scholarly journals Imperial trophy or island relict? A new extinction paradigm for Père David's deer: a Chinese conservation icon

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (10) ◽  
pp. 171096 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel T. Turvey ◽  
Ian Barnes ◽  
Melissa Marr ◽  
Selina Brace
Keyword(s):  
Dna Analysis ◽  
Hainan Island ◽  
Ecological Data ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Term Survival ◽  
Proactive Management ◽  
Southern Chinese ◽  
Final Population ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Père David’S Deer

Determining the ‘dynamic biogeography’ of range collapse in threatened species is essential for effective conservation, but reconstruction of spatio-temporal patterns of population vulnerability and resilience can require use of non-standard ecological data such as historical archives. Père David's deer or milu, one of the few living mammal species that has become extinct in the wild, is historically known only from a small captive herd of unknown provenance that survived until 1900 in the Imperial Hunting Park near Beijing, from which all living individuals are descended. Using ancient DNA analysis, we demonstrate that two fawns collected in 1868 from Hainan Island, off the southern Chinese mainland, represent the only known wild milu specimens and were sampled from probably the last wild population. The Hainan milu population shows extremely low genetic differentiation from descendants of the Beijing herd, suggesting that this now-extinct population may have been the source of the captive herd. This revised extinction model refutes the supposed long-term survival of a captive milu herd for centuries or millennia after final extinction of wild populations, highlighting the vulnerability of remnant mammal populations in the absence of proactive management and the importance of historical museum collections for providing unique new insights on evolution, biogeography and conservation. Milu experienced a pattern of final population persistence on an island at the periphery of their former range, consistent with the ‘range eclipse’ or ‘contagion’ model of range collapse, and matching the spatial extinction dynamics of other extinct mammals such as the thylacine and woolly mammoth.

scholarly journals No correlation between neonatal fitness and heterozygosity in a reintroduced population of Père David’s deer

2013 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 249-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Zeng ◽  
Chunwang Li ◽  
Linyuan Zhang ◽  
Zhenyu Zhong ◽  
Zhigang Jiang
Keyword(s):  
Birth Weight ◽  
Neonatal Mortality ◽  
Microsatellite Loci ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Species Of Conservation Concern ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Père David’S Deer ◽  
Genetic Bottlenecks ◽  
Conservation Concern

Abstract Considering the severe impacts of genetic bottlenecks and small numbers of founders in populations of reintroduced animals, it is necessary to study inbreeding and its effect on fitness in species of conservation concern. Père David’s deer is one of few large mammal species extinct in the wild but safely preserved in captivity. Its specific background gives us the opportunity to study the relationships between heterozygosity and neonatal fitness in relocated populations. We employed five microsatellite loci to explore heterozygosity-fitness correlations in a population of Père David’s deer at the Beijing Milu Ecological Research Center. We observed associations between microsatellite-based variables sMLH, IR, MD2 and HL, and two components of fitness expressed early in life (birth weight and the neonatal mortality of 123 Père David’s deer calves born over six consecutive years). We found that neonatal mortality was 19.1% ± 7.6%, not higher than the 19% or 18% reported in other ungulates. The heterozygosity of calves was not associated with neonatal mortality, nor birth weight. Our study implies that low genetic variability of microsatellite loci has no overt effect on birth weight and neonatal mortality in reintroduced populations of Père David’s deer.

scholarly journals Microsatellite analysis reveals low genetic diversity in managed populations of the critically endangered gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) in India

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Surya Prasad Sharma ◽  
Mirza Ghazanfarullah Ghazi ◽  
Suyash Katdare ◽  
Niladri Dasgupta ◽  
Samrat Mondol ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Indian Subcontinent ◽  
Population Decline ◽  
Mitochondrial Control Region ◽  
Critically Endangered ◽  
Term Survival ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Genetic Status ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Gavialis Gangeticus

AbstractThe gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) is a critically endangered crocodylian, endemic to the Indian subcontinent. The species has experienced severe population decline during the twentieth century owing to habitat loss, poaching, and mortalities in passive fishing. Its extant populations have largely recovered through translocation programmes initiated in 1975. Understanding the genetic status of these populations is crucial for evaluating the effectiveness of the ongoing conservation efforts. This study assessed the genetic diversity, population structure, and evidence of genetic bottlenecks of the two managed populations inhabiting the Chambal and Girwa Rivers, which hold nearly 80% of the global gharial populations. We used seven polymorphic nuclear microsatellite loci and a 520 bp partial fragment of the mitochondrial control region (CR). The overall mean allelic richness (Ar) was 2.80 ± 0.40, and the observed (Ho) and expected (He) heterozygosities were 0.40 ± 0.05 and 0.39 ± 0.05, respectively. We observed low levels of genetic differentiation between populations (FST = 0.039, P < 0.05; G’ST = 0.058, P < 0.05 Jost’s D = 0.016, P < 0.05). The bottleneck analysis using the M ratio (Chambal = 0.31 ± 0.06; Girwa = 0.41 ± 0.12) suggested the presence of a genetic bottleneck in both populations. The mitochondrial CR also showed a low level of variation, with two haplotypes observed in the Girwa population. This study highlights the low level of genetic diversity in the two largest managed gharial populations in the wild. Hence, it is recommended to assess the genetic status of extant wild and captive gharial populations for planning future translocation programmes to ensure long-term survival in the wild.

A report on the hybridization between two species of threatened Asian box turtles (Testudines: Cuora) in the wild on Hainan Island (China) with comments on the origin of 'serrata'-like turtles

2005 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 377-381 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Brian Simison ◽  
Jichao Wang ◽  
Shiping Gong ◽  
Binglong Fu ◽  
Haitao Shi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hainan Island ◽  
Box Turtles ◽  
In The Wild

scholarly journals Monitoring invasive mammalian predator populations sharing habitat with the Critically Endangered Puerto Rican parrot Amazona vittata

Oryx ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Engeman ◽  
Desley Whisson ◽  
Jessica Quinn ◽  
Felipe Cano ◽  
Pedro Quiñones ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Puerto Rican ◽  
Habitat Type ◽  
Critically Endangered ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Forest Sites ◽  
The World ◽  
Mammalian Predators ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Amazona Vittata ◽  
Black Rats

Critically Endangered Puerto Rican parrots Amazona vittata are one of the rarest birds in the world. Several exotic mammal species capable of preying on Puerto Rican parrots cohabit the Caribbean National Forest with the only wild population of these parrots. We used tracking plates, monitoring blocks and trapping to index black rats, small Indian mongooses and feral cats in parrot habitat and in public-use areas in the same habitat type. We had high trap success for black rats at all sites (42% of all sites combined), among the highest reported in the world. Rat response to monitoring (nontoxic bait) blocks was universally high, regardless of ground or tree placement. Mongooses were present at all sites, with a greater proportion of plates tracked within the forest than at public-use sites. Cats were present at all forest sites and one of the public-use sites. Presence of the three species did not appear to be linked to human disturbance. Because only 30–40 Puerto Rican parrots survive in the wild, with as few as three pairs nesting in 2002, we concluded that the abundance and pervasiveness of exotic mammalian predators poses a greater threat to the parrots than has been generally acknowledged. This is evidenced by mammalian predation during recent parrot breeding seasons, including six fledglings taken by mongooses and one nest failure from rats during 2000–2003.

scholarly journals Reproductive performance of the Antarctic tardigrades, Acutuncus antarcticus (Eutardigrada: Hypsibiidae), revived after being frozen for over 30 years and of their offspring

2019 ◽  
Vol 188 (3) ◽  
pp. 839-847
Author(s):  
Megumu Tsujimoto ◽  
Hiroshi Kagoshima ◽  
Hiroshi Kanda ◽  
Kenichi Watanabe ◽  
Satoshi Imura
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Performance ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Dna Analysis ◽  
Term Survival ◽  
Long Term Survival ◽  
Genetic Types ◽  
Genetic Sequences ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Generation Offspring

Abstract Studies on the long-term survival of animals often focus on the specific instance of survival of animals only, and descriptions of subsequent reproduction are generally not reported. In this study, we recorded the reproductive performance of the first-generation offspring of the resuscitated individual (SB-1) and the hatchling of the resuscitated egg (SB-3) of the Antarctic tardigrade, Acutuncus antarcticus, after being frozen for 30.5 years. By providing further detailed description of the reproduction of SB-1 and SB-3 after revival, and then comparing the reproductive performance with that of their first-generation offspring, the possible indications of the damage accrued during the long-term preservation in SB-1 and SB-3 were more specifically detected. Additionally, the DNA analysis revealed two distinctively different mitochondrial genetic sequences of A. antarcticus between the SB strains and the LSW strain. The observed differences in some of the reproductive parameters between the two genetic types suggested a possible relationship between the life-history traits and genetic type in the species A. antarcticus. Further experiments using the SB-1 and SB-3 strains reared for a long period to exclude the instant effect of preservation are expected to improve our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the long-term survival of animals.

Phylogeography of the endangered black-breasted leaf turtle (Geoemyda spengleri) and conservation implications for other chelonians

2009 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haitao Shi ◽  
Yunming Mo ◽  
Markus Auer ◽  
Mario Vargas-Ramírez ◽  
Anna Hundsdörfer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Southern China ◽  
Hainan Island ◽  
Sister Group ◽  
Ex Situ ◽  
Phylogeographic Structure ◽  
Northern Vietnam ◽  
Conservation Implications ◽  
Mitochondrial Haplotypes ◽  
Southern Chinese

AbstractKnown-locality samples of Geoemyda spengleri from three Chinese provinces (Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan) and northern Vietnam provide clear evidence for phylogeographic structure in a southern Chinese chelonian species. Within southern China two clades of mitochondrial haplotypes from east and west of the Xi Jiang together form the sister group to haplotypes from northern Vietnam. Turtles from Hainan Island harbour haplotypes of the same clade as turtles from Guangxi, 400 km distant. These findings suggest that phylogeographic differentiation may have once existed in other co-distributed, highly endangered chelonian species. The possibility of phylogeographic structure should be considered in any in-situ and ex-situ conservation program for Chinese chelonians.

