Patterns of molecular genetic variation among African elephant populations

Kenine E. Comstock; Nicholas Georgiadis; Jill Pecon-Slattery; Alfred L. Roca; Elaine A. Ostrander; Stephen J. O'Brien; Samuel K. Wasser

doi:10.1046/j.1365-294X.2002.01615.x

Patterns of molecular genetic variation among African elephant populations

Kenine E. Comstock, Nicholas Georgiadis, Jill Pecon-Slattery, Alfred L. Roca, Elaine A. Ostrander, Stephen J. O'Brien, Samuel K. Wasser

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

The highly threatened African elephants have recently been subdivided into two species, Loxodonta africana (savannah or bush elephant) and L. cyclotis (forest elephant) based on morphological and molecular studies. A molecular genetic assessment of 16 microsatellite loci across 20 populations (189 individuals) affirms species level genetic differentiation and provides robust genotypic assessment of species affiliation. Savannah elephant populations show modest levels of phylogeographic subdivision based on composite microsatellite genotype, an indication of recent population isolation and restricted gene flow between locales. The savannah elephants show significantly lower genetic diversity than forest elephants, probably reflecting a founder effect in the recent history of the savannah species.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	2489-2498
Number of pages	10
Journal	Molecular ecology
Volume	11
Issue number	12
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-294X.2002.01615.x
State	Published - Dec 1 2002
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

African elephant
Microsatellites
Phylogeography

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Genetics

Online availability

10.1046/j.1365-294X.2002.01615.x

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AU - Comstock, Kenine E.

AU - Georgiadis, Nicholas

AU - Pecon-Slattery, Jill

AU - Roca, Alfred L.

AU - Ostrander, Elaine A.

AU - O'Brien, Stephen J.

AU - Wasser, Samuel K.

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Y1 - 2002/12/1

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Patterns of molecular genetic variation among African elephant populations

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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