Naturally rare versus newly rare: demographic inferences on two timescales inform conservation of Galapagos giant tortoises.

ABSTRACT: Long-term population history can influence the genetic effects of recent bottlenecks. Therefore, for threatened or endangered species, an understanding of the past is relevant when formulating conservation strategies. Levels of variation at neutral markers have been useful for estimating local effective population sizes (N e ) and inferring whether population sizes increased or decreased over time. Furthermore, analyses of genotypic, allelic frequency, and phylogenetic information can potentially be used to separate historical from recent demographic changes. For 15 populations of Galápagos giant tortoises (Chelonoidis sp.), we used 12 microsatellite loci and DNA sequences from the mitochondrial control region and a nuclear intron, to reconstruct demographic history on shallow (past ∽100 g

SUBMITTER: Garrick RC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4328771 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature