Evolutionary insights on critically endangered Kashmir red deer or hangul (Cervus hanglu hanglu) through a mitogenomic lens
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Ahmad K
PROVIDER: S-EPMC10590573 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:Ungulates living in seasonal environments adopt complex life history strategies to cope with pronounced temporal and spatial variability in environmental conditions and resource availability. Understanding the reproductive strategies of slow-breeding mountain ungulates and the associated stress, particularly in the context of human- and climate-induced changes, is crucial to devising effective long-term management and conservation strategies. We investigated the patterns in reproductive seasonality and stress in hangul in Kashmir Himalaya, India. We used fecal metabolites of estradiol (FEMs), progesterone (FPMs), testosterone (FAMs), and glucocorticoids (FGMs) to discern reproductive stages and stress levels. We showed that female hangul exhibited dispersed mating and birth patterns, while males experienced a more synchronized rutting season from October to December. Elevated FPM levels in females from January to March suggested pregnancies, with low levels in April indicating parturition. Both females and males exhibited a mating-related rise in FGM levels (interpreted as stress hereafter). Females also showed parturition-related stress in April and May. The spike in stress levels of both sexes in May is probably due to the disturbances from migratory livestock herders' movements which needs further investigation. The study generates a baseline for captive breeding programs in the future. It suggests minimizing the anthropogenic disturbances during the times of mating and parturition, both being critical for the population growth of this critically endangered species.
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Project description:The hangul (Cervus elaphus hanglu) is of great conservation concern because it represents the easternmost and only hope for an Asiatic survivor of the red deer species in the Indian subcontinent. Despite the rigorous conservation efforts of the Department of Wildlife Protection in Jammu & Kashmir, the hangul population has experienced a severe decline in numbers and range contraction in the past few decades. The hangul population once abundant in the past has largely become confined to the Dachigam landscape, with a recent population estimate of 218 individuals. We investigated the genetic variability and demographic history of the hangul population and found that it has shown a relatively low diversity estimates when compared to other red deer populations of the world. Neutrality tests, which are used to evaluate demographic effects, did not support population expansion, and the multimodal pattern of mismatch distribution indicated that the hangul population is under demographic equilibrium. Furthermore, the hangul population did not exhibit any signature of bottleneck footprints in the past, and Coalescent Bayesian Skyline plot analysis revealed that the population had not experienced any dramatic changes in the effective population size over the last several thousand years. We observed a strong evidence of sub-structuring in the population, wherein the majority of individuals were assigned to different clusters in Bayesian cluster analysis. Population viability analysis demonstrated insignificant changes in the mean population size, with a positive growth rate projected for the next hundred years. We discuss the phylogenetic status of hangul for the first time among the other red deer subspecies of the world and strongly recommend to upgrade hangul conservation status under IUCN that should be discrete from the other red deer subspecies of the world to draw more conservation attention from national and international bodies.
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