Conservation Genetics of the Cheetah: Genetic History and Implications for Conservation

Schmidt‐Küntzel, Anne; Dalton, Desiré L.; Menotti‐Raymond, Marilyn; Fabiano, Ezequiel; Charruau, Pauline; Johnson, Warren E.; Sommer, Simone; Marker, Laurie; Kotzé, Antoinette; O’Brien, Stephen J.

doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-804088-1.00006-x

Cited by 14 publications

(13 citation statements)

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“…As a result of habitat fragmentation over time, there are currently four genetically confirmed subspecies of cheetah, three African and one Asiatic subspecies [4,12,37]. These subspecies are physically distinct from one another, and research is still ongoing to determine the genetic uniqueness of each.…”

Section: Cheetah Distributionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The unique genetic profile of the cheetah demands a thorough understanding of their biology and capacity for reproduction. A potentially critical factor for the long-term survival of the cheetah is its lack of genetic variation relative to other felids [12].…”

Section: Threats To the Cheetahmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Cheetah numbers have declined primarily due to increased human-wildlife conflict, loss of habitat and loss of prey, and the illegal wildlife trade. In addition to these threats, cheetahs lack genetic variation due to a historic population bottleneck, approximately 12,000 years ago, which makes the cheetah more vulnerable to ecological and environmental changes [10][11][12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Cheetahs Race for Survival: Ecology and Conservation

Marker¹

2019

Wildlife Population Monitoring

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Cheetahs reach speeds of up to 113 km/h accelerating from zero to 96 km/h in 3s. Revered for 5000 years throughout Asia, Europe and Africa has contributed to the species decline. Today's wild cheetah population is estimated at 7100 adult and adolescents, a 90% reduction from a century ago, and a range reduction of 9%. Over 80% live outside protected areas where human-wildlife conflict occurs. Female cheetahs live solitarily with their cubs; male cubs form lifelong coalitions. Living in low densities cheetahs' home ranges cover over 1500 km 2 , requiring large landscapes with prey. Although cheetahs' lack genetic diversity from a historic population bottleneck, their greatest conservation problems are humans. Habitat loss and declining preybase leads to conflict with livestock farmers. Additionally, illegal wildlife trafficking of cubs is affecting small populations in the Horn of Africa. Solving the cheetah conservation crisis is critical and involves addressing a complex web of social, environmental and economic issues, and depends on a holistic approach balancing the needs of humans and cheetahs sharing land. Research into conserving and restoring habitat for cheetahs includes training, the use of Livestock Guarding Dogs, and other conflict mitigation strategies, addressing habitat loss, dismantling the illegal pet trade, and encouraging coexistence.

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Section: Cheetah Distributionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Threats To the Cheetahmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Cheetahs Race for Survival: Ecology and Conservation

Marker¹

2019

Wildlife Population Monitoring

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“…To make the best conservation decisions about cheetahs, it is important to understand the differences between cheetahs from different localities and quantify the distinctions both morphologically and genetically. While genetic structure could be identified between cheetah populations (Charruau et al, ), the eastern and southern African cheetah were recently merged into a single subspecies (Kitchener et al, ), and an overall reduced level of genetic diversity has been documented through multiple genetic tests (reviewed in Schmidt‐Küntzel et al, ). Previous studies have examined the morphological differences in cheetahs between Namibia, South Africa (Labuschagne, ), East Africa (McLaughlin, ), and Serengeti National Park (Caro, ), but the measurements for the latter three regions only included mass, body and tail length, chest girth, and shoulder height, so as a result, the comparisons were not as comprehensive as possible (Marker & Dickman, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Regional variation in the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) revisited: Morphology of wild and captive populations

2019

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The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is listed as a vulnerable species by the International union for the conservation of nature (IUCN), including two critically endangered subspecies, the Saharan cheetah, and the Iranian cheetah, so it is imperative that we understand variation in cheetah morphology to make good decisions regarding the conservation of this species. Here, we aim to determine whether northeastern African cheetahs have smaller body sizes than southern African cheetahs. This study also adds to our knowledge of cheetah morphology from two cheetah populations that do not yet have comprehensive published data: Kenya, and northeastern Africa, including captive individuals. We calculated means and standard deviations on cranial and body measurements of live or in few cases, freshly dead, cheetahs from the aforementioned populations, plus previously published data on Namibian and Botswanan cheetahs and compared them to one another using multivariate analysis of variance. Results show that northeastern African cheetahs have smaller body sizes than southern and eastern African populations. We also found that captive cheetahs retain the morphological characteristics of their ancestral population‐ captive cheetahs from southern Africa have similar body sizes to wild southern African cheetahs and larger body sizes than captives from northeastern Africa. Other analyses regarding cheetah growth agree with previous studies on Namibian and Botswanan cheetah populations rates. As such, this study can serve as a baseline for the care of captive cheetah populations to maintain healthy weights and body proportions.

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“…Unfortunately, the study did not include samples from the current range of A. j. hecki. Schmidt-Kuentzel et al 2018 review the phylogeography of modern-day cheetahs and argue that the phylogeography of A. j. hecki can not be assessed due to a lack of genetic data from its current range. Furthermore, a recent study argues that cheetahs show very low genetic differentiation between the subspecies (O'Brien et al 2017).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Conservation Genomic Analyses of African and Asiatic Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) Across Their Current and Historical Species Range

Prost

Machado²,

Zumbroich³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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words)Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) are majestic carnivores and the fastest land animals; yet, they are quickly heading towards an uncertain future. Threatened by habitat loss, human-interactions and illegal trafficking, there are only approximately 7,100 individuals remaining in the wild. Cheetahs used to roam large parts of Africa, and Western and Southern Asia. Today they are confined to about 9% of their original distribution. To investigate their genetic diversity and conservation status, we generated genome-wide data from historical and modern samples of all four currently recognized subspecies, along with mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and major histocompatibility complex (MHC) data. We found clear genetic differentiation between the subspecies, thus refuting earlier assumptions that cheetahs show only little population differentiation. Our analyses further showed that cheetahs from East Africa are more closely related to A. j. soemmeringii than they are to A . j. juabtus. This raises the need for a reclassification of the cheetah subspecies, as East African cheetahs are currently included into A . j. juabtus. We detected stronger inbreeding in the Critically Endangered A. j. venaticus (Iran) and A. j. hecki (Northwest Africa), and show that overall genome-wide heterozygosity in cheetah is lower than that reported for other threatened and endangered felids, such as tigers and lions. Furthermore, we show that MHC class II diversity in cheetahs is generally higher than previously reported, but still lower than in other felids. Our results provide new and important information for efficient genetic monitoring, subspecies assignments and evidence-based conservation policy decisions.

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Conservation Genetics of the Cheetah: Genetic History and Implications for Conservation

Cited by 14 publications

References 68 publications

Cheetahs Race for Survival: Ecology and Conservation

Cheetahs Race for Survival: Ecology and Conservation

Regional variation in the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) revisited: Morphology of wild and captive populations

Conservation Genomic Analyses of African and Asiatic Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) Across Their Current and Historical Species Range

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