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Journal article
Saving the mountain bongo (Tragelaphus eurycerus isaaci): assessment of the genetic status of captive bongos as a source for genetic reinforcement of wild populations
Fewer than 140 individuals of the rare and critically endangered mountain bongo (Tragelaphus eurycerus isaaci) remain in the wild. This population has eroded genetic diversity, with only two haplotypes detected with mitochondrial DNA markers. The genetic diversity of mountain bongos from the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP) was assessed for...O’Donoghue, P ; Gruber, Karl ; Bingaman Lackey, Laurie ; Kitchener, Andrew C ; O’Donoghue, Emily …
microsatellites, bongo, genetic augmentation, One Plan Approach, and Tragelaphus eurycerus isaaci
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Journal article
Multi-individual microsatellite identification: a multiple genome approach to microsatellite design (MiMi)
Bespoke microsatellite marker panels are increasingly affordable and tractable to researchers and conservationists. The rate of microsatellite discovery is very high within a shotgun genomic data set, but extensive laboratory testing of markers is required for confirmation of amplification and polymorphism. By incorporating shotgun next‐generation sequencing data sets from multiple... -
Journal article
Distinguishing the victim from the threat: SNP‐based methods reveal the extent of introgressive hybridization between wildcats and domestic cats in Scotland and inform future in situ and ex situ management options for species restoration
The degree of introgressive hybridization between the Scottish wildcat and domestic cat has long been suspected to be advanced. Here, we use a 35‐SNP‐marker test, designed to assess hybridization between wildcat and domestic cat populations in Scotland, to assess a database of 295 wild‐living and captive cat samples, and test...Senn, Helen ; Ghazali, Muhammad ; Kaden, Jennifer ; Barclay, David ; Harrower, Ben …
carnivores, captive populations, conservation management, and invasive species
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Journal article
Splitting or lumping? A conservation dilemma exemplified by the critically endangered Dama Gazelle (Nanger dama)
Managers of threatened species often face the dilemma of whether to keep populations separate to conserve local adaptations and minimize the risk of outbreeding, or whether to manage populations jointly to reduce loss of genetic diversity and minimise inbreeding. In this study we examine genetic relatedness and diversity in three...Senn, Helen ; Banfield, Lisa ; Wacher, Tim ; Newby, John ; Rabeil, Thomas …
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Journal article
Remarkable ancient divergences amongst neglected lorisiform primates
Lorisiform primates (Primates: Strepsirrhini: Lorisiformes) represent almost 10% of the living primate species and are widely distributed in sub-Saharan Africa and South/South-East Asia; however, their taxonomy, evolutionary history, and biogeography are still poorly understood. In this study we report the largest molecular phylogeny in terms of the number of represented...Pozzi, Luca ; Nekaris, K Anne-Isola ; Perkin, Andrew ; Bearder, Simon K ; Pimley, Elizabeth R …
mitochondrial DNA, cryptic species, Lorisidae, cytochrome b, Africa, Asia, Strepsirrhini, and Galagidae
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Journal article
Planning tiger recovery: Understanding intraspecific variation for effective conservation
Although significantly more money is spent on the conservation of tigers than on any other threatened species, today only 3200 to 3600 tigers roam the forests of Asia, occupying only 7% of their historical range. Despite the global significance of and interest in tiger conservation, global approaches to plan tiger...Wilting, Andreas ; Courtiol, Alexandre ; Christiansen, P ; Jürgen, Niedballa ; Scharf, Anne K …
Taxonomy, Management Units, Subspecies, One Plan Approach, and Felidae
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Journal article
Convex-hull mass estimates of the dodo (Raphus cucullatus): application of a CT-based mass estimation technique
The external appearance of the dodo (Raphus cucullatus, Linnaeus, 1758) has been a source of considerable intrigue, as contemporaneous accounts or depictions are rare. The body mass of the dodo has been particularly contentious, with the flightless pigeon alternatively reconstructed as slim or fat depending upon the skeletal metric used...Brassey, Charlotte A ; O’Mahoney, T G ; Kitchener, Andrew C ; Manning, Phillip L ; Sellers, William I
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Journal article
Predicted Pleistocene–Holocene range shifts of the tiger (Panthera tigris)
Aim In this article, we modelled the potential range shifts of tiger (Panthera tigris) populations over the Late Pleistocene and Holocene, to provide new insights into the evolutionary history and interconnectivity between populations of this endangered species. Location Asia. Methods We used an ecological niche approach and applied a maximum... -
Journal article
Sexual size dimorphism in musteloids: An anomalous allometric pattern is explained by feeding ecology
Rensch's rule states that sexual size dimorphism (SSD) increases with body size in taxa where males are larger, and decreases when females are larger. The dominant explanation for the trend is currently that competitive advantage for males is greater in larger individuals, whereas female size is constrained by the energetics...Noonan, M J ; Johnson, Paul J ; Kitchener, Andrew C ; Harrington, L A ; Newman, C …
sociality, Musteloidea, diet, Rensch, SSD, resource dispersion, and allometry
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Journal article
Two species of Southeast Asian cats in the genus Catopuma with diverging histories: an island endemic forest specialist and a widespread habitat generalist
