observed individuals in the northern part of the Lopé Reserve, about 30 km west of the Offoué river. Thus, as recommended in the African Primates Conservation Action Plan [4], the western limit of the species needs to be clarified.
Animal Conservation, 2010
Small to medium-sized central African forest artiodactyls constitute a diverse yet heavily hunted... more Small to medium-sized central African forest artiodactyls constitute a diverse yet heavily hunted group composed primarily of species within the genera Cephalophus, Neotragus, Tragelaphus and Hyemoschus. Of these genera, Cephalophus is the richest with as many as seven sympatric species known to occur in central African forests. However, differentiating species from their faeces or from tissue where the whole carcass is unavailable is very difficult. In order to develop a robust molecular diagnostic for species identification, a database of mitochondrial cytochrome b (553 bp) and control region ($675 bp) sequences was compiled from all forest Cephalophus species and other similarly sized, sympatric Tragelaphus, Neotragus and Hyemoschus species. Reference phylogenies from each marker were then used to recover the identity of sequences obtained from unknown faecal samples collected in the field. Results were then compared to determine which region best recovered species identity with the highest statistical support. Restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) were also assessed as an alternative method for rapid species identification. Of the methods examined, tree-based analyses built on a geographically comprehensive database of control region sequences was the best means of reliably recovering species identity from central African duikers. However, three sister taxa appear indistinguishable (Cephalophus callipygus, Cephalophus ogilbyi and Cephalophus weynsi) and not all species were monophyletic. This lack of monophyly may be due to incomplete lineage sorting commonly observed in recently derived taxa, hybridization or the presence of nuclear translocated copies of mitochondrial DNA. The high level of intra-specific variation and lack of robust species-specific diagnostic sites made an RFLP-based approach to duiker species identification difficult to implement. The tree-based control region diagnostic presented here has many important applications including fine-scale mapping of species distributions, identification of confiscated tissue and environmental impact assessments.
The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 2016
The fi ndings and conclusions in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily r... more The fi ndings and conclusions in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the offi cial position of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We declare no competing interests. 1 De Cock KM, El-Sadr WM. When to start ART in Africa-an urgent research priority. N Engl J Med 2013; 368: 886-89. 2 The INSIGHT START study group. Initiation of antiretroviral therapy in early asymptomatic HIV infection.
The Lancet Global Health, 2015
Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 2007
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2007
The role of Pleistocene forest refugia and rivers in the evolutionary diversification of tropical... more The role of Pleistocene forest refugia and rivers in the evolutionary diversification of tropical biota has been the subject of considerable debate. A range-wide analysis of gorilla mitochondrial and nuclear variation was used to test the potential role of both refugia and rivers in shaping genetic diversity in current populations. Results reveal strong patterns of regional differentiation that are consistent with refugial hypotheses for central Africa. Four major mitochondrial haplogroups are evident with the greatest divergence between eastern (A, B) and western (C, D) gorillas. Coalescent simulations reject a model of recent east–west separation during the last glacial maximum but are consistent with a divergence time within the Pleistocene. Microsatellite data also support a similar regional pattern of population genetic structure. Signatures of demographic expansion were detected in eastern lowland (B) and Gabon/Congo (D3) mitochondrial haplogroups and are consistent with a his...
Journal of Tropical Ecology, 1998
This paper presents a method for estimating monkey numbers in a large area of forest where there ... more This paper presents a method for estimating monkey numbers in a large area of forest where there is a gradient of monkey densities. The method is illustrated using data collected in the northeastern forests of Gabon during an earlier project. These forests are sparsely populated and there are few roads. The density of Cercopithecus nictitans increases with distance from the nearest road. A geographic information system (GIS) divided the forest into bands of increasing distance from the nearest road. The number of monkeys in each band is the product of the monkey density in that band and the area of the band. Summing across bands gives the population estimate; the standard error can be estimated by bootstrapping. The optimum sample size can be estimated by simulation. Combining estimates of the density gradient with a GIS is a cost-effective method of censusing primates in extensive forests.
The Journal of Applied Ecology, 1997
Conservation Genetics Resources, 2011
Conservation Biology, 2006
Biotropica, 2004
Here, we document the invasion of equatorial Africa by the little red fire ant (Wasmannia auropun... more Here, we document the invasion of equatorial Africa by the little red fire ant (Wasmannia auropunctata). Commercial logging and other forms of natural resource extraction have catapulted W. auropunctata into the interior of Gabon at a rate 60 times faster than the unassisted rate we measured over 19 years at the Lope Reserve. We also present photographic evidence suggesting that W. auropunctata is negatively affecting the country's exceptionally rich and intact large mammal fauna. RESUMEN Nous documentons l'invasion de l'Afrique Equatoriale par la fourmi électrique (Wasmannia auropunctata). L'exploitation forestière et les autres formes d'extraction des ressources naturelles ont catapulté Wasmannia auropunctata à l'intérieur du Gabon à un rythme 60 fois plus rapide que la progression non assistée que nous avons mesurée sur 19 ans à la Réserve de la Lopé. Nous présentons également des photographies suggérant que Wasmannia auropunctata a un impact négatif sur la faune de grands mammifères exceptionnellement riche et intacte du pays.
Biotropica, 2007
... Barbara M. Croes 1,* ,; William F. Laurance 2 ,; Sally A. Lahm 3 ,; Landry Tchignoumba 4 ,; A... more ... Barbara M. Croes 1,* ,; William F. Laurance 2 ,; Sally A. Lahm 3 ,; Landry Tchignoumba 4 ,; Alfonso Alonso 4 ,; Michelle E. Lee 4 ,; Patrick Campbell 4 ,; Ralph Buij 5. ... (1997) showed that long-distance calls in diana monkeys Cercopithecus diana of the Taï forest in Ivory Coast are ...
Animal Conservation, 2010
American Journal of Primatology, 1986
... Page 11. Diet and Habitat Preference of Mandrill / 19 50 45. ... 20 I Lahm TABLE 111. Inverte... more ... Page 11. Diet and Habitat Preference of Mandrill / 19 50 45. ... 20 I Lahm TABLE 111. Invertebrate Species Consumed by Mandrills Phylum: Mollusca Undetermined species (mollusc) (1) Order:Coleoptera Family: Scarabeidae Tribe: Onthophagini Genus: Onthophagus sp. ...
Annals of Global Health
Background: In Egypt, several infectious diseases of zoonotic origin have emerged in recent years... more Background: In Egypt, several infectious diseases of zoonotic origin have emerged in recent years like H1N1, MERSCoV and H5N1, the latter now endemic. Responding to these diseases requires a workforce trained in multidisciplinary approaches to zoonotic disease research and control. It is difficult to deliver multidisciplinary and one health training globally because of the limited number of higher education programs that support such training. In low and middle-income countries where the impacts of emerging zoonotic diseases are felt more directly there is enthusiasm for such training and the use of e-technology can foster international, long-term collaborations. Objectives: To provide health training for infectious diseases research and to foster multidisciplinary collaboration. Methods: We designed and simultaneously held two training workshops, one focused on pediatric infectious diseases and another on emerging infectious diseases to meet the objective. Both workshops had pre-and post-workshop activities for multidisciplinary methods with an emphasis on the use of mobile technologies to enhance emerging infectious diseases surveillance and research for public health professionals in Egypt. Faculty and scientists from all universities in Egypt and from the National Research Center were invited to participate.
The distribution and status of small carnivore species in Gabon have never been comprehensively a... more The distribution and status of small carnivore species in Gabon have never been comprehensively assessed. We collated data from general wildlife surveys, camera-trap and transect studies and analyses of bushmeat consumption and trade, to map their country-wide occurrence and assess current exploitation levels. Records of Common Slender Mongoose Herpestes sanguineus and Cameroon Cusimanse Crossarchus platycephalus represent the first confirmation of their occurrence in Gabon. Cameroon Cusimanse was believed to extend into north-east Gabon, but the Slender Mongoose records extend its known range well outside that previously suspected. We furthermore extended the known range for Egyptian Mongoose Herpestes ichneumon. Crested Genet Genetta cristata has also been proposed to occur in Gabon but our records were not suited to evaluating this possibility given the difficulties of separation from Servaline Genet G. servalina. Most species appear to be distributed widely across the country. W...