New genetic approach to detecting individuals of rare and endangered species

Conservation Biology : the Journal of the Society for Conservation Biology
Hayley A LawrenceD Lambert

Abstract

Many rare and endangered species are difficult to locate, observe, and study. Consequently, many individuals, breeding pairs, and even populations of such species could remain undetected. Genetic markers can potentially be used to detect the existence of undiscovered individuals and populations, and we propose a method to do so that requires 3 conditions. First, sampling of the known population(s) of the target species must be comprehensive. Second, the species must display a reasonable level of philopatry and genetic structuring. Third, individuals must be able to be caught outside of breeding locations (e.g., at courtship or feeding areas, in flight), and the level of recapture must be reasonably high. We applied our method to the Chatham Island Taiko (Pterodroma magentae), one of the world's most endangered seabirds. We sequenced the Taiko mitochondrial cytochrome b gene and both copies of a fragment of the duplicated domain I of the control region. Twenty-one haplotypes were revealed, including 4 (19%) not found in birds at known burrows. These results suggest there are more burrow groups yet to be located. The species is a pelagic gadfly petrel that inhabits land only in the breeding season during which it is nocturnal and...Continue Reading

References

Mar 7, 1998·American Journal of Human Genetics·L Excoffier, M Slatkin
Apr 29, 2005·Evolution; International Journal of Organic Evolution·M C DoubleA Cockburn
Oct 14, 2005·Molecular Biology and Evolution·Daniel H Huson, David Bryant
Apr 1, 1992·Trends in Ecology & Evolution·R D WoollerJ P Croxall

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Citations

Nov 20, 2008·Heredity·H A LawrenceD M Lambert

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