Anco Corey, Kolokotronis Sergios-Orestis, Henschel Philipp, Cunningham Seth W, Amato George, Hekkala Evon
a Department of Biological Sciences , Fordham University , Bronx , USA.
b Sackler Institute for Comparative Genomics, American Museum of Natural History , New York , USA.
Mitochondrial DNA A DNA Mapp Seq Anal. 2018 Apr;29(3):455-473. doi: 10.1080/24701394.2017.1307973. Epub 2017 Apr 19.
Once found throughout Africa and Eurasia, the leopard (Panthera pardus) was recently uplisted from Near Threatened to Vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Historically, more than 50% of the leopard's global range occurred in continental Africa, yet sampling from this part of the species' distribution is only sparsely represented in prior studies examining patterns of genetic variation at the continental or global level. Broad sampling to determine baseline patterns of genetic variation throughout the leopard's historical distribution is important, as these measures are currently used by the IUCN to direct conservation priorities and management plans. By including data from 182 historical museum specimens, faecal samples from ongoing field surveys, and published sequences representing sub-Saharan Africa, we identify previously unrecognized genetic diversity in African leopards. Our mtDNA data indicates high levels of divergence among regional populations and strongly differentiated lineages in West Africa on par with recent studies of other large vertebrates. We provide a reference benchmark of genetic diversity in African leopards against which future monitoring can be compared. These findings emphasize the utility of historical museum collections in understanding the processes that shape present biodiversity. Additionally, we suggest future research to clarify African leopard taxonomy and to differentiate between delineated units requiring monitoring or conservation action.
豹（Panthera pardus）曾经遍布非洲和欧亚大陆，最近被国际自然保护联盟（IUCN）从近危物种升级为易危物种。从历史上看，豹在全球范围内超过50%的分布区域位于非洲大陆，但在以往关于该物种大陆或全球层面遗传变异模式的研究中，来自其分布区域这一部分的样本却很少。进行广泛采样以确定豹整个历史分布范围内的遗传变异基线模式很重要，因为IUCN目前利用这些指标来指导保护重点和管理计划。通过纳入来自182个历史博物馆标本的数据、正在进行的实地调查中的粪便样本以及代表撒哈拉以南非洲的已发表序列，我们发现了非洲豹此前未被认识到的遗传多样性。我们的线粒体DNA数据表明，区域种群之间存在高度分化，西非的谱系分化程度与最近对其他大型脊椎动物的研究相当。我们提供了非洲豹遗传多样性的参考基准，可用于未来监测的对比。这些发现强调了历史博物馆藏品在理解塑造当前生物多样性的过程中的作用。此外，我们建议未来开展研究，以厘清非洲豹的分类，并区分需要监测或采取保护行动的划定单元。
