Using Genetic Profiles of African Forest Elephants to Infer Population Structure,Movements, and Habitat Use in a Conservation and Development Landscape in Gabon |
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| Authors: | L S EGGERT R BUIJ M E LEE P CAMPBELL F DALLMEIER R C FLEISCHER A ALONSO J E MALDONADO |
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| Institution: | 1. Center for Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, , Washington, D.C., 20008 U.S.A.;2. Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, 226 Tucker Hall, , Columbia, MO, 65211 U.S.A.;3. Behavioural Ecology and Self‐organization, Centre for Life Sciences, University of Groningen, , The Netherlands;4. Center for Conservation Education and Sustainability, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, , Washington, DC, 20013 U.S.A.;5. Department of Zoology, Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU), University of Oxford, The Recanati‐Kaplan Centre, , Abingdon, OX13 5QL United Kingdom;6. Institut de Recherches en écologie Tropicale, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique et Technologique, , Libreville, Gabon;7. U. S. National Park Service, Inventory and Monitoring Program, , Washington, DC, 20013 U.S.A.;8. Department of Vertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, , Washington, DC, 20013 U.S.A. |
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| Abstract: | Conservation of wide‐ranging species, such as the African forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis), depends on fully protected areas and multiple‐use areas (MUA) that provide habitat connectivity. In the Gamba Complex of Protected Areas in Gabon, which includes 2 national parks separated by a MUA containing energy and forestry concessions, we studied forest elephants to evaluate the importance of the MUA to wide‐ranging species. We extracted DNA from elephant dung samples and used genetic information to identify over 500 individuals in the MUA and the parks. We then examined patterns of nuclear microsatellites and mitochondrial control‐region sequences to infer population structure, movement patterns, and habitat use by age and sex. Population structure was weak but significant, and differentiation was more pronounced during the wet season. Within the MUA, males were more strongly associated with open habitats, such as wetlands and savannas, than females during the dry season. Many of the movements detected within and between seasons involved the wetlands and bordering lagoons. Our results suggest that the MUA provides year‐round habitat for some elephants and additional habitat for others whose primary range is in the parks. With the continuing loss of roadless wilderness areas in Central Africa, well‐managed MUAs will likely be important to the conservation of wide‐ranging species. Utilización de Perfiles Genéticos de Elefantes Africanos para Inferir su Estructura Poblacional, Movimientos y Uso del Hábitat en un Paisaje con Conservación y Desarrollo en Gabón Resumenfgs |
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| Keywords: | connectivity conservation outside parks Loxodonta cyclotis multiple‐use areas noninvasive sampling á reas de uso mú ltiple conectividad conservació n afuera de parques Loxodonta cyclotis muestreo no invasivo |
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