Seed dispersal kernel of the largest surviving megaherbivore-the African savanna elephant

ABSTRACTThe dispersal of AfricanAcaciaseeds in the presence and absence of large mammalian herbivores and ostriches was assessed in a savanna ecosystem in South Africa. In the absence of large herbivores,A. tortilisandA. niloticapods were mainly dispersed in the shade, directly beneath the tree crown and seeds remained in pods for over 18 months. In the presence of large herbivores,A. tortilis, A. niloticaandA. karrooseeds were freed from pods and were dispersed into open, non-shaded habitats. Impala dispersed mostA. tortilisseeds (18,900 ha−1), giraffe mostA. niloticaseeds (1060 ha−1) and giraffe and kudu mostA. karrooseeds (452 and 448 ha−1, respectively). Seedling survival in dung in open environments may exceed that of seedlings in soil shaded beneath the tree crown. It appears that seed dispersal by large herbivores may be advantageous to future seedling recruitment.

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Peer Review #1 of "Harvesting and chewing as constraints to forage consumption by the African savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana) (v0.1)"

10.7287/peerj.2469v0.1/reviews/1 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

A Shrader

Keyword(s):

Peer Review ◽

Loxodonta Africana ◽

African Savanna ◽

Savanna Elephant

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FATAL ENCEPHALOMYOCARDITIS VIRUS INFECTION IN AN AFRICAN SAVANNA ELEPHANT (LOXODONTA AFRICANA) IN A FRENCH ZOO

Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine ◽

10.1638/2014-0132r1.1 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 46 (2) ◽

pp. 393-396 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Benjamin Lamglait ◽

Antoine Joris ◽

Aurore Romey ◽

Labib Bakkali-Kassimi ◽

Karin Lemberger

Keyword(s):

Virus Infection ◽

Loxodonta Africana ◽

Encephalomyocarditis Virus ◽

African Savanna ◽

Savanna Elephant

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Distinguishing extant elephants ivory from mammoth ivory using a short sequence of cytochrome b gene

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-019-55094-x ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jacob Njaramba Ngatia ◽

Tian Ming Lan ◽

Yue Ma ◽

Thi Dao Dinh ◽

Zhen Wang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Target Sequence ◽

African Savanna ◽

Large Gene ◽

Copy Numbers ◽

African Forest Elephant ◽

Savanna Elephant ◽

Clear Identification ◽

Elephant Ivory ◽

Forest Elephant ◽

Woolly Mammoth

AbstractTrade in ivory from extant elephant species namely Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), African savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana) and African forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis) is regulated internationally, while the trade in ivory from extinct species of Elephantidae, including woolly mammoth, is unregulated. This distinction creates opportunity for laundering and trading elephant ivory as mammoth ivory. The existing morphological and molecular genetics methods do not reliably distinguish the source of ivory items that lack clear identification characteristics or for which the quality of extracted DNA cannot support amplification of large gene fragments. We present a PCR-sequencing method based on 116 bp target sequence of the cytochrome b gene to specifically amplify elephantid DNA while simultaneously excluding non-elephantid species and ivory substitutes, and while avoiding contamination by human DNA. The partial Cytochrome b gene sequence enabled accurate association of ivory samples with their species of origin for all three extant elephants and from mammoth. The detection limit of the PCR system was as low as 10 copy numbers of target DNA. The amplification and sequencing success reached 96.7% for woolly mammoth ivory and 100% for African savanna elephant and African forest elephant ivory. This is the first validated method for distinguishing elephant from mammoth ivory and it provides forensic support for investigation of ivory laundering cases.

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