Genetic variability and structure of jaguar (Panthera onca) in Mexican zoos.

Pilar Rueda-Zozaya,José Antonio Godoy,Cuauhtémoc Chávez,Armando Sunny,José Herrera-Haro,Octavio Monroy-Vilchis,Daniel Martínez-Gómez,Germán D Mendoza-Martínez,Francisco Palomares

doi:10.1007/s10709-015-9878-6

Abstract

Genealogical records of animals (studbook) are created to avoid reproduction between closely related individuals, which could cause inbreeding, particularly for such endangered species as the Panthera onca (Linnaeus, 1758). Jaguar is the largest felid in the Americas and is considered an important ecological key species. In Mexico, wild jaguar populations have been significantly reduced in recent decades, and population decline typically accompany decreases in genetic variation. There is no current census of captive jaguars in Mexico, and zoos do not follow a standardized protocol in breeding programs based on genetic studies. Here, we emphasise the importance of maintaining an adequate level of genetic variation and propose the implementation of standardised studbooks for jaguars in Mexico, mainly to avoid inbreeding. In addition, achieving the aims of studbook registration would provide a population genetic characterisation that could serve as a basis for ex situ conservation programmes.

Highlights

The jaguar (Panthera onca), the largest felid in the Americas, is considered an important and emblematic species for many pre-Columbian cultures (Campos 2002)
ML-RELATE (Kalinowski et al 2006), which takes into account null alleles and is based on maximum likelihood tests, we presented a summary of the of relationships assigned with the highest likelihood, consistent with the genetic data at the 0.05 level of significance; a graphical comparison of the number of pairs of individuals probably related (ML RELATE)
Genotypes from fifty-six blood samples from Mexican zoos were obtained by microsatellite analysis with 11 loci (Roques et al 2014)

Summary

Introduction

The jaguar (Panthera onca), the largest felid in the Americas, is considered an important and emblematic species for many pre-Columbian cultures (Campos 2002). The decline in jaguar population is mainly due to habitat loss and fragmentation, and fur trade is still a threat to wild populations (Quigley and Crawshaw 1992; Eizirik et al.2001; Silver et al 2004; O’ Brien and Johnson 2005: Ruiz-García et al 2006; Eizirik et al.2008; Ruiz-García 2013; Roques et al 2014); it is estimated that only 16 % of the current territory in Mexico is suitable for the increasingly diminished and isolated jaguar populations (Rodríguez-Soto et al 2011). Previous characterization of genetic variation in jaguar populations revealed moderate to high global genetic diversity in the wild, with some variation among populations and studies (Table 1). Most recent studies have reported a reduced genetic diversity at the periphery of the species range as a consequence of isolation by distance and recent isolation due to fragmentation (Haag et al 2010; Roques et al 2014)

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion