Autosomal and mtDNA Markers Affirm the Distinctiveness of Lions in West and Central Africa

Abstract

The evolutionary history of a species is key for understanding the taxonomy and for the design of effective management strategies for species conservation. The knowledge about the phylogenetic position of the lion (Panthera leo) in West/Central Africa is largely based on mitochondrial markers. Previous studies using mtDNA only have shown this region to hold a distinct evolutionary lineage. In addition, anthropogenic factors have led to a strong decline in West/Central African lion numbers, thus, the conservation value of these populations is particularly high. Here, we investigate whether autosomal markers are concordant with previously described phylogeographic patterns, and confirm the unique position of the West/Central African lion. Analysis of 20 microsatellites and 1,454 bp of the mitochondrial DNA in 16 lion populations representing the entire geographic range of the species found congruence in both types of markers, identifying four clusters: 1) West/Central Africa, 2) East Africa, 3) Southern Africa and 4) India. This is not in line with the current taxonomy, as defined by the IUCN, which only recognizes an African and an Asiatic subspecies. There are no indications that genetic diversity in West/Central Africa lions is lower than in either East or Southern Africa, however, given this genetic distinction and the recent declines of lion numbers in this region, we strongly recommend prioritization of conservation projects in West/Central Africa. As the current taxonomic nomenclature does not reflect the evolutionary history of the lion, we suggest that a taxonomic revision of the lion is warranted.

Asiatic Lion: Ecology, Economics, and Politics of Conservation

“…Maternal lineage of Gir lions was found to be nested within the clade formed by Northern, Western, and Central African lions (Barnett et al, 2014). Bertola et al (2015) included nuclear markers along with mt-DNA and found lions from India to form a distinct cluster with little/no admixture with African lions. The IUCN Cat Specialist Group now recognizes two subspecies P. leo leo consisting of lions from India, Central and West Africa and P. leo melanochaita comprised of lions from Eastern and Southern Africa (Kitchener et al, 2017).…”

Determinants of Distribution Patterns and Management Needs in a Critically Endangered Lion Panthera leo Population

“…WAP harbors an estimated 350 individuals, or 90% of West Africa's lions (Henschel et al, 2014). Besides lion, WAP harbors an important population of the Critically Endangered Northwest African cheetah Acinonyx jubatus hecki (Belbachir, 2008) and the largest remaining elephant Loxodonta africana population in West Africa (Bouché et al, 2011).…”

The validity of three snow leopard subspecies: response to Senn et al.

“…This process was even reflected in the working subspecies definition provided by Kitchener et al (2017), which stated "gene flow is expected between subspecies". For example, extensive nuclear and mtDNA admixture was observed between the African lion subspecies P. l. leo and P. l. melanochaita recognized by Kitchener et al (2017) (Bertola et al 2015(Bertola et al ,2016. In our Bayesian structure analysis that modeled genetic clusters corresponding to the number of subspecies (K = 3) only 5 out of the 70 individuals had mixed ancestry (Q ≤ 0.80).…”

“…All of these were from Kyrgyzstan and still had most of their ancestry (69-75%) attributed to the appropriate P. u. uncia subspecies (see Figure 2 in Janecka et al 2017). In contrast, a study of lions by Bertola et al (2015) performed similar Bayesian modeling of genetic clusters including runs with the same number (K = 2) as the subspecies defined by Kitchener et al (2017). All of the lions from eastern and southern Africa that Kitchener et al delineated as P. l. melanochaita were assigned to the same genetic cluster as the western P. l. leo (see Figure 2 in Bertola et al 2015).…”

“…We analyzed 70 individuals from 21 geographically dispersed sampling sites with 33 nuclear microsatellite loci and 683-bp of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). We implemented methods comparable to those used in previous well-accepted studies of felid phylogeography (e.g., Uphyrkina et al 2001, Luo et al 2004, Bertola et al 2015. Within these subspecies, we also identified management units (MU) for which policies should be developed, consistent with the political, economic, and cultural issues relevant to the respective MU.…”