We are pioneering new approaches to support thriving animal populations.

Because zoo populations are often small or have restricted genetic diversity, they can be vulnerable to potentially negative health consequences. Applying population genetic analyses to zoo management programs can help support robust and sustainable populations of endangered species.

We’re leading genetics research on the gorilla population maintained across AZA-accredited zoos to study the genetic predictors of gorilla heart health and to inform population management. Understanding the genetic relationships and genetic diversity of gorillas can help maximize the gorilla population’s health.

Relatedness between gorillas is a key metric for population managers to identify candidate pairs of gorillas in the AZA population for breeding. Relatedness can be estimated from the gorilla pedigree, but these estimates are based on the unverified assumption that the founders (i.e., the initial animals that founded the population) were fully unrelated. We will use genetics to measure the extent to which animals are actually related, which can improve relatedness records and management decisions.

In addition to determining relatedness, we also hope that the genomic information will give insight into the heritability of heart disease, the primary cause of death in captive adult gorillas. We’re working with the Great Ape Heart Project to better understand the genetic predictors of heart disease in gorillas by pairing our genomic data with standardized health data so that heart disease in gorillas can be better diagnosed and treated.