No longer locally extinct? Tracing the origins of a lion (Panthera leo) living in Gabon

Lions ( Panthera leo ) are of particular conservation concern due to evidence of recent, widespread population declines in what has hitherto been seen as a common species, robust to anthropogenic disturbance. Here we use non-invasive methods to recover complete mitochondrial genomes from single hair...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Conservation genetics 2018-06, Vol.19 (3), p.611-618
Main Authors: Barnett, Ross, Sinding, Mikkel-Holder S., Vieira, Filipe G., Mendoza, Marie Lisandra Zepeda, Bonnet, Matthieu, Araldi, Alessandro, Kienast, Ivonne, Zambarda, Alice, Yamaguchi, Nobuyuki, Henschel, Philipp, Gilbert, M. Thomas P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal Genetics and Genomics
Animal populations
Anthropogenic factors
Biodiversity
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Conservation
Conservation Biology/Ecology
Deoxyribonucleic acid
DNA
Ecology
Evolutionary Biology
Genomes
Life Sciences
Mitochondria
Panthera leo
Plant Genetics and Genomics
Population decline
Populations
Research Article
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Summary:Lions ( Panthera leo ) are of particular conservation concern due to evidence of recent, widespread population declines in what has hitherto been seen as a common species, robust to anthropogenic disturbance. Here we use non-invasive methods to recover complete mitochondrial genomes from single hair samples collected in the field in order to explore the identity of the Gabonese Plateaux Batéké lion. Comparison of the mitogenomes against a comprehensive dataset of African lion sequences that includes relevant geographically proximate lion populations from both contemporary and ancient sources, enabled us to identify the Plateaux Batéké lion as a close maternal relative to now extirpated populations found in Gabon and nearby Congo during the twentieth century, and to extant populations of Southern Africa. Our study demonstrates the relevance of ancient DNA methods to field conservation work, and the ability of trace field samples to provide copious genetic information about free-ranging animals.
ISSN:1566-0621
1572-9737
DOI:10.1007/s10592-017-1039-2