Conservation genetics of the black rhinoceros, Diceros bicornis bicornis, in Namibia

Abstract

Poaching and habitat destruction across subSaharan Africa brought the black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) close to extinction. Over the past few decades, however, one of four subspecies, D. b. bicornis, has experienced a significant population increase as a consequence of its protection within Etosha National Park (ENP), Namibia. We report here on the level and spatial distribution of black rhinoceros genetic diversity within ENP. Using nine microsatellite loci, genetic variation was assessed from 144 individuals. Our results are consistent with the observation of lower levels of genetic diversity in D. b. bicornis, when compared to D. b. michaeli, but greater diversity when compared to D. b. minor. We also showed that ENP's black rhino genetic diversity is well represented in Waterberg National Park, originally founded with ENP individuals. We found no genetic signature of a recent bottleneck in ENP, however, suggesting that the genetic diversity within ENP has not been adversely affected by the recent severe population decline. Using Bayesian clustering methods, we observed no significant population structure within ENP, but positive spatial genetic correlation is observed at distances up to 25 km. This relationship exists in females but not males, suggesting reduced dispersal among females, the first evidence of limited female dispersal or philopatry in any species of rhinoceros.

Genetic structure of the black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) in south-eastern Africa

“…Although a direct comparison is not possible given the differing number of loci used in previous studies, our finding is consistent with studies showing particularly low microsatellite diversity in South African populations (Harley et al 2005;Karsten et al 2011). Considering variation within the subspecies D. b. minor in southern Africa, we detected an average of over five alleles per locus, comparable to levels among Kenyan black rhinoceros (Harley et al 2005;Muya et al 2011), but higher than populations in Namibia (Harley et al 2005;van Coeverden de Groot et al 2011).…”

Mother–offspring distances reflect sex differences in fine‐scale genetic structure of eastern grey kangaroos

“…Fine‐scale genetic structuring has been found among females in several species of mammals, for example black rhinoceros Diceros bicornis (Van Coeverden de Groot et al. ), white‐tailed deer Odocoileus virginianus (Cullingham et al. ), red deer Cervus elaphus (Pérez‐Espona et al.…”

Extinctions, genetic erosion and conservation options for the black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis)

“…Previous black rhinoceros genetic studies have largely been restricted, either in geographic scale, molecular coverage or sampling 16 17 18 19 20 and therefore have not had the power to comprehensively examine the genetic consequences of population extinctions and declines in order to aid management or define conservation units. Genetic extinction, defined by the irrecoverable loss of genetic diversity, may not occur after local population extinction provided that some of the populations survived.…”