Molecular species identification of bushmeat recovered from the Serengeti ecosystem in Tanzania.

Megan A Schilling,Andimile Martin,Ernest Eblate,Vivek Kapur,Peter J Hudson,Isabella M Cattadori,Fatuma Kindoro,Anna B Estes,Dennis Rentsch,Paul S Gwakisa,Robab Katani,Joram J Buza,Jessica Radzio-Basu,Asteria Joseph,Beatus Lyimo,Ulrike Gertrud Munderloh

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0237590

Abstract

Bushmeat harvesting and consumption represents a potential risk for the spillover of endemic zoonotic pathogens, yet remains a common practice in many parts of the world. Given that the harvesting and selling of bushmeat is illegal in Tanzania and other parts of Africa, the supply chain is informal and may include hunters, whole-sellers, retailers, and individual resellers who typically sell bushmeat in small pieces. These pieces are often further processed, obscuring species-identifying morphological characteristics, contributing to incomplete or mistaken knowledge of species of origin and potentially confounding assessments of pathogen spillover risk and bushmeat offtake. The current investigation sought to identify the species of origin and assess the concordance between seller-reported and laboratory-confirmed species of origin of bushmeat harvested from in and around the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. After obtaining necessary permits, the species of origin of a total of 151 bushmeat samples purchased from known intermediaries from 2016 to 2018 were characterized by PCR and sequence analysis of the cytochrome B (CytB) gene. Based on these sequence analyses, 30%, 95% Confidence Interval (CI: 24.4-38.6) of bushmeat samples were misidentified by sellers. Misreporting amongst the top five source species (wildebeest, buffalo, impala, zebra, and giraffe) ranged from 20% (CI: 11.4-33.2) for samples reported as wildebeest to 47% (CI: 22.2-72.7) for samples reported as zebra although there was no systematic bias in reporting. Our findings suggest that while misreporting errors are unlikely to confound wildlife offtake estimates for bushmeat consumption within the Serengeti ecosystem, the role of misreporting bias on the risk of spillover events of endemic zoonotic infections from bushmeat requires further investigation.

Highlights

Bushmeat, meat and organs from wildlife species, is an important source of animal protein in the diets of communities in the sub-tropics of the Americas and Africa
This study focused on the Serengeti National Park in Northern Tanzania, which is well known for the abundance and biodiversity of wildlife within the ecosystem and the high prevalence of bushmeat hunting performed regularly in the region [7]
Approximately one third of the 151 bushmeat samples selected for laboratory-confirmation of species of origin were misidentified by the traditional methods of self-reporting

Summary

Introduction

Meat and organs from wildlife species, is an important source of animal protein in the diets of communities in the sub-tropics of the Americas and Africa. The hunting and harvesting of bushmeat is commonly practiced by those living in close proximity to national parks and protected areas and is an important source of income for rural and forest dwellers who depend on this natural resource [1]. This is true for many rural populations in Tanzanian where it found that bushmeat makes its way to urban markets and neighboring countries. Studies of bushmeat populations often focus on limited species. Recent modeling studies have begun to evaluate multiple species the interspecific dynamics of hunting remain poorly understood [4]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion