Dataset Information

Extinctions, genetic erosion and conservation options for the black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis).

ABSTRACT: The black rhinoceros is again on the verge of extinction due to unsustainable poaching in its native range. Despite a wide historic distribution, the black rhinoceros was traditionally thought of as depauperate in genetic variation, and with very little known about its evolutionary history. This knowledge gap has hampered conservation efforts because hunting has dramatically reduced the species' once continuous distribution, leaving five surviving gene pools of unknown genetic affinity. Here we examined the range-wide genetic structure of historic and modern populations using the largest and most geographically representative sample of black rhinoceroses ever assembled. Using both mitochondrial and nuclear datasets, we described a staggering loss of 69% of the species' mitochondrial genetic variation, including the most ancestral lineages that are now absent from modern populations. Genetically unique populations in countries such as Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Mozambique, Malawi and Angola no longer exist. We found that the historic range of the West African subspecies (D. b. longipes), declared extinct in 2011, extends into southern Kenya, where a handful of individuals survive in the Masai Mara. We also identify conservation units that will help maintain evolutionary potential. Our results suggest a complete re-evaluation of current conservation management paradigms for the black rhinoceros.

SUBMITTER: Moodley Y

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5296875 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Extinctions, genetic erosion and conservation options for the black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis).

Moodley Yoshan Y Russo Isa-Rita M IM Dalton Desiré L DL Kotzé Antoinette A Muya Shadrack S Haubensak Patricia P Bálint Boglárka B Munimanda Gopi K GK Deimel Caroline C Setzer Andrea A Dicks Kara K Herzig-Straschil Barbara B Kalthoff Daniela C DC Siegismund Hans R HR Robovský Jan J O'Donoghue Paul P Bruford Michael W MW

Scientific reports 20170208

The black rhinoceros is again on the verge of extinction due to unsustainable poaching in its native range. Despite a wide historic distribution, the black rhinoceros was traditionally thought of as depauperate in genetic variation, and with very little known about its evolutionary history. This knowledge gap has hampered conservation efforts because hunting has dramatically reduced the species' once continuous distribution, leaving five surviving gene pools of unknown genetic affinity. Here we ...[more]

PMID: 28176810

Similar Datasets

Project description:Gut microbiota are essential to nutrient metabolism and the maintenance of hindgut health. The characterization of faecal bacterial communities from healthy individuals is important for the establishment of baseline data that can be compared to periods of gut dysbiosis. Diet is a key determinant of the faecal microbial community structure and generation of volatile fatty acids, a main energy source for the host. While rhinoceroses are herbivores, black rhinoceroses are browsers and white rhinoceroses are grazers. The objective of our study was to characterize and compare diets, faecal bacterial communities, nutrients and metabolites between and amongst Southern white rhinoceroses and Southern black rhinoceroses (n = 3 rhinos/species) managed at Disney's Animal Kingdom® . Faecal bacterial communities were similar between individual white rhinos and dissimilar between species and individual black rhinos. Faecal butyrate and propionate molar proportions and concentrations were greater in black rhinos than white rhinos, whereas lactate was greater in white rhinos. The Shannon diversity, total operational taxonomic units, and relative abundance of Firmicutes were greater in white than black rhinos. The relative abundance of Proteobacteria in faeces from black rhinos was 3-fold greater than from white rhinos. One black rhino had a greater relative abundance of Verrucomicrobia (7.45 ± 1.31%) than all other individual rhinos (0.01-1.37%). White rhinoceroses demonstrated similar abundances of bacterial phyla and communities between one another and by individual, while black rhinoceroses were more dissimilar by individual. The dissimilarities between black rhinos were suspected to be due to total diet consumption variability, including browse diversity, and lack of direct contact. In contrast, the white rhinos commingled (i.e. nose-to-nose contact) and consumed similar amounts of hay, pellets and training items. These results suggest that species-specific diets and the individual contribute to differences in faecal bacterial communities, nutrients and metabolites between black and white rhinos housed at the same institution.

Project description:Cases of tuberculosis (TB) resulting from infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) have been recorded in captive white (Ceratotherium simum) and black (Diceros bicornis) rhinoceros. More recently, cases have been documented in free-ranging populations of both species in bovine tuberculosis (bTB) endemic areas of South Africa. There is limited information on risk factors and transmission patterns for MTBC infections in African rhinoceros, however, extrapolation from literature on MTBC infections in other species and multi-host systems provides a foundation for understanding TB epidemiology in rhinoceros species. Current diagnostic tests include blood-based immunoassays but distinguishing between subclinical and active infections remains challenging due to the lack of diagnostic techniques. In other species, demographic risk factors for MTBC infection include sex and age, where males and adults are generally at higher risk than females and younger individuals. Limited available historical information reflects similar age- and sex-associated patterns for TB in captive black and white rhinoceros, with more reports of MTBC-associated disease in black rhinoceros than in white rhinoceros. The degree of MTBC exposure in susceptible wildlife depends on their level of interaction, either directly with other infected individuals or indirectly through MTBC contaminated environments, which is dependent on the presence and abundance of infected reservoir hosts and the amount of MTBC shed in their excreta. Captive African rhinoceros have shown evidence of MTBC shedding, and although infection levels are low in free-ranging rhinoceros, there is a risk for intraspecies transmission. Free-ranging rhinoceros in bTB endemic areas may be exposed to MTBC from other infected host species, such as the African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) and greater kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros), through shared environmental niches, and resource co-utilization. This review describes current knowledge and information gaps regarding the epidemiology of TB in African rhinoceros.

Dataset Information

Extinctions, genetic erosion and conservation options for the black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis).

Publications

Extinctions, genetic erosion and conservation options for the black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis).

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets