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Development and characterization of 16 microsatellites for Hoffmann’s two-toed sloth, Choloepus hoffmanni

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Abstract

Hoffmann’s two-toed sloth (Choloepus hoffmanni) is an arboreal mammal found throughout the Neotropics. Due to its limited dispersal power and reliance on forested habitats, C. hoffmanni could serve as a model species for understanding the response of mammals to land cover change. To better understand sloth life history and their response to tropical forest fragmentation and loss, we developed and characterized 16 polymorphic microsatellite markers. We tested each locus with 16–23 C. hoffmanni individuals sampled in northeastern Costa Rica. The number of alleles per locus ranged from three to seven, while mean observed heterozygosity was 0.56 and ranged from 0.33 to 0.75. All loci met Hardy–Weinberg expectations and none of the loci exhibited significant linkage disequilibrium. The microsatellite markers developed herein will be used to investigate dispersal rates and gene flow among habitat patches in Costa Rica, as well as provide insights into the life history of two-toed sloths.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded through a cooperative agreement between the Milwaukee Public Museum and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The authors thank Genetic Identification Services for assistance in microsatellite library development.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 53706, USA

    Wynne E. Moss, Jonathan N. Pauli, Christopher Vaughan, Geovanny Herrera & M. Zachariah Peery

  2. Escuela de Biología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica

    Gustavo A. Gutiérrez

  3. Milwaukee Public Museum, Milwaukee, WI, 53233, USA

    Allen M. Young

  4. Associated Colleges of the Midwest, San Pedro, Costa Rica

    Christopher Vaughan

Authors
  1. Wynne E. Moss
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  2. Jonathan N. Pauli
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  3. Gustavo A. Gutiérrez
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  4. Allen M. Young
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  5. Christopher Vaughan
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  6. Geovanny Herrera
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  7. M. Zachariah Peery
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jonathan N. Pauli.

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Moss, W.E., Pauli, J.N., Gutiérrez, G.A. et al. Development and characterization of 16 microsatellites for Hoffmann’s two-toed sloth, Choloepus hoffmanni . Conservation Genet Resour 3, 625–627 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12686-011-9419-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12686-011-9419-2

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