Reintroduction of confiscated and displaced mammals risks outbreeding and introgression in natural populations, as evidenced by orang-utans of divergent subspecies

Scientific Reports
Graham L BanesLinda Vigilant

Abstract

Confiscated and displaced mammals are often taken to sanctuaries, where the explicit goal may be reintroduction to the wild. By inadvertently collecting animals from different source populations, however, such efforts risk reintroducing individuals that have not been in genetic contact for significant periods of time. Using genetic analyses and 44 years of data from Camp Leakey, an orang-utan rehabilitation site on Borneo, we determined the minimum extent to which orang-utans representing non-native, geographically and reproductively isolated taxa were reintroduced into the surrounding wild population. We found two reintroduced females were from a non-native subspecies, and have since produced at least 22 hybridized and introgressed descendants to date, of which at least 15 are living. Given that Bornean orang-utan subspecies are thought to have diverged from a common ancestor around 176,000 years ago, with marked differentiation over the last 80,000 years, we highlight the need for further evaluation of the effects of hybridizing orang-utans of different taxa--particularly in light of the ~1500 displaced orang-utans awaiting urgent reintroduction. As endangered mammals are increasing in number in sanctuaries worldwide, we stre...Continue Reading

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Citations

Apr 27, 2017·Molecular Biology and Evolution·B JégouF Chalmel
Jan 25, 2017·Science Advances·Alejandro EstradaBaoguo Li
Feb 20, 2018·American Journal of Primatology·Mimi Arandjelovic, Linda Vigilant
Jul 3, 2018·Science Advances·Stephanie N SpeharErik Meijaard
Dec 14, 2019·Conservation Physiology·Alan Chesna VidalJosé Maurício Barbanti Duarte
Feb 4, 2021·Primates; Journal of Primatology·Josephine N MsindaiVolker Sommer

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Datasets Mentioned

BETA
AJ391121.1
AJ391108.2
KU523975-KU523977

Methods Mentioned

BETA
PCR

Software Mentioned

MEGA
jModelTest
MUSCLE
MrBAYES

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