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Genetic diversity, population genetic structure and demographic history of Przewalski’s gazelle (Procapra przewalskii): implications for conservation

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Abstract

The Przewalski’s gazelle (Procapra przewalskii) is one of the most endangered antelope species in the world. It is endemic to China and is a flagship species in the eastern part of the Qinghai–Tibet plateau. To establish effective conservation measures on this species, genetic information such as genetic structure is needed. However, there has not been a comprehensive genetic assessment on this gazelle using nuclear DNA markers yet. Here, we employed 13 microsatellite loci to investigate genetic diversity, population genetic structure and demographic history of Przewalski’s gazelle using noninvasive samples of 169 wild gazelles collected from nine populations. A total of 76 alleles were detected from the entire samples, mean allele number was 5.85, and overall H O and H E were 0.525 and 0.552, respectively. Structure and GENELAND analyses found six genetic groups in the nine populations. Between the inferred genetic groups, significant genetic differentiation and low migration rates were detected. Demographic analyses indicated that Przewalski’s gazelle experienced genetic bottleneck and severe population decline, with the ancestral effective population size reducing to less than one percent. Based on the results of this study, we provide several conservation recommendations for Przewalski’s gazelle, such as six management units, periodic monitoring and special conservation consideration on the Qiejitan population.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the Science and Technology Supporting Project, Ministry of Science and Technology, China (2008BAC39B04), the National Natural Sciences Foundation of China (No. 31070469) and the Sir Peter Scott Fund of SSC/IUCN. We thank Zhihe Ang, Ping Lu, Danjia Ang and Zhongqiu Li for their assistance in sample collections. We also thank Yan Zeng, Fangfang Zhang and Chunwang Li for their advice on this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 1-5 Beichen West Road, Beijing, 100101, China

    Ji Yang & Zhigang Jiang

  2. Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 19 (A) Yuquan Road, Beijing, 100049, China

    Ji Yang & Zhigang Jiang

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  1. Ji Yang
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  2. Zhigang Jiang
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Correspondence to Zhigang Jiang.

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Yang, J., Jiang, Z. Genetic diversity, population genetic structure and demographic history of Przewalski’s gazelle (Procapra przewalskii): implications for conservation. Conserv Genet 12, 1457–1468 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-011-0244-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-011-0244-7

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