The contrasting genetic patterns of two sympatric flying fox species from the Comoros and the implications for conservation

Autor: Pablo Tortosa, Claudine Montgelard, Véronique Arnal, Ali Cheha, Gildas Le Minter, Said Ali Ousseni Dhurham, Aurélien Besnard, Erwan Lagadec, Mohamed Thani Ibouroi
Přispěvatelé: Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-École pratique des hautes études (EPHE), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM)-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro), Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud]), AgroParisTech, Groupe d’Intervention pour le Développement Durable, Partenaires INRAE, Université de La Réunion (UR), Comoros Department of the Environment and Forests, the University of Comoros, for granting permission on Anjouan, Mohéli and Grande Comore to carry out our field work and export samples (N° 002/KM/15/DNEF), Research Support Grant from the Rufford Foundation (Grant Number 19010-1 to Ali Cheha)
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2018
Předmět:
Zdroj: Conservation Genetics
Conservation Genetics, Springer Verlag, 2018, 19 (6), pp.1425-1437. ⟨10.1007/s10592-018-1111-6⟩
ISSN: 1566-0621
1572-9737
Popis: International audience; Pteropus livingstonii and Pteropus seychellensis comorensis are endemic fruit bat species that are among the most threatened animals in the Comoros archipelago. Both species are pollinators and seed dispersers of native and cultivated plants and are thus of crucial importance for the regeneration of natural forests as well as for cultivated plantations. However, these species are subject to strong anthropogenic pressures and face one of the highest rates of natural habitat loss reported worldwide. Yet little is known about the population genetic structure of these two species, making it difficult to define relevant conservation strategies. In this study, we investigated for the two flying fox species (1) the level of genetic diversity within islands, as well as across the archipelago and (2) the genetic structure between the two islands (Anjouan and Moheli) for P. livingstonii and between the four islands of the archipelago (Anjouan, Moheli, Grande Comore and Mayotte) for P. s. comorensis using mitochondrial and microsatellite markers. The results revealed contrasting patterns of genetic structure, with P. s. comorensis showing low genetic structure between islands, whereas P. livingstonii exhibited high levels of inter-island genetic differentiation. Overall, the genetic analyses showed low genetic diversity for both species. These contrasting genetic patterns may be the result of different dispersal patterns and the populations' evolutionary histories. Our findings lead us to suggest that in terms of conservation strategy, the two populations of P. livingstonii (on Anjouan and Moheli islands) should be considered as two separate management units. We recommend focusing conservation efforts on the Anjouan population, which is the largest, exhibits the highest genetic diversity, and suffers the greatest anthropogenic pressure. As for P. s. comorensis, its four populations could be considered as a single unit for conservation management purposes. For this species, we recommend protecting roosting trees to reduce population disturbance.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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