Background. The bay cat Catopuma badia is endemic to Borneo, whereas its sister species the Asian golden cat Catopuma temminckii is distributed from the Himalayas and southern China through Indochina, Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra. Based onmorphological data, up to five subspecies of the Asian golden cat have been recognized, but...Patel, R P ; Förster, D W ; Kitchener, Andrew C ; Rayan, M D ; Mohamed, S W …
Toba volcanic eruption, last glacial maximum, Southeast Asia, hybrid capture, next generation sequencing, and Felidae
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Journal article
A fossil protein chimera; difficulties in discriminating dinosaur peptide sequences from modern cross-contamination
A decade ago, reports that organic-rich soft tissue survived from dinosaur fossils were apparently supported by proteomics-derived sequence information of exceptionally well-preserved bone. This initial claim to the sequencing of endogenous collagen peptides from an approximately 68 Myr Tyrannosaurus rex fossil was highly controversial, largely on the grounds of potential...Buckley, M ; Warwood, S ; van Dongen, B ; Kitchener, Andrew C ; Manning, Phillip L
palaeoproteomics, Tyrannosaurus, ancient collagen, dinosaur protein, Brachylophosaurus, and ostrich
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Journal article
Radiographic assessment of the skeletons of Dolly and other clones finds no abnormal osteoarthritis
Our recent report detailing the health status of cloned sheep concluded that the animals had aged normally. This is in stark contrast to reports on Dolly (first animal cloned from adult cells) whose diagnoses of osteoarthritis (OA) at 5½ years of age led to considerable scientific concern and media debate...Corr, S A ; Gardner, D S ; Langley-Hobbs, S ; Ness, M G ; Kitchener, Andrew C …
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Journal article
Synchronous diversification of Sulawesi's iconic artiodactyls driven by recent geological events
The high degree of endemism on Sulawesi has previously been suggested to have vicariant origins, dating back to 40 Ma. Recent studies, however, suggest that much of Sulawesi's fauna assembled over the last 15 Myr. Here, we test the hypothesis that more recent uplift of previously submerged portions of land...Frantz, Laurent A F ; Rudzinski, Anna ; Nugraha, Abang Mansyursyah Surya ; Evin, Allowen ; Burton, James …
geology, Wallacea, evolution, and biogeography
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Journal article
Rensching cats and dogs: feeding ecology and fecundity trends explain variation in the allometry of sexual size dimorphism
The tendency for sexual size dimorphism (SSD) to increase with body mass in taxa where males are larger, and to decrease when females are larger, is known as Rensch's rule. In mammals, where the trend occurs, it is believed to be the result of a competitive advantage for larger males,...Johnson, P J ; Noonan, M J ; Kitchener, Andrew C ; Harrington, L A ; Newman, C …
dimorphism, Canidae, allometry, diet, resource dispersion, and Felidae
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Journal article
Reconstructing Mammalian Phylogenies: A Detailed Comparison of the Cytochrome b and Cytochrome Oxidase Subunit I Mitochondrial Genes
The phylogeny and taxonomy of mammalian species were originally based upon shared or derived morphological characteristics. However, genetic analyses have more recently played an increasingly important role in confirming existing or establishing often radically different mammalian groupings and phylogenies. The two most commonly used genetic loci in species identification are...Kitchener, Andrew C ; Tobe, Shanan S ; Linacre, Adrian
Sequence databases, Animal phylogenetics, Phylogenetic analysis, Sequence alignment, and Mammals
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Journal article
Oldest known pantherine skull and evolution of the tiger
The tiger is one of the most iconic extant animals, and its origin and evolution have been intensely debated. Fossils attributable to extant pantherine species-lineages are less than 2 MYA and the earliest tiger fossils are from the Calabrian, Lower Pleistocene. Molecular studies predict a much younger age for the...Mazák, J H ; Christiansen, P ; Kitchener, Andrew C
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Journal article
Range-wide patterns of human-mediated hybridisation in European wildcats
Hybridisation between wild taxa and their domestic congeners is a significant conservation issue. Domestic species frequently outnumber their wild relatives in population size and distribution and may therefore genetically swamp the native species. The European wildcat (Felis silvestris) has been shown to hybridise with domestic cats (Felis catus). Previously suggested...Tiesmeyer, Annika ; Ramos, Luana ; Lucas, José Manuel ; Steyer, Katharina ; Alves, Paulo C …
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Journal article
Applying genomic data in wildlife monitoring: Development guidelines for genotyping degraded samples with reduced single nucleotide polymorphism panels
The genomic era has led to an unprecedented increase in the availability of genome‐wide data for a broad range of taxa. Wildlife management strives to make use of these vast resources to enable refined genetic assessments that enhance biodiversity conservation. However, as new genomic platforms emerge, problems remain in adapting...von Thaden, Alina ; Nowak , Carsten ; Tiesmeyer, Annika ; Reiners, Tobias E ; Lyons, Leslie A …
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Journal article
Rapid evolution of the primate larynx?
Tissue vibrations in the larynx produce most sounds that comprise vocal communication in mammals. Larynx morphology is thus predicted to be a key target for selection, particularly in species with highly developed vocal communication systems. Here, we present a novel database of digitally modeled scanned larynges from 55 different mammalian...Bowling, Daniel L ; Dunn , Jacob C ; Smaers, Jeroen B ; Garcia, Maxime ; Sato , Asha …