Wild Gazelles of the Southern Levant: Genetic Profiling Defines New Conservation Priorities

Abstract

The mountain gazelle (Gazella gazelle), Dorcas gazelle (Gazella Dorcas) and acacia gazelle (Gazella arabica acacia) were historically abundant in the southern Levant, and more specifically in Israel. Anthropogenic and natural changes have caused a rapid decline in gazelle populations, raising concerns about their conservation status and future survival. The genetic profile of 111 wild gazelles from Israel was determined based on three regions of mitochondrial DNA (control region, Cytochrome b and 12S ribosomal RNA) and nine nuclear microsatellite markers. Genetic analysis of the mountain gazelle population, the largest known population of this rare species, revealed adequate diversity levels and gene flow between subpopulations. Nevertheless, ongoing habitat degradation and other human effects, such as poaching, suggest the need for drastic measures to prevent species extinction. Dorcas gazelles in Israel displayed inbreeding within subpopulations while still maintaining considerable genetic diversity overall. This stable population, represented by a distinctive genetic profile, is fragmented and isolated from its relatives in neighboring localities. Based on the genetic profile of a newly sampled subpopulation in Israel, we provide an alternative hypothesis for the historic dispersal of Dorcas gazelle, from the Southern Levant to northern Africa. The small acacia gazelle population was closest to gazelles from the Farasan Islands of Saudi Arabia, based on mitochondrial markers. The two populations did not share haplotypes, suggesting that these two populations may be the last remnant wild gazelles of this species worldwide. Only a dozen acacia gazelles survive in Israel, and urgent steps are needed to ensure the survival of this genetically distinctive lineage. The genetic assessments of our study recognize new conservation priorities for each gazelle species in the Southern Levant.

Palghat gap reveals presence of two diverged populations of Nilgiri tahr (Nilgiritragus hylocrius) in Western Ghats, India

“…Gazella arabica acacia (Hd, 0.327; p 0.0051) and Ovis ammon (p 0.0054). The explanation provided for the low genetic diversity in Ovis ammon was recent population divergence (Tserenbataa et al 2004), whereas Gazella arabica acacia has been found to have gone through population bottleneck being restricted to a small area (Hadas et al 2015). In Nilgiri tahr, F ST value between the populations (F ST =1) suggests there is no sharing of genetic material (Table 1).…”

Factors driving Arabian gazelles (Gazella arabica) in Israel to extinction: time series analysis of population size and juvenile survival in an unexploited population

“…2a). Recent phylogenetic and morphological investigations, however, favoured the division of this species complex into two species: G. arabica and G. gazella (Wronski et al 2010;Bärmann et al 2013a, b;Lerp et al 2013;Hadas et al 2015).…”

“…Despite tremendous management efforts to reverse the decreasing population trend of G. arabica in the Yotvata NR and numerous research projects to improve conservation of the species (Blank 1996(Blank , 2000(Blank , 2001(Blank , 2005Hadas et al 2015), there is still an ongoing debate on what factors shape the population growth of Arabian gazelles in Israel. Israel is the only country within the species distribution range, in which illegal hunting is not the main reason for its decline.…”

Cattle grazing effects on mountain gazelles in Mediterranean natural landscapes

“…Mountain gazelle ( Gazella gazella ) populations have declined over the past 30 years from an estimated 15,000 in 1985 (Dolev and Perevolotsky ) to <3,000 in 2014 (Hadas et al ). Studies on mountain gazelle have suggested that the primary cause of the population decline is illegal hunting, increased predation risk from wild carnivores and feral dogs, or landscape degradation (Manor and Saltz , ; Gingold et al ).…”

“…Studies on mountain gazelle have suggested that the primary cause of the population decline is illegal hunting, increased predation risk from wild carnivores and feral dogs, or landscape degradation (Manor and Saltz , ; Gingold et al ). Recent studies on mountain gazelle genetics indicate that the mountain gazelle is a distinct species, and its greatest densities are in Israel (Hadas et al ). From these findings mountain gazelles were recognized by authorities as endangered, and have raised the need to improve our understanding of how human‐dominated landscapes affect survival and distribution of this species.…”