10.5061/DRYAD.D4M07
Mondol, Samrat
University of Washington
Moltke, Ida
University of Chicago
Hart, John
University of Chicago
Keigwin, Michael
University of Washington
Brown, Lisa
University of Washington
Stephens, Matthew
University of Chicago
Wasser, Samuel K.
University of Washington
Data from: New evidence for hybrid zones of forest and savanna elephants
in Central and West Africa
Dryad
dataset
2015
Habitat Degradation
Genetic population structure
Loxodonta africana cyclotis
Elephant hybridization
forest elephant
savanna elephant
Loxodonta africana africana
2015-11-13T20:34:50Z
2015-11-13T20:34:50Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.13472
419026 bytes
1
CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
The African elephant consists of forest and savanna subspecies. Both
subspecies are highly endangered due to severe poaching and habitat loss,
and knowledge of their population structure is vital to their
conservation. Previous studies have demonstrated marked genetic and
morphological differences between forest and savanna elephants and despite
extensive sampling, genetic evidence of hybridization between them has
been restricted largely to a few hybrids in the Garamba region of
northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Here we present new
genetic data on hybridization from previously unsampled areas of Africa.
Novel statistical methods applied to these data identify 46 hybrid samples
- many more than have been previously identified - only two of which are
from the Garamba region. The remaining 44 are from three other
geographically-distinct locations: a major hybrid zone along the border of
the DRC and Uganda, a second potential hybrid zone in Central African
Republic, and a smaller fraction of hybrids in the Pendjari-Arli complex
of West Africa. Most of the hybrids show evidence of interbreeding over
more than one generation, demonstrating that hybrids are fertile.
Mitochondrial and Y chromosome data demonstrate that the hybridization is
bidirectional, involving males and females from both subspecies. We
hypothesize that the hybrid zones may have been facilitated by poaching
and habitat modification. The localized geography and rarity of hybrid
zones, their possible facilitation from human pressures, and the high
divergence and genetic distinctness of forest and savanna elephants
throughout their ranges, are consistent with calls for separate species
classification.
1369hybridprob+structureGlobal hybrid analysis giving hybrid probabilities
and structure ancestry1295structureresultsStructure results used to
determine groupings for parameter
estimationsZoomin1hybridprob+structureResults of zoom-in hybrid
probabilities and structure ancestry for DRC-Uganda region (Box C, Fig
1)Zoomin2hybridprob+structureResults of zoom-in hybrid probabilities and
structure ancestry for western portion of Central Africa region (Box D,
Fig 1)1395genotypes_updatedGenotypes of all samples used in analyses,
along with location codes and sample typesregionfileLatitude and longitude
for each location code, accompanies genotype fileMondol et al. 2015-
Elephant mtDNA dataSequence alignment file with 526 bp mitochondrial
partial control region sequences of both forest, savanna and hybrid
elephants. This file contains sequences of pure reference African forest
and savanna elephants and Asian elephants from Genbank, along with
sequences generated through this study from pure (forest and savanna) and
hybrid elephants. Total 125 sequences are aligned in this file.Mondol et
al. 2015- Elephant Y-Chromosome dataSequence alignment file with 719 bp Y
Chromosome partial sequences of both forest, savanna and hybrid elephants.
This file contains sequences of pure reference African forest and savanna
elephants and Asian elephants from Genbank, along with sequences generated
through this study from pure (forest and savanna) and hybrid elephants.
Total 91 sequences are aligned in this file.
Subsaharan Africa