Study on the current population and habitat of the wild Chinese alligator ( Al ligator sinensis )

BJohn, Thorbjarnarson; TScott, McMurry; Wang, Xiaoming; Ding, Yao; He, Lan; Min, Shao; Wanshu, Xie

doi:10.17520/biods.2001016

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…A destructive anthropogenic disturbance may be important factor in the contraction of Chinese alligator populations from 1.5 ka BP onwards, thus providing possible reasons for the population isolation (Figure 3c ). Contemporary N e is still decreasing, at least partly implying a genomic consequence of the declining census population size in recent years (Ding et al, 2001 ; Ding & Wang, 2004 ), raising concerns for the long‐term survival of wild populations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At present, no more than 100 mature Chinese alligators remain in the wild, with a fragmented distribution in Xuancheng, Jingxian, Guangde, Nanling, and Longxi, five narrow regions in Anhui Province (Jiang & Wu, 2018 ). According to a census data, their age structure is unbalanced and egg laying performance has declined in the wild populations (Ding et al, 2001 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Genomic investigation of the Chinese alligator reveals wild‐extinct genetic diversity and genomic consequences of their continuous decline

Yang

Zhang

Wang

et al. 2022

Molecular Ecology Resources

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Critically endangered species are usually restricted to small and isolated populations. High inbreeding without gene flow among populations further aggravates their threatened condition and reduces the likelihood of their long‐term survival. Chinese alligator (Alligator sinensis) is one of the most endangered crocodiles in the world and has experienced a continuous decline over the past c. 1 million years. In order to identify the genetic status of the remaining populations and aid conservation efforts, we assembled the first high‐quality chromosome‐level genome of Chinese alligator and explored the genomic characteristics of three extant breeding populations. Our analyses revealed the existence of at least three genetically distinct populations, comprising two breeding populations in China (Changxing and Xuancheng) and one breeding population in an American wildlife refuge. The American population does not belong to the last two populations of its native range (Xuancheng and Changxing), thus representing genetic diversity extinct in the wild and provides future opportunities for genetic rescue. Moreover, the effective population size of these three populations has been continuously declining over the past 20 ka. Consistent with this decline, the species shows extremely low genetic diversity, a large proportion of long runs of homozygous fragments, and mutational load across the genome. Finally, to provide genomic insights for future breeding management and conservation, we assessed the feasibility of mixing extant populations based on the likelihood of introducing new deleterious alleles and signatures of local adaptation. Overall, this study provides a valuable genomic resource and important genomic insights into the ecology, evolution, and conservation of critically endangered alligators.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genomic investigation of the Chinese alligator reveals wild‐extinct genetic diversity and genomic consequences of their continuous decline

Yang

Zhang

Wang

et al. 2022

Molecular Ecology Resources

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Genetic diversity of Chinese alligator (Alligator sinensis) revealed by AFLP analysis: an implication on the management of captive conservation

et al. 2006

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Chinese alligator (Alligator sinensis) is one of the most critically endangered species among 23 extant crocodiles in the world. To prevent the extinction of the species, a captive propagation started at early 1980s, and the total number of alligator was brought up to 10 thousands from dozens of founder in 2000. But several genetic investigations showed those alligators were under an extremely low genetic diversity status with few detectible polymorphic loci. To get more insight into its genetic diversity for the management of captive Chinese alligator, AFLP was adopted to characterize variations in the population. Total of 347 bands were generated from 47 individuals using 3 primer combinations, of which 203 (58.50%) were polymorphic, and 35 AFLP phenotypes were revealed from those individuals. Comparing the results between RAPD and AFLP analysis on almost same sample set clearly indicated that AFLP is more efficient in revealing polymorphic loci, especially in those populations with extremely low genetic diversity. In present three assays, electrophoresis profile also displayed 3 individuals possessing very highly polymorphic AFLP phenotypes that were never been found by RAPD and mtDNA D-loop sequencing, implicating that we should offer these individuals more breeding opportunities to maintain the genetic diversity in the population and restrict those carrying few polymorphic loci from reproduction

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The Major Threatening Factors on Approaching Extinction Population of Wild Chinese Alligator

Gui

Xing

2008

2008 International Conference on BioMedical Engineering and Informatics

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Study on the current population and habitat of the wild Chinese alligator ( Al ligator sinensis )

Cited by 5 publications

References 0 publications

Genomic investigation of the Chinese alligator reveals wild‐extinct genetic diversity and genomic consequences of their continuous decline

Genomic investigation of the Chinese alligator reveals wild‐extinct genetic diversity and genomic consequences of their continuous decline

Genetic diversity of Chinese alligator (Alligator sinensis) revealed by AFLP analysis: an implication on the management of captive conservation

The Major Threatening Factors on Approaching Extinction Population of Wild Chinese Alligator

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