Historic Sampling of a Vanishing Beast: Population Structure and Diversity in the Black Rhinoceros.

ABSTRACT: The black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis L.) is a critically endangered species historically distributed across sub-Saharan Africa. Hunting and habitat disturbance have diminished both its numbers and distribution since the 19th century, but a poaching crisis in the late 20th century drove them to the brink of extinction. Genetic and genomic assessments can greatly increase our knowledge of the species and inform management strategies. However, when a species has been severely reduced, with the extirpation and artificial admixture of several populations, it is extremely challenging to obtain an accurate understanding of historic population structure and evolutionary history from extant samples. Therefore, we generated and analyzed whole genomes from 63 black rhinoceros museum specimens colle

SUBMITTER: Sanchez-Barreiro F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10500089 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature