Conservation priorities in an endangered estuarine seahorse are informed by demographic history

Abstract Historical demographic events shape genetic diversity that remains evident in the genomes of contemporary populations. In the case of species that are of conservation concern, this information helps to unravel evolutionary histories that can be critical in guiding conservation efforts. The...

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Autores principales:	Thomas Kalama Mkare, Bettine Jansen van Vuuren, Peter R. Teske
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/1f993b15de724b179e22dd25f7ddb3c1
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:1f993b15de724b179e22dd25f7ddb3c12021-12-02T14:03:59ZConservation priorities in an endangered estuarine seahorse are informed by demographic history10.1038/s41598-021-83754-42045-2322https://doaj.org/article/1f993b15de724b179e22dd25f7ddb3c12021-02-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-83754-4https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Historical demographic events shape genetic diversity that remains evident in the genomes of contemporary populations. In the case of species that are of conservation concern, this information helps to unravel evolutionary histories that can be critical in guiding conservation efforts. The Knysna seahorse, Hippocampus capensis, is the world’s most endangered seahorse species, and it presently survives in only three estuaries on the South African south coast. Factors that contributed to the species becoming endangered are unclear; additionally, the lack of information on whether the three populations should be managed separately because of potential long-term isolation hampers effective management efforts. In the present study, we reconstructed the seahorses’ demographic history using a suite of microsatellite loci. We found that the largest population (Knysna Estuary) has colonised the other estuaries relatively recently (< 450 years ago), and that its population size is comparatively large and stable. Neither of the other two populations shows signs of long-term reductions in population size. The high conservation status of the species is thus a result of its limited range rather than historical population declines. Our findings indicate that the long-term survival of H. capensis depends primarily on the successful management of the Knysna population, although the other estuaries may serve as reservoirs of genetic diversity.Thomas Kalama MkareBettine Jansen van VuurenPeter R. TeskeNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-8 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Thomas Kalama Mkare Bettine Jansen van Vuuren Peter R. Teske Conservation priorities in an endangered estuarine seahorse are informed by demographic history
description	Abstract Historical demographic events shape genetic diversity that remains evident in the genomes of contemporary populations. In the case of species that are of conservation concern, this information helps to unravel evolutionary histories that can be critical in guiding conservation efforts. The Knysna seahorse, Hippocampus capensis, is the world’s most endangered seahorse species, and it presently survives in only three estuaries on the South African south coast. Factors that contributed to the species becoming endangered are unclear; additionally, the lack of information on whether the three populations should be managed separately because of potential long-term isolation hampers effective management efforts. In the present study, we reconstructed the seahorses’ demographic history using a suite of microsatellite loci. We found that the largest population (Knysna Estuary) has colonised the other estuaries relatively recently (< 450 years ago), and that its population size is comparatively large and stable. Neither of the other two populations shows signs of long-term reductions in population size. The high conservation status of the species is thus a result of its limited range rather than historical population declines. Our findings indicate that the long-term survival of H. capensis depends primarily on the successful management of the Knysna population, although the other estuaries may serve as reservoirs of genetic diversity.
format	article
author	Thomas Kalama Mkare Bettine Jansen van Vuuren Peter R. Teske
author_facet	Thomas Kalama Mkare Bettine Jansen van Vuuren Peter R. Teske
author_sort	Thomas Kalama Mkare
title	Conservation priorities in an endangered estuarine seahorse are informed by demographic history
title_short	Conservation priorities in an endangered estuarine seahorse are informed by demographic history
title_full	Conservation priorities in an endangered estuarine seahorse are informed by demographic history
title_fullStr	Conservation priorities in an endangered estuarine seahorse are informed by demographic history
title_full_unstemmed	Conservation priorities in an endangered estuarine seahorse are informed by demographic history
title_sort	conservation priorities in an endangered estuarine seahorse are informed by demographic history
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/1f993b15de724b179e22dd25f7ddb3c1
work_keys_str_mv	AT thomaskalamamkare conservationprioritiesinanendangeredestuarineseahorseareinformedbydemographichistory AT bettinejansenvanvuuren conservationprioritiesinanendangeredestuarineseahorseareinformedbydemographichistory AT peterrteske conservationprioritiesinanendangeredestuarineseahorseareinformedbydemographichistory
_version_	1718392007914684416

Conservation priorities in an endangered estuarine seahorse are informed by demographic history

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