Pan-India population genetics signifies the importance of habitat
connectivity for wild Asian elephant conservation
Rahul De, Reeta Sharma, Priya Davidar, et al.Global Ecology and
ConservationDecember 2021Abstract
Asian elephants are endangered while they have faced ~70% population
decline in India in the last 60 years. Climate change projections indicate
exacerbation of ongoing habitat loss (>40%) by 2070, potentially impacting
genetic structure of wild elephants across India. Therefore, we provide
consolidated baseline data on genetic diversity and structure of elephants
across four eco-regions of India, i.e., north-western (NW), north-eastern
(NE), east-central (ECI), and southern India (SI), to identify populations
at greater risk of further divergence. We genotyped 169 faecal samples
across 14 microsatellites with 90.0% overall success rate. The genetic
diversity levels were moderate and varied between the eco-regions (HE
=0.57–0.74). Allelic richness was higher in NE (3.73–3.78) and SI
(3.62–3.71). We observed a high inbreeding coefficient in NE
(FIS=0.55–0.58) compared to the other elephant populations, probably due to
the presence of related individuals in our samples. Genetic differentiation
between populations using FST statistics (FST=0.06–0.18) was significant.
Bayesian and multivariate analyses identified three major genetic clusters
in India – NW, NE, and combined ECI-SI, mostly consistent with their
geographic distribution. We also observed an unexpected pattern of high
genetic distance between adjacent populations. This fine-scale genetic
structure suggests the presence of barriers (natural and anthropogenic) and
complex social organisation. Additionally, incipient sub-structuring within
NE and SI indicates potential genetic discontinuity. These results
highlight the importance of maintaining genetic diversity, particularly of
NE and ECI populations, by retaining habitat connectivity and ensuring gene
flow for effective elephant conservation in India.
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