Who are the elephants living in the hybridization zone? How genetics may guide conservation to better protect endangered elephants

After a long-standing debate, African elephants are now considered by the IUCN as two distinct species: savannah elephants (Loxodonta africana), listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, and forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis), critically endangered. Both are severely threat...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales:	Julie Bonnald, Jose Utge, Mary K. Kuhner, Samuel K. Wasser, Edward Asalu, John Paul Okimat, Sabrina Krief
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Elsevier 2021
Materias:	Elephant hybridization Forest elephant Genetic population structure Loxodonta Savannah elephant Sebitoli Ecology QH540-549.5
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/ec75f6b7ac454bfe905132a690e410a5
Etiquetas:	Agregar Etiqueta Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!

id	oai:doaj.org-article:ec75f6b7ac454bfe905132a690e410a5
record_format	dspace
spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:ec75f6b7ac454bfe905132a690e410a52021-11-18T04:49:15ZWho are the elephants living in the hybridization zone? How genetics may guide conservation to better protect endangered elephants2351-989410.1016/j.gecco.2021.e01917https://doaj.org/article/ec75f6b7ac454bfe905132a690e410a52021-12-01T00:00:00Zhttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989421004674https://doaj.org/toc/2351-9894After a long-standing debate, African elephants are now considered by the IUCN as two distinct species: savannah elephants (Loxodonta africana), listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, and forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis), critically endangered. Both are severely threatened by forest loss, fragmentation and degradation due to agriculture expansion, as well as by illegal ivory trade. Although the two species have different habitat preferences, their range overlaps in some ecotones; despite an ancient separation between these two species, hybrids have been reported in five locations. The main hybrid hotspot is located on the Democratic Republic of Congo-Uganda border and still remains understudied. Using 15 microsatellites, we investigated this hybridization zone by determining the species and hybrid status of 177 fecal samples collected in the area of Sebitoli, at the extreme North of Kibale National Park. Surprisingly for a forest area, no pure forest elephants were detected. Out of the 91 individuals sampled, a very large proportion (81.3%) were hybrid individuals mainly from a second generation or more. Only 18.7% of pure savannah elephants were detected, all originating from the DRC-Uganda border. Further analyses are necessary to assess the age of this hybridization zone. Our results emphasize that hybrids and savannah elephants can successfully range in forested area. They also show that forest elephants are rare even in their native habitat. In the current context of high threat faced by African elephant species, it is crucial to strengthen conservation efforts for these species before it is too late.Julie BonnaldJose UtgeMary K. KuhnerSamuel K. WasserEdward AsaluJohn Paul OkimatSabrina KriefElsevierarticleElephant hybridizationForest elephantGenetic population structureLoxodontaSavannah elephantSebitoliEcologyQH540-549.5ENGlobal Ecology and Conservation, Vol 32, Iss , Pp e01917- (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Elephant hybridization Forest elephant Genetic population structure Loxodonta Savannah elephant Sebitoli Ecology QH540-549.5
spellingShingle	Elephant hybridization Forest elephant Genetic population structure Loxodonta Savannah elephant Sebitoli Ecology QH540-549.5 Julie Bonnald Jose Utge Mary K. Kuhner Samuel K. Wasser Edward Asalu John Paul Okimat Sabrina Krief Who are the elephants living in the hybridization zone? How genetics may guide conservation to better protect endangered elephants
description	After a long-standing debate, African elephants are now considered by the IUCN as two distinct species: savannah elephants (Loxodonta africana), listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, and forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis), critically endangered. Both are severely threatened by forest loss, fragmentation and degradation due to agriculture expansion, as well as by illegal ivory trade. Although the two species have different habitat preferences, their range overlaps in some ecotones; despite an ancient separation between these two species, hybrids have been reported in five locations. The main hybrid hotspot is located on the Democratic Republic of Congo-Uganda border and still remains understudied. Using 15 microsatellites, we investigated this hybridization zone by determining the species and hybrid status of 177 fecal samples collected in the area of Sebitoli, at the extreme North of Kibale National Park. Surprisingly for a forest area, no pure forest elephants were detected. Out of the 91 individuals sampled, a very large proportion (81.3%) were hybrid individuals mainly from a second generation or more. Only 18.7% of pure savannah elephants were detected, all originating from the DRC-Uganda border. Further analyses are necessary to assess the age of this hybridization zone. Our results emphasize that hybrids and savannah elephants can successfully range in forested area. They also show that forest elephants are rare even in their native habitat. In the current context of high threat faced by African elephant species, it is crucial to strengthen conservation efforts for these species before it is too late.
format	article
author	Julie Bonnald Jose Utge Mary K. Kuhner Samuel K. Wasser Edward Asalu John Paul Okimat Sabrina Krief
author_facet	Julie Bonnald Jose Utge Mary K. Kuhner Samuel K. Wasser Edward Asalu John Paul Okimat Sabrina Krief
author_sort	Julie Bonnald
title	Who are the elephants living in the hybridization zone? How genetics may guide conservation to better protect endangered elephants
title_short	Who are the elephants living in the hybridization zone? How genetics may guide conservation to better protect endangered elephants
title_full	Who are the elephants living in the hybridization zone? How genetics may guide conservation to better protect endangered elephants
title_fullStr	Who are the elephants living in the hybridization zone? How genetics may guide conservation to better protect endangered elephants
title_full_unstemmed	Who are the elephants living in the hybridization zone? How genetics may guide conservation to better protect endangered elephants
title_sort	who are the elephants living in the hybridization zone? how genetics may guide conservation to better protect endangered elephants
publisher	Elsevier
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/ec75f6b7ac454bfe905132a690e410a5
work_keys_str_mv	AT juliebonnald whoaretheelephantslivinginthehybridizationzonehowgeneticsmayguideconservationtobetterprotectendangeredelephants AT joseutge whoaretheelephantslivinginthehybridizationzonehowgeneticsmayguideconservationtobetterprotectendangeredelephants AT marykkuhner whoaretheelephantslivinginthehybridizationzonehowgeneticsmayguideconservationtobetterprotectendangeredelephants AT samuelkwasser whoaretheelephantslivinginthehybridizationzonehowgeneticsmayguideconservationtobetterprotectendangeredelephants AT edwardasalu whoaretheelephantslivinginthehybridizationzonehowgeneticsmayguideconservationtobetterprotectendangeredelephants AT johnpaulokimat whoaretheelephantslivinginthehybridizationzonehowgeneticsmayguideconservationtobetterprotectendangeredelephants AT sabrinakrief whoaretheelephantslivinginthehybridizationzonehowgeneticsmayguideconservationtobetterprotectendangeredelephants
_version_	1718425073866506240

Who are the elephants living in the hybridization zone? How genetics may guide conservation to better protect endangered elephants

Ejemplares similares