Utility of island populations in re‐introduction programmes – relationships betweenArabian gazelles (Gazella arabica) from theFarasanArchipelago and endangered mainland populations

Abstract

Understanding local adaptation and population differentiation is vital to the success of re-introduction initiatives. As other mammals living on islands, Arabian gazelles (G. arabica) show reduced body size on the Farasan archipelago, which we corroborated in this study through morphometric analyses of skulls. In the light of the steep population decline on the Arabian Peninsula – but stable population development on the archipelago – we tested the potential suitability of Farasan gazelles as a source for re-introductions on the mainland. We therefore investigated genetic differentiation between Farasan and mainland populations using eleven nuclear microsatellite loci and detected a distinct genetic cluster exclusively present on the archipelago, which we inferred to be separated from the mainland cluster for less than 2000 years. About 30% of sampled individuals from Farasan Islands showed assignment to a mainland cluster with signs of ongoing introgression. Analyses using the isolation-with-migration model confirmed recent (probably human-induced) bidirectional exchange of gazelles between mainland and island populations. Hence, the surprisingly uniform island dwarfism most likely reflects phenotypic plasticity, that is, altered morphology as a direct consequence of harsh environmental conditions and resource limitation on the archipelago. Should a further decline of Arabian gazelles on the mainland necessitate restocking in the future, Farasan gazelles may thus become an additional source for captive breeding programmes.

Preliminary Disease Survey of Domestic Ruminants on Farasan Islands, Saudi Arabia

“…The Farasan population is probably the largest in the world, and thus deserves particular conservation attention [5]. The emergence of zoonotic disease in humans and their domestic livestock and the interface between domestic animals and wildlife populations has become increasingly important in recent years, especially for species of high conservation value (the One Health approach, [6][7][8]). Both Toxoplasma gondii and Brucella spp.…”

Early and late fawn mortality in a remnant population of Arabian gazelles (Gazella arabica)

“…Effective conservation of threatened and endangered species requires identifying the main driver(s) of population decline (Caughley 1994). In recent decades, populations of Arabian gazelles were declining within their native range along the coastal plains and mountain ridges of the Arabian Peninsula (Thouless et al 1991(Thouless et al , 1997Mallon and Kingswood 2001;Strauss et al 2009;Lerp et al 2014;Al Hikmani et al 2015;Al Jahdhami et al 2017). These declines have prompted the IUCN Red list to classify the species as vulnerable (C2a,i; IUCN/SSC Antelope Specialist Group 2017).…”

Case 3660Antilope arabicaLichtenstein, 1827 (currentlyGazella arabica; Mammalia, Ruminantia): proposed conservation of part of the lectotype designated by Neumann (1906)

“…458-462;Morrison-Scott, 1939, p. 185;Harrison, 1968, pp. 350-353;Lange, 1972, p. 227;Kingdon, 1990, p. 141;Lerp et al, 2014).…”