ABSTRACT.    Entodiniomorphid ciliates are symbionts or commensals in intestine of apes, classified into the genera Troglodytella, Gorillophilus and Prototapirella. Recent studies noticed the absence of ciliates in captive apes. We examined fecal samples from 231 apes from several European Zoos. Ciliates, all tentatively determined as Troglodytella, were diagnosed in most investigated groups of apes. In samples from wild chimpanzees from Kalinzu Forest Reserve (FR), Uganda, we found trophozoites of two ciliates - Troglodytella abrassarti and as yet undetermined entodiniomorphid ciliate. The prevalence of T. abrassarti was 52% in Zoos and 88% in Kalinzu FR. The occurrence of undetermined ciliates in Kalinzu chimpanzees was 63%, however, these ciliates were absent from captive chimpanzees. To estimate the intensity of "infection", ciliates in faeces were counted per gram (CPG). CPG in captive chimpanzees ranged from 0 to 152,400, and the comparison of CPG did not reveal significant differences among studied groups. However, the CPG counts in 23 European Zoos were significantly higher than those from wild chimpanzees from Kalinzu FR. We investigated short-term fluctuation of T. abrassarti populations in chimpanzees in Kalinzu FR and Liberec Zoo, Czech Republic. Remarkable fluctuation T. abrassarti counts were recorded, both in captive and wild apes.
Study was supported by GACR 524/06/0264.