Abstract
Gilbert's Potoroo isAustralia's most critically endangeredmarsupial, known from a single population inthe Two Peoples Bay National Park in WesternAustralia. We present results from a study ofgenetic variation in microsatellite andmitochondrial DNA. Mean heterozygosity at fivemicrosatellite loci was 49.3%, and the amountof mtDNA variation was extremely low (π =0.0004). There was evidence for a bottleneckin both sets of markers, and this wasconsistent with a demographic decline. Effective population size was estimated usingtwo different models of mutation formicrosatellites (N e = 243 and 362). The results from this study highlight theconcern for the long-term survival of thisspecies.
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Sinclair, E.A., Costello, B., Courtenay, J.M. et al. Detecting a genetic bottleneck in Gilbert's Potoroo (Potorous gilbertii) (Marsupialia: Potoroidae), inferred from microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA sequence data. Conservation Genetics 3, 191–196 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015228508714
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015228508714