Population genetics reveals high connectivity of giant panda populations across human disturbance features in key nature reserve

Qiao, Mu; Connor, Thomas; Xiaogang, Shi; Huang, Jie; Huang, Yan; Zhang, Hemin; Ran, Jianghong

doi:10.1002/ece3.4869

Cited by 19 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 74 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…However, in our estimation, G350 and S210 did not completely separate the big population into different subpopulations, which means giant pandas may cross these roads. Our results were supported by a recent large genetic study conducted in Wolong reserve (Qiao et al, 2019 ); Qiao et al ( 2019 ) found no significant genetic boundaries exists within panda population despite the national road G350 that bisects the Wolong nature reserve. They recorded four giant panda road‐crossing events within 1 year, indicating giant panda populations may be better connected than previously thought.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Identifying core habitats and corridors for giant pandas by combining multiscale random forest and connectivity analysis

Sun

Long

Jia

2022

Ecology and Evolution

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Habitat loss and fragmentation are widely acknowledged as the main driver of the decline of giant panda populations. The Chinese government has made great efforts to protect this charming species and has made remarkable achievements, such as population growth and habitat expansion. However, habitat fragmentation has not been reversed. Protecting giant pandas in a large spatial extent needs to identify core habitat patches and corridors connecting them. This study used an equal‐sampling multiscale random forest habitat model to predict a habitat suitability map for the giant panda. Then, we applied the resistant kernel method and factorial least‐cost path analysis to identify core habitats connected by panda dispersal and corridors among panda occurrences, respectively. Finally, we evaluated the effectiveness of current protected areas in representing core habitats and corridors. Our results showed high scale dependence of giant panda habitat selection. Giant pandas strongly respond to bamboo percentage and elevation at a relatively fine scale (1 km), whereas they respond to anthropogenic factors at a coarse scale (≥2 km). Dispersal ability has significant effects on core habitats extent and population fragmentation evaluation. Under medium and high dispersal ability scenarios (12,000 and 20,000 cost units), most giant panda habitats in the Qionglai mountain are predicted to be well connected by dispersal. The proportion of core habitats covered by protected areas varied between 38% and 43% under different dispersal ability scenarios, highlighting significant gaps in the protected area network. Similarly, only 43% of corridors that connect giant panda occurrences were protected. Our results can provide crucial information for conservation managers to develop wise strategies to safeguard the long‐term viability of the giant panda population.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Identifying core habitats and corridors for giant pandas by combining multiscale random forest and connectivity analysis

Sun

Long

Jia

2022

Ecology and Evolution

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Demographics for all pandas sampled in this study are shown in Table S1. Seven tetra-microsatellites including GPL-60, gpz-47, gpz-20, GPL-44, GPL-29, GPL-53, and gpz-6 were used to distinguish the wild individuals, and this DNA analysis was performed by Qiao et al, therefore the samples of wild giant pandas were from their research (Table S2) [25].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative Study of Gut Microbiota in Wild and Captive Giant Pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)

Guo

Mishra

Wang

et al. 2019

Genes

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Captive breeding has been used as an effective approach to protecting endangered animals but its effect on the gut microbiome and the conservation status of these species is largely unknown. The giant panda is a flagship species for the conservation of wildlife. With integrated efforts including captive breeding, this species has been recently upgraded from “endangered” to “vulnerable” (IUCN 2016). Since a large proportion (21.8%) of their global population is still captive, it is critical to understand how captivity changes the gut microbiome of these pandas and how such alterations to the microbiome might affect their future fitness and potential impact on the ecosystem after release into the wild. Here, we use 16S rRNA (ribosomal RNA) marker gene sequencing and shotgun metagenomics sequencing to demonstrate that the fecal microbiomes differ substantially between wild and captive giant pandas. Fecal microbiome diversity was significantly lower in captive pandas, as was the diversity of functional genes. Additionally, captive pandas have reduced functional potential for cellulose degradation but enriched metabolic pathways for starch metabolism, indicating that they may not adapt to a wild diet after being released into the wild since a major component of their diet in the wild will be bamboo. Most significantly, we observed a significantly higher level of amylase activity but a lower level of cellulase activity in captive giant panda feces than those of wild giant pandas, shown by an in vitro experimental assay. Furthermore, antibiotic resistance genes and virulence factors, as well as heavy metal tolerance genes were enriched in the microbiomes of captive pandas, which raises a great concern of spreading these genes to other wild animals and ecosystems when they are released into a wild environment. Our results clearly show that captivity has altered the giant panda microbiome, which could have unintended negative consequences on their adaptability and the ecosystem during the reintroduction of giant pandas into the wild.

show abstract

“…Eighteen fresh samples with mucosa were collected from 18 pandas which lived in the Wolong National Nature Reserve (wild group) based on freshness level. Individual genotypes were identified by Qiao et al (Qiao et al, 2019). The identification information is provided in Table 1.…”

Section: Sample Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gut microbiota in reintroduction of giant panda

Tang

Wang

Zhang

et al. 2020

Ecology and Evolution

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Reintroduction is a key approach in the conservation of endangered species. In recent decades, many reintroduction projects have been conducted for conservation purposes, but the rate of success has been low. Given the important role of gut microbiota in health and diseases, we questioned whether gut microbiota would play a crucial role in giant panda's wild-training process. The wild procedure is when captive-born babies live with their mothers in a wilderness enclosure and learn wilderness survival skills from their mothers. During the wild-training process, the baby pandas undergo wilderness survival tests and regular physical examinations.Based on their performance through these tests, the top subjects (age 2-3 years old) are released into the wild while the others are translocated to captivity. After release, we tracked one released panda (Zhangxiang) and collected its fecal samples for 5 months (January 16, 2013 to March 29 2014). Here, we analyzed the Illumina HiSeq sequencing data (V4 region of 16S rRNA gene) from captive pandas (n = 24), wild-training baby pandas (n = 8) of which 6 were released and 2 were unreleased, wild-training mother pandas (n = 8), one released panda (Zhangxiang), and wild giant pandas (n = 18). Our results showed that the gut microbiota of wild-training pandas is significantly different from that of wild pandas but similar to that of captive ones.The gut microbiota of the released panda Zhangxiang gradually changed to become similar to those of wild pandas after release. In addition, we identified several bacteria that were enriched in the released baby pandas before release, compared with the unreleased baby pandas. These bacteria include several known gut-health related beneficial taxa such as Roseburia, Coprococcus, Sutterella, Dorea, and Ruminococcus. Therefore, our results suggest that certain members of the gut microbiota may be important in panda reintroduction. K E Y W O R D SAiluropoda melanoleuca, giant panda, gut microbiota, reintroduction, wild-training | 1013 TANG eT Al.

show abstract

Population genetics reveals high connectivity of giant panda populations across human disturbance features in key nature reserve

Cited by 19 publications

References 74 publications

Identifying core habitats and corridors for giant pandas by combining multiscale random forest and connectivity analysis

Identifying core habitats and corridors for giant pandas by combining multiscale random forest and connectivity analysis

Comparative Study of Gut Microbiota in Wild and Captive Giant Pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)

Gut microbiota in reintroduction of giant panda

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About