Genetic differences between the two remaining wild populations of the endangered Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis)

Rhinoceroses are among the most endangered mammals in the world. Despite a recent increase in numbers in most wild populations, poaching or political instability may exterminate large populations very quickly. Therefore, captive or ex situ rhinoceros populations can play an important role in their conservation. Previous studies identified infant mortality and interbirth intervals among the main parameters affecting the viability and survival of rhinoceros populations. In our study, we tested the recently suggested prediction that in captive Indian rhinoceros Rhinoceros unicornis, longer interbirth intervals may result in higher infant mortality. We also examined the factors that are the main predictors of infant mortality and interbith intervals using the studbook data on Indian rhinoceros born in zoos worldwide as well as data from Dudhwa National Park, India, where rhinoceroses were successfully reintroduced. We found no association between interbirth intervals and infant mortality. In both populations, the main predictor of infant mortality was mother’s parity, with higher mortality in calves born to primiparous mothers. In addition, we found that the interbirth intervals were shorter in zoos than in Dudhwa and that they increased with increase in age of the mother, which was the only factor affecting interbirth interval in both populations. Our results show that the same factors affect both parameters in both populations and thus illustrate that the reproduction and infant survival of Indian rhinoceros in zoos reflect the natural pattern. Furthermore, we suggest that in captivity, the interbirth intervals could be slightly prolonged to approach the situation in the wild.

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“…(2014) . In line with the suggestion of Rookmaaker (2002) and Zschokke et al. (2011) , we considered male s tb.…”

Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 89%

“…In line with the suggestion of Rookmaaker (2002) and Zschokke et al. (2011) , we considered male s tb. n. 157 as of Nepal origin and labeled all his descendants in Patna Zoo as “outbred.” We removed all interbirth intervals that were shorter than 450 days (shorter than the gestation period for the species; Lang et al.…”

Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 89%

Interbirth intervals are associated with age of the mother, but not with infant mortality in Indian rhinoceroses

et al. 2016

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“…; Zschokke et al. ). Under such circumstances, the untenable assumption of constant population size is most likely to yield upwardly biased N e / N ratios.…”

Section: Trends In Published Empirical Estimatesmentioning

confidence: 98%

Effective/census population size ratio estimation: a compendium and appraisal

Palstra

Fraser

2012

Ecology and Evolution

248

308

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With an ecological-evolutionary perspective increasingly applied toward the conservation and management of endangered or exploited species, the genetic estimation of effective population size (Ne) has proliferated. Based on a comprehensive analysis of empirical literature from the past two decades, we asked: (i) how often do studies link Ne to the adult census population size (N)? (ii) To what extent is Ne correctly linked to N? (iii) How readily is uncertainty accounted for in both Ne and N when quantifying Ne/N ratios? and (iv) how frequently and to what degree might errors in the estimation of Ne or N affect inferences of Ne/N ratios? We found that only 20% of available Ne estimates (508 of 2617; 233 studies) explicitly attempted to link Ne and N; of these, only 31% (160 of 508) correctly linked Ne and N. Moreover, only 7% (41 of 508) of Ne/N ratios (correctly linked or not) reported confidence intervals for both Ne and N; for those cases where confidence intervals were reported for Ne only, 31% of Ne/N ratios overlapped with 1, of which more than half also reached below Ne/N = 0.01. Uncertainty in Ne/N ratios thus sometimes spanned at least two orders of magnitude. We conclude that the estimation of Ne/N ratios in natural populations could be significantly improved, discuss several options for doing so, and briefly outline some future research directions.

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“…At the same time as our work was being developed, Moss et al 2012 The low levels of genetic diversity found within AFCS population are not reflected by inbreeding signs, but are similar to populations that have suffered drastic population bottlenecks and founder effects (Olivieri et al 2008;Zschokke et al 2011;Sonsthagen et al 2012).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 61%

“…Considering two AF populations, the northeastern common sloth population (AFNE) present levels of genetic diversity similar to the species' AMZ population, but the AF central/southern population (AFCS) had the lowest genetic diversity values of all subsets, even lower than other mammalian threatened species (e.g. Razafindrakoto et al 2008;Neuwald et al 2010;Zschokke et al 2011), including the Bahia's maned sloth and the pygmy sloth populations herein analyzed. Unexpectedly, we could only describe four polymorphic microsatellite markers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Contribuições para a conservação de Bradypus variegatus (preguiça comum): processos históricos e demográficos moldando a diversidade nuclear

Silva¹

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pág. IX Capítulo 1. Introdução Geral pág. 1 Capítulo 2. Divide to conquer: a complex pattern of biodiversity depicted by vertebrate components in the Brazilian Atlantic forest pág. 16 Capítulo 3. Study of populations as biodiversity components: the common and the endangered Bradypus sloths pág. 41 Capítulo 4. Bradypus variegatus' (common sloth) demography as a model to study the Brazilian Atlantic forest past bridges, paths and processes pág. 70 Capítulo 5. The consequences of using the most polymorphic microsatellites on wildmammals' genetic diversity estimates. pág. 95 Capítulo 6. Towards a standard framework to describe behaviors in the common sloth (Bradypus variegatus): novel interactions data observed in distinct fragments of the Atlantic forest, Brazil pág. 116 Capítulo 7. Contribution of governmental centers for wildlife to study the biology of sloths (Bradypus variegatus) in Brazilian anthropogenic habitats pág. 125 Capítulo 8. Discussão Geral e Conclusões pág. 137

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Genetic differences between the two remaining wild populations of the endangered Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis)

Cited by 17 publications

References 43 publications

Interbirth intervals are associated with age of the mother, but not with infant mortality in Indian rhinoceroses

Interbirth intervals are associated with age of the mother, but not with infant mortality in Indian rhinoceroses

Effective/census population size ratio estimation: a compendium and appraisal

Contribuições para a conservação de Bradypus variegatus (preguiça comum): processos históricos e demográficos moldando a diversidade nuclear

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