Evidence of high inbreeding in a population of the endangered giant anteater, Myrmecophaga tridactyla (Myrmecophagidae), from Emas National Park, Brazil

Abstract

We report the genetic structure, relatedness and mating structure of a population of the endangered giant anteater Myrmecophaga tridactyla Linnaeus, 1758 in the Emas National Park, Brazil, based on variability at five microsatellite loci. Additionally, we addressed the hypothesis that the M. tridactyla population studied has low levels of polymorphism and high levels of inbreeding and relatedness and that animals with overlapping home range are highly related. All five microsatellite loci displayed low levels of polymorphism and of expected and observed heterozygosity. The low level of polymorphism and high inbreeding showed by the population studied may be the outcome of high mortality and reduction in population size due to recurrent fire events in the Emas National Park, as reported in 1994.The reduction in population size may have led to a higher frequency of mating between closely related animals, augmented by the isolation of the population in the park because of the expansion of agricultural land and fragmentation of the Cerrado environment. The natural history of M. tridactyla and the phylopatric (sex-biased dispersal) behavior of females should increase the effects of isolation and bottlenecking, decreasing gene flow and increasing inbreeding. However, the low levels of polymorphism found in this population may simply be due to the natural history and evolution of M. tridactyla as reported for other species. The genetic structure and dynamics of this population needs to be investigated more profoundly in order to provide sound data for the design of conservation strategies for M. tridactyla in the Emas National Park.

Molecular marker‐based pedigrees for animal conservation biologists

“…For example, they can be used in making estimates of inbreeding (e.g. Collevatti et al, 2007;Blackmore & Heinsohn, 2008;Richard et al, 2009), heritability (e.g. Garant & Kruuk, 2005;Charmantier et al, 2006) and gene flow (Zeyl et al, 2009).…”

Distribuição Histórica e Recente deMyrmecophaga tridactylaLinnaeus, 1758 (Pilosa, Myrmecophagidae) no Estado do Paraná, Brasil

“…obs., Merritt (2008). Such periodic concentrations of population associated with increased mortality may also contribute to the genetic bottlenecking described by (Collevatti et al 2007) and a source of error in population estimates.…”

“…Until the fourth month the maximum distance had increased to about 20m, with about 50 minutes per week spent at this distance, increasing to more than three hours by nine months of age. Collevatti et al (2007) reported high levels of inbreeding at PN Emas, Brazil, noting that animals with overlapping range were highly-related. They noted that the amount of inbreeding may have been an indirect result of catastrophic fires in the reserve in 1994, which left a population of just 43 animals, though they may just as likely be a result of the biology of the species.…”

Anatomia óssea do cíngulo pélvico, da coxa e da perna do tamanduá bandeira Myrmecophaga tridactyla (Myrmecophagidae: Pilosa)

“…Segundo Collevatti et al (2007), o tamanduá bandeira é a maior espécie de tamanduá do mundo e está amplamente distribuído na América Central e do Sul, apesar de sua ampla abrangência ter sido extinta em muitas áreas da sua original distribuição. Medri e Mourão (2005) afirmam que a distribuição dos tamanduás ocorre a partir do sul da Guatemala até o norte da Argentina, abarcando uma variedade de habitats nas altitudes baixas e podendo atingir altas densidades, onde seu alimento, que consiste principalmente de formigas e cupins, é abundante.…”