Conserving small and fragmented populations of large mammals: Non-invasive genetic sampling in an isolated population of Asian elephants in Nepal

Flagstad, Øystein; Pradhan, Narendra Man Babu; Kvernstuen, Liv Guro; Wegge, Per

doi:10.1016/j.jnc.2012.01.006

Cited by 26 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Although a small isolated population is generally prone to extinction, migrants from other population could help recover genetic diversity and growth of the population (Vilà et al, 2003;Madsen, Ujvari, & Olsson, 2004). A nearly extinct elephant population in Bardia National Park, Nepal, has been reestablished by immigrants into the population (Flagstad et al, 2012). The study revealed biased sex ratio toward male in sub-adult age-class, and the analysis indicated immigration of sub-adult males into the population.…”

Section: Migration Facilitates Maintenance Of Genetic Diversitymentioning

confidence: 87%

“…The migrants were possibly from the Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary or the Dudhwa National Park in India. Although the reestablished population was quite small with the estimated population size at 57 elephants, genetic diversity was fairly high (Flagstad et al, 2012).…”

Section: Migration Facilitates Maintenance Of Genetic Diversitymentioning

confidence: 93%

“…Multilocus microsatellite genotyping together with mark-recapture analyses allows researchers to reliably estimate population size (Hedges et al, 2013;Gray et al, 2014;Moßbrucker et al, 2015). Cross specific microsatellite primers developed for the African elephant (Loxodonta africana) have also been commonly applied to the Asian elephant populations (Vidya et al, 2007;Flagstad, Pradhan, Kvernstuen, & Wegge, 2012;Moßbrucker et al, 2015). Note that null allele should be under concerned when cross specific primers are used.…”

Section: Microsatellite Dnamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Individual sex can be determined by amplification of sex determination regions on sex chromosomes Gupta, Thangaraj, & Singh, 2006;Vidya et al, 2007;Munshi-South et al, 2008;Ahlering et al, 2011;Chakraborty, Boominathan, Desai, & Vidya, 2014), thus the population sex ratio can be estimated Vidya et al, 2007;Ahlering et al, 2011;Flagstad et al, 2012;Chakraborty et al, 2014;Moßbrucker et al, 2015).…”

Section: Sex Determination Markersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The "comparative approach" (Frantz et al, 2003) has been proposed and commonly used by repeating amplification of the microsatellite fragments and scoring the consensus genotypes (e.g. Ahlering et al, 2011;Flagstad et al, 2012;Gray et al, 2014). The analytic software has been developed to examine allelic dropout and null alleles, or to determine problematic loci (Valière, 2002;van Oosterhout et al, 2004;Mckelvey & Schwartz, 2005;Rousset, 2008).…”

Section: Genotyping Errors Due To Noninvasive Sample Sourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Genetic Tools for the Conservation of Wild Asian Elephants

Kongrit

2017

IJB

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The distribution of the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) has been limited to the remaining discontinuous forests, mainly in the South and Southeast Asia. A global number of wild Asian elephants have been declining due to habitat loss, forest fragmentation, and anthropogenic disturbance. Acquiring information of wild populations is important for effective conservation and management plan. This article reviews the applications of noninvasive genetic method as a tool for studying wild Asian elephants. Noninvasive genetic method has been introduced to the field of wildlife conservation for more than two decades. The method provides reliable information of a population and facilitates investigation of genetic effects on small and fragmented populations. Various DNA markers for the Asian elephant, those include mitochondrial DNA, microsatellite DNA, and sex determination markers, have been developed and used to study wild elephant populations across the distribution range. Most of the studies revealed the issues of low genetic diversity in the small populations and interruption of gene flow among the fragmented populations. Tracking of ivory poaching has not yet been done in the Asian elephant. It could be carried out if a reference genetic database of the natural populations is available. Noninvasive genetic method has been proved to be a promising tool for conservation of the wild Asian elephants. Transboundary collaboration would give hope for a successful long-term conservation of this charismatic species in their natural habitats.

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Section: Migration Facilitates Maintenance Of Genetic Diversitymentioning

confidence: 87%

Section: Migration Facilitates Maintenance Of Genetic Diversitymentioning

confidence: 93%

Section: Microsatellite Dnamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Sex Determination Markersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Genotyping Errors Due To Noninvasive Sample Sourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Genetic Tools for the Conservation of Wild Asian Elephants

Kongrit

2017

IJB

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Seasonality, crop type and crop phenology influence crop damage by wildlife herbivores in Africa and Asia

Groß

Lahkar²,

Subedi

et al. 2018

Biodivers Conserv

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Genetic structure and diversity of semi-captive populations: the anomalous case of the Asian elephant

Maurer,

Dubois,

et al. 2024

Conserv Genet

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Wild species living in captivity are subject to loss of genetic diversity, inbreeding depression, and differentiation among populations. Only very few species have been under human care for centuries but have not been selectively bred, have free-ranging movements most of the time, and retain porous barriers to gene flow between wild and captive populations. Such captive populations are expected to retain high levels of genetic diversity and anthropogenic factors should result in a limited genetic differentiation from wild populations. Asian elephants have been trained and used by humans for at least 4000 years as war animals, mounts of kings and draught animals. In Myanmar and Laos, elephants are still being used for hauling timber in the forest while retaining traditional management practices including seasonal release, free mating and movement. However, habitat fragmentation, isolation and reduced gene flows are threatening both semi-captive and wild pools. We genotyped 167 semi-captive elephants from Laos and Myanmar using a panel of 11 microsatellite loci to estimate the genetic diversity and population structure. We found that elephants of both countries presented high levels of genetic diversity and a low degree of inbreeding, if any. This agrees with the expected high level of genetic diversity in semi-captive populations. We found a weak differentiation along a geographical gradient from southern Laos to northern Myanmar but no differentiation between wild-caught and captive-born pools. The potential value for conservation of a large population of semi-captive elephants has been recognized but the conservation community has yet to fully explore the potential role semi-captive elephants could play in maintaining gene flows.

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Conserving small and fragmented populations of large mammals: Non-invasive genetic sampling in an isolated population of Asian elephants in Nepal

Cited by 26 publications

References 38 publications

Genetic Tools for the Conservation of Wild Asian Elephants

Genetic Tools for the Conservation of Wild Asian Elephants

Seasonality, crop type and crop phenology influence crop damage by wildlife herbivores in Africa and Asia

Genetic structure and diversity of semi-captive populations: the anomalous case of the Asian elephant

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