Core Team
- Dr Erin Wessling, co-director, Research Scientist at the German Primate Center and the University of Goettingen
- Prof. Hjalmar Kühl, co-director, Head of Department Zoology, Mammalogy, Senckenberg Society of Nature Research. Professor of Mammalian Biodiversity at the TU Dresden
- Prof. Martin Surbeck, co-director, Assistant Professor, Harvard University
- Paula Dieguez, coordinator, Scientific Employee, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig
Partners
- Mbou Mon Tour (MMT)
- Centre de Recherche en Ecologie et Foresterie (CREF) & World Wildlife Fund – DRC (WWF-DRC)
- Groupe d’Appui à la Conservation des Ecosystèmes de Basankusu et de Bolomba (GACEBB)
- Antwerp Zoo Foundation (AZF)
- Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS)
- Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN)
Research Collaborators
- Dr Tomas Marques-Bonet, Coordinator of Genomes and Systems, Departament de Ciències Experimentals i de la Salut, Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF): study bonobo within-species genetic variability and connectivity, reconstruct bonobo speciation and ancestry, and create a reference database for tracing bonobo wildlife by genetic profiling using bonobo fecal samples.
- Prof. Martin Reinhardt Nielsen, Department of Food and Resource Economics, University of Copenhagen: perform social interviews focused on bushmeat consumption and trade to evaluate how food security, health, and socioeconomic characteristics are related to hunting and bushmeat consumption and attitudes towards bonobos.
- Prof Nicole Van Dam, Henriette Uthe and Stefanie Döll, Molecular Interaction Ecology (MIE) research group & EcoMetEoR: analysis of metabolomic plant data to understand mechanisms underlying species interactions and biodiversity functions.
- Dr. Julie Koch Sheard, Ecosystem Services, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig: understand the local variability of terrestrial arthropods present at each of the BonDiv sites using pitfall traps.
- Poulsen Research Group in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Michigan and the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Oregon: analysis of isotopes of rainwater samples to understand hydrological cycling and environmental change, and its relation with the bonobos’ habitat and populations.
- Prof. Fabian Leendertz / Helmholtz Center for Infection Research/ Helmholtz Institute for One Health (HZI/HIOH):
better understand the relationship between animal, human and environmental health, by analyzing bonobo fecal samples, bonobo bones/carcasses, and blowflies. Provide a general metric of biodiversity/ecosystem health by performing eDNA analysis of water, soil, and leaf swab samples.
Field Researchers
- Alexander HOGAN
- Joseph LISINGO
- Louis Junior BENI
- Steven MUHINDO
- Martin BESAKWE BOFEKO
- Freddy MAKENGO
- Maisie ETTINGER
- Donat BARUBIYO
- Dieu Merci MPONGO
- Johnson Y. UYULU
- Magloire KAMBALE
- Camille PACOU
Funders
We gratefully acknowledge the support of our funders, whose contributions make the BonDiv project possible.
