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Inferring Pongo conservation units: a perspective based on microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA analyses

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Abstract

In order to define evolutionarily significant and management units (ESUs and MUs) among subpopulations of Sumatran (Pongo pygmaeus abelii) and Bornean (P. p. pygmaeus) orangutans we determined their genetic relationships. We analyzed partial sequences of four mitochondrial genes and nine autosomal microsatellite loci of 70 orangutans to test two hypotheses regarding the population structure within Borneo and the genetic distinction between Bornean and Sumatran orangutans. Our data show Bornean orangutans consist of two genetic clusters—the western and eastern clades. Each taxon exhibits relatively distinct mtDNA and nuclear genetic distributions that are likely attributable to genetic drift. These groups, however, do not warrant designations as separate conservation MUs because they demonstrate no demographic independence and only moderate genetic differentiation. Our findings also indicate relatively high levels of overall genetic diversity within Borneo, suggesting that observed habitat fragmentation and erosion during the last three decades had limited influence on genetic variability. Because the mtDNA of Bornean and Sumatran orangutans are not strictly reciprocally monophyletic, we recommend treating these populations as separate MUs and discontinuing inter-island translocation of animals unless absolutely necessary.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by research allocations (awarded to S.K.) from the Sarawak State Government, Malaysia, the California National Primate Research Center and the Veterinary Genetics Laboratory, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, for primate population genetics research. The authors also wish to thank Andrea Von Dollen and Ona Alminas for their technical assistance, and Meagan Sutherland and Clint Pells for their aid in this manuscript. We are grateful to Professor Balbir Singh, a faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences Department, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak for his laboratory space for microsatellite and sequencing analyses and the State Government of Sarawak and Federal Government, Malaysia for permitting the sampling of the Sarawak animals. We thank the following facilities for providing us with samples ex gratia: Stephen J. O’Brien Laboratory, Laboratory of Genomic Diversity, National Cancer Institute at Frederick Cancer Research and Development, Frederick, MD; Audubon Zoo, New Orleans, LA; Birmingham Zoo, Alabama Zoological Society, Birmingham, AL; Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Colorado Springs, CO; Brookfield Zoo, Chicago Zoological Society, Brookfield, IL; Marine World USA, Vallejo, CA; Miami Metro Zoo, Miami, FL; San Francisco Zoological Garden, San Francisco, CA; St. Louis Zoo, St. Louis, MO; Woodland Park Zoological Gardens, Seattle WA; Yerkes Primate Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA; Center for Reproduction of Endangered Species (CRES), San Diego Zoo, San Diego, CA; Memphis Zoo, Memphis, TN; Little Rock Zoo, Little Rock, AR; Ft. Wayne Children’s Zoo, Ft. Wayne, IN; Oregon Zoo, Portland, OR; and the Orangutan Species Survival Plan coordinator, Lori Perkins. Finally, we would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments in editing this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. California National Primate Research Center and the Department of Anthropology, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA, 95616, USA

    Sreetharan Kanthaswamy & David Glenn Smith

  2. Veterinary Genetics Laboratory, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA, 95616, USA

    Jennifer D. Kurushima

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  1. Sreetharan Kanthaswamy
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Correspondence to Sreetharan Kanthaswamy.

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Kanthaswamy, S., Kurushima, J.D. & Smith, D.G. Inferring Pongo conservation units: a perspective based on microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA analyses. Primates 47, 310–321 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-006-0191-y

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