Mitochondrial DNA variation and population structure of the Critically Endangered saiga antelope <i>Saiga tatarica</i>

Холодова, М. В.; Milner‐Gulland, E. J.; Easton, Andrew J.; Amgalan, L.; Arylov, Iu.A.; Bekenov, A. B.; Grachev, Iu. A.; Лущекина, А. А.; Ryder, Oliver A.

doi:10.1017/s0030605306000135

Cited by 23 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 18 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…, 2003). It has two subspecies, the nominate subspecies S. t. tatarica in Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and the Mongolian saiga S. t. mongolica in Mongolia (Kholodova et al. , 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The saiga antelope is a migratory species of the semi-arid rangelands of Central Asia, which travels hundreds of kilometres in large aggregations on a seasonal basis (Bekenov et al, 1998;Milner-Gulland et al, 2003). It has two subspecies, the nominate subspecies S. t. tatarica in Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and the Mongolian saiga S. t. mongolica in Mongolia (Kholodova et al, 2006). Saigas display early female reproductive maturity (8 months), unusually large neonates relative to female body size, frequent twinning, long reproductive life (up to 12 years) and female-biased sex ratios (Bekenov et al, 1998;Kühl et al, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Tracking greenery across a latitudinal gradient in central Asia – the migration of the saiga antelope

Singh

Grachev

Bekenov

et al. 2010

Diversity and Distributions

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Aim Long‐distance migrations of terrestrial animals, driven by needs such as food, water and escaping predators and harsh climatic conditions, are widely known phenomena. The saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica tatarica) migrates over long distances in the semi‐arid rangelands of Central Asia. Both the saiga’s range and its populations have been severely affected by socio‐political and land use changes over the last century, related to the formation and dissolution of the Soviet Union. We identified ecological drivers of saiga migration, compared four populations in terms of differences in the geographical characteristics of their ranges and the factors affecting habitat selection within the seasonal ranges. Location Kazakhstan and pre‐Caspian Russia. Methods Using 40 years of direct observations, we tested for differences between the four saiga populations’ ranges in terms of precipitation, seasonal productivity and topographical variables using discriminant analyses. We tested hypotheses concerning the drivers of migration to their seasonal ranges and assessed the impact of peak and average values and the predictability of drivers of habitat use within the seasonal ranges using logistic regressions. Results Three of the four populations migrate in a similar way, following a latitudinal gradient driven by seasonal changes in productivity, which is closely related to broad‐scale differences in precipitation. Intermediate productivity and its low interannual variability determine habitat selection within the seasonal ranges of all the populations. Main conclusions Migration of all four populations is driven by productivity and precipitation. The migrations in Kazakhstan are still intact despite major recent disruption to the populations, whereas their status in the pre‐Caspian region is unknown. All four populations are under severe threat from habitat loss, poaching, lack of protection and gaps in ecological knowledge. A better understanding of the drivers of saiga migration at multiple scales is a key step towards addressing these threats.

show abstract

“…, 2003). It has two subspecies, the nominate subspecies S. t. tatarica in Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and the Mongolian saiga S. t. mongolica in Mongolia (Kholodova et al. , 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tracking greenery across a latitudinal gradient in central Asia – the migration of the saiga antelope

Singh

Grachev

Bekenov

et al. 2010

Diversity and Distributions

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…It is somewhat surprising that even species like the Tibetan gazelle (Procapra picticaudata) or the critically endangered Saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica) yielded considerably higher levels of genetic variability than the goitered gazelles in the present study. Even in the endangered (and until recently critically endangered) Przewalski's gazelle (Procapra przewalskii) -which is now confined to six isolated subpopulations around the Qinghai Lake in China and comprises only a few Kholodova et al (2006) n I /n H is the average number of individuals per haplotype, bp (polym. sites) refers to the number of base pairs analysed and the number of polymorphic sites found in the sequence.…”

Section: Article In Pressmentioning

confidence: 99%

First genetic analysis of a free-living population of the threatened goitered gazelle (Gazella subgutturosa)

et al. 2010

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…We also observed low genetic diversity and divergence in the mtDNA markers among the populations, which was consistent with the microsatellite results. Kholodova et al [19][20][21] carried out a series of works in wild saiga based on mtDNA data during 2001-2006. They took out an approximately 450 bp fragment of the mtDNA control region to compare the diversity of saiga from Kalmykia and Mongolia.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA assessment of the genetic diversity of captive Saiga antelopes (Saiga tatarica) in China

Zhao

Liu

et al. 2013

Chin. Sci. Bull.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

To estimate the genetic diversity of the only captive Saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica) population in China, 40 umbilical cord samples were collected and mitochondrial (control region) and nuclear (microsatellite) variabilities were assessed. Both of the markers revealed low genetic variability (or high genetic homogeneity) within the population. The microsatellites yielded monitoring ranges of 2-6 alleles. The observed heterozygosities ranged from 0.28 to 0.83, and the expected heterozygosities were between 0.27 and 0.71. The Shannon information index (Shannon I) and Polymorphic Information Content (PIC) presented overall means of 0.87 and 0.43, respectively. The gene diversity was 0.49. We found only two haplotypes in the population, and the haplotype and nucleotide diversities were 39.1% and 1.13%, respectively. Founder events, bottlenecks and inbreeding have contributed to the low genetic variation observed in this population. Our findings revealed the extent of genetic diversity maintained in the present population and the urgency of implementing a protection plan, introducing animals from other populations to enhance saiga's genetic variation.Saiga tatarica, microsatellite, mitochondrial DNA, genetic diversity, bottleneck Citation:Zhao S S, Xu C Q, Liu G, et al. Microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA assessment of the genetic diversity of captive Saiga antelopes (Saiga tatarica) in

show abstract

Mitochondrial DNA variation and population structure of the Critically Endangered saiga antelope Saiga tatarica

Cited by 23 publications

References 18 publications

Tracking greenery across a latitudinal gradient in central Asia – the migration of the saiga antelope

Tracking greenery across a latitudinal gradient in central Asia – the migration of the saiga antelope

First genetic analysis of a free-living population of the threatened goitered gazelle (Gazella subgutturosa)

Microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA assessment of the genetic diversity of captive Saiga antelopes (Saiga tatarica) in China

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About