scholarly journals Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma – Update and Present Management Controversies

2006 ◽  
Vol 88 (5) ◽  
pp. 433-438 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahir Al-Rawi ◽  
Malcolm H Wheeler
Keyword(s):  
Thyroid Carcinoma ◽  
Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma ◽  
Dna Analysis ◽  
Residual Disease ◽  
Surgical Techniques ◽  
Nuclear Imaging ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Term Survival ◽  
Medullary Thyroid ◽  
Pubmed Database

INTRODUCTION Medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) is a rare thyroid malignancy arising from the parafollicular C cells. It accounts for 5–10% of thyroid malignancies and occurs in sporadic and hereditary forms. There are still many controversial aspects relating to the diagnosis and management of this unusual tumour in its various forms. The present article addresses the more important of these issues. METHODS A literature review was performed using Pubmed database combined with additional original papers obtained from citations in those articles identified in the original literature search. Only those articles which related specifically to the controversial issues addressed in this review were included. RESULTS Genetically determined tumours constitute approximately 25% of MTC and have special clinical interest because of their association with other endocrinopathies including phaeochromocytoma and hyperparathyroidism in the multiple endocrine neoplasia syndromes (MEN IIa and MEN IIb). Familial medullary thyroid carcinoma (FMTC) is a rare form not associated with any other endocrinopathies. The genetic basis for these familial tumours derives from a series of missense germline mutations in the RET proto-oncogene. Genetic testing by DNA analysis facilitates identification of family members at risk who can now be offered early ‘prophylactic thyroidectomy’ with an increased prospect of surgical success and long-term survival. MTC is a tumour which does not take up radioactive iodine, is relatively radioresistant and poorly responsive to chemotherapy. Therefore, surgery is the only treatment which can offer the prospect of cure. Total thyroidectomy with central and lateral nodal dissection can achieve biochemical cure (normocalcitonaemia) in more than 80% of cases. Compartmental orientated microdissection of cervical nodes has significantly improved the results of primary surgery but even so a group of 20% of patients will prove to have recurrent or residual disease. These cases require detailed investigation by a variety of techniques including ultrasound, cross-sectional imaging, nuclear imaging and laparoscopy with liver biopsy to exclude disseminated disease and select those patients who can be offered a prospect of cure by further neck surgery. Such an approach may be associated with successful normalisation of calcitonin levels in about 40%. CONCLUSIONS It is hoped that in the near future new medical therapies may become available to treat MTC which still has a 10-year survival of only 60–80% in spite of the application of meticulous surgical techniques.

scholarly journals The Critically Endangered Myanmar snub-nosed monkey Rhinopithecus strykeri found in the Salween River Basin, China

Oryx ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 134-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yin Yang ◽  
Ying-Ping Tian ◽  
Chen-Xiang He ◽  
Zhipang Huang ◽  
Shao-Hua Dong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
River Basin ◽  
Infrared Camera ◽  
Critically Endangered ◽  
Term Survival ◽  
Transect Sampling ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Disturbed Forest ◽  
Endangered Status ◽  
Salween River

AbstractThe Myanmar snub-nosed monkey Rhinopithecus strykeri was discovered in 2010 on the western slopes of the Gaoligong Mountains in the Irrawaddy River basin in Myanmar and subsequently in the same river basin in China, in 2011. Based on 2 years of surveying the remote and little disturbed forest of the Gaoligong Mountains National Nature Reserve in China, with outline transect sampling and infrared camera monitoring, a breeding group comprising > 70 individuals was found on the eastern slopes of the Gaoligong Mountains in the Salween River Basin. Given the Critically Endangered status of this primate (a total of < 950 individuals are estimated to remain in the wild), efforts to protect the relatively undisturbed habitat of this newly discovered population and to prevent hunting are essential for the long-term survival of this species.

The molecular identification of Calodium hepaticum in the wild brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) in Poland

2017 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Buńkowska-Gawlik ◽  
Agnieszka Perec-Matysiak ◽  
Klaudia Burzyńska ◽  
Joanna Hildebrand
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Identification ◽  
Rattus Norvegicus ◽  
Parasitic Nematode ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
First Finding ◽  
Calodium Hepaticum ◽  
Brown Rat ◽  
In The Wild

Abstractis a parasitic nematode found primarily in rodents but known to infect numerous other mammal species, and causing in humans the hepatic calodiasis. Herein, we present the first finding of

scholarly journals DNA analysis of Huntington's disease in southern Chinese.

1995 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 120-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
V Chan ◽  
Y L Yu ◽  
T P Chan ◽  
B Yip ◽  
C M Chang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Huntington's Disease ◽  
Huntington’S Disease ◽  
Dna Analysis ◽  
Southern Chinese
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document