Demographic loss, genetic structure and the conservation implications for Indian tigers.

ABSTRACT: India is home to approximately 60 per cent of the world's remaining wild tigers, a species that has declined in the last few centuries to occupy less than 7 per cent of its former geographical range. While Indian tiger numbers have somewhat stabilized in recent years, they remain low and populations are highly fragmented. Therefore, the application of evidence-based demographic and genetic management to enhance the remaining populations is a priority. In this context, and using genetic data from historical and modern tigers, we investigated anthropogenic impacts on genetic variation in Indian tigers using mitochondrial and nuclear genetic markers. We found a very high number of historical mitochondrial DNA variants, 93 per cent of which are not detected in modern populations. Population di

SUBMITTER: Mondol S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3673047 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature