Journal
MOLECULAR ECOLOGY
Volume 26, Issue 22, Pages 6463-6477Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/mec.14378
Keywords
climate change; comparative phylogeography; Gabon; microsatellites; mitochondrial DNA; population genetics
Funding
- Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
- Mohammed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund
- National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant [1010574]
- Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens Conservation Support Fund
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Wildlife Without Borders Program [96200-1-G003]
- Conservation, Food and Health Foundation
- Idea Wild Foundation
- St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park
- IUCN/SSC Crocodile Specialist Group
- AZA Crocodilian Advisory Group
- Minnesota Zoo
- Fresno Chaffee Zoo
- San Diego Zoological Society
- Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
- Oklahoma City Zoo
- Aspinall Foundation
- Wildlife Conservation Society
- WWF
- Division Of Environmental Biology
- Direct For Biological Sciences [1010574] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The mid-Holocene has had profound demographic impacts on wildlife on the African continent, although there is little known about the impacts on species from Central Africa. Understanding the impacts of climate change on codistributed species can enhance our understanding of ecosystem dynamics and for formulating restoration objectives. We took a multigenome comparative approach to examine the phylogeo-graphic structure of two poorly known Central African crocodile species-Mecistops sp. aff. cataphractus and Osteolaemus tetraspis. In addition, we conducted coalescent-based demographic reconstructions to test the hypothesis that population decline was driven by climate change since the Last Glacial Maximum, vs. more recent anthropogenic pressures. Using a hierarchical Bayesian model to reconstruct demographic history, we show that both species had dramatic declines (>97%) in effective population size in the period following the Last Glacial Maximum 1,500-18,000 YBP. Identification of genetic structuring showed both species have similar regional structure corresponding to major geological features (i.e., hydrologic basin) and that small observed differences between them are best explained by the differences in their ecology and the likely impact that climate change had on their habitat needs. Our results support our hypothesis that climatic effects, presumably on forest and wetland habitat, had a congruent negative impact on both species.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available