Saving the mountain bongo (Tragelaphus eurycerus isaaci): assessment of the genetic status of captive bongos as a source for genetic reinforcement of wild populations

摘要

Fewer than 140 individuals of the rare and critically endangered mountain bongo (Tragelaphusudeurycerus isaaci) remain in the wild. This population has eroded genetic diversity, with only twoudhaplotypes detected with mitochondrial DNA markers. The genetic diversity of mountain bongos fromudthe European Endangered Species Programme (EEP) was assessed for this study. Genetic diversity of 10udcaptive individuals was measured by sequencing a portion of the mitochondrial DNA control region; theudresulting sequences were compared to published data from this subspecies and used to establish levelsudof haplotype-sharing between wild and captive populations. Our data show that captive mountainudbongo populations harbour a rare haplotype that is found in less than 5% of individuals in some wildudpopulations and is absent in others. The findings suggest that captive individuals harbour valuableudgenetic diversity, making them potentially valuable candidates for a reintroduction programme toudhelp reinforce the gene pools of wild populations. We further propose a two-way approach that alsoudinvolves introducing wild individuals into captive populations, with the goal of maintaining the geneticudhealth of both in situ and ex situ populations.