Dataset Information

Genetic diversity of North American captive-born gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla).

ABSTRACT: Western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) are designated as critically endangered and wild populations are dramatically declining as a result of habitat destruction, fragmentation, diseases (e.g., Ebola) and the illegal bushmeat trade. As wild populations continue to decline, the genetic management of the North American captive western lowland gorilla population will be an important component of the long-term conservation of the species. We genotyped 26 individuals from the North American captive gorilla collection at 11 autosomal microsatellite loci in order to compare levels of genetic diversity to wild populations, investigate genetic signatures of a population bottleneck and identify the genetic structure of the captive-born population. Captive gorillas had significantly higher levels of allelic diversity (t(7) = 4.49, P = 0.002) and heterozygosity (t(7) = 4.15, P = 0.004) than comparative wild populations, yet the population has lost significant allelic diversity while in captivity when compared to founders (t(7) = 2.44, P = 0.04). Analyses suggested no genetic evidence for a population bottleneck of the captive population. Genetic structure results supported the management of North American captive gorillas as a single population. Our results highlight the utility of genetic management approaches for endangered nonhuman primate species.

SUBMITTER: Simons ND

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3568845 | biostudies-other | 2012 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Genetic diversity of North American captive-born gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla).

Simons Noah D ND Wagner Ronald S RS Lorenz Joseph G JG

Ecology and evolution 20120101 1

Western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) are designated as critically endangered and wild populations are dramatically declining as a result of habitat destruction, fragmentation, diseases (e.g., Ebola) and the illegal bushmeat trade. As wild populations continue to decline, the genetic management of the North American captive western lowland gorilla population will be an important component of the long-term conservation of the species. We genotyped 26 individuals from the North Americ ...[more]

PMID: 23403930

Similar Datasets

Project description:Identification of units within species worthy of separate management consideration is an important area within conservation. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) surveys can potentially contribute to this by identifying phylogenetic and population structure below the species level. The American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) is broadly distributed throughout the Neotropics. Its numbers have been reduced severely with the species threatened throughout much of its distribution. In Colombia, the release of individuals from commercial captive populations has emerged as a possible conservation strategy that could contribute to species recovery. However, no studies have addressed levels of genetic differentiation or diversity within C. acutus in Colombia, thus complicating conservation and management decisions. Here, sequence variation was studied in mtDNA cytochrome b and cytochrome oxidase I gene sequences in three Colombian captive populations of C. acutus. Two distinct lineages were identified: C. acutus-I, corresponding to haplotypes from Colombia and closely related Central American haplotypes; and C. acutus-II, corresponding to all remaining haplotypes from Colombia. Comparison with findings from other studies indicates the presence of a single "northern" lineage (corresponding to C. acutus-I) distributed from North America (southern Florida), through Central America and into northern South America. The absence of C. acutus-II haplotypes from North and Central America indicates that the C. acutus-II lineage probably represents a separate South American lineage. There appears to be sufficient divergence between lineages to suggest that they could represent two distinct evolutionary units. We suggest that this differentiation needs to be recognized for conservation purposes because it clearly contributes to the overall genetic diversity of the species. All Colombian captive populations included in this study contained a mixture of representatives of both lineages. As such, we recommend against the use of captive-bred individuals for conservation strategies until further genetic information is available.

Dataset Information

Genetic diversity of North American captive-born gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla).

Publications

Genetic diversity of North American captive-born gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla).

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets