Genomic Analysis of Demographic History and Ecological Niche Modeling in the Endangered Sumatran Rhinoceros Dicerorhinus sumatrensis.

ABSTRACT: The vertebrate extinction rate over the past century is approximately 22-100 times greater than background extinction rates [1], and large mammals are particularly at risk [2, 3]. Quaternary megafaunal extinctions have been attributed to climate change [4], overexploitation [5], or a combination of the two [6]. Rhinoceroses (Family: Rhinocerotidae) have a rich fossil history replete with iconic examples of climate-induced extinctions [7], but current pressures threaten to eliminate this group entirely. The Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) is among the most imperiled mammals on earth. The 2011 population was estimated at ≤216 wild individuals [8], and currently the species is extirpated, or nearly so, throughout the majority of its former range [8-12]. Understanding demographi

SUBMITTER: Mays HL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5894340 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature