And in Africa, an interdisciplinary team from the University of California, Los Angeles, Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo, and the Mpala Research Centre in Kenya has found that there may be more to the giraffe than meets the eye, too.
Their analysis of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA shows at least six genealogically distinct lineages of giraffe in Africa, with little evidence of interbreeding between them. Further divisions within these groups mean that in total the researchers have spotted 11 genetically distinct populations.
“Such extreme genetic subdivision within a large vertebrate with high dispersal capabilities is unprecedented and exceeds that of any other large African mammal,” says graduate student David Brown, first author of the study. The researchers estimate that the giraffe populations they surveyed have been genetically distinct for between 0.13 and 1.62 million years. The findings have serious implications for giraffe conservation because some among these subgroups have as few as 100 members, making them highly endangered – if not yet officially recognised – species.
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Journal of Biology aims to address the issue of cryptic species in a forthcoming mini-review article also published this week. The review will look at current research agendas into biodiversity, incorporating research approaches from taxonomy, molecular population biology.
Notes to Editors:
Articles:
Cryptic diversity and deep divergence in an upper Amazonian frog, Eleutherodactylus ockendeni
Kathryn R Elmer, Jose A Davila and Stephen C Lougheed
BMC Evolutionary Biology (in press)
Extensive Population Genetic Structure in the Giraffe
David M Brown, Rick A Brenneman, Klaus-Peter Koepfli, John P Pollinger, Borja Mila, Nicholas J Georgiadis, Edward E Louis Jr, Gregory F Grether, David K Jacobs and Robert K Wayne
BMC Biology (in press)
During embargo, articles available here: http://www.biomedcentral.com/imedia/1341027020118576_article.pdf?random=653098
http://www.biomedcentral.com/imedia/2129663810162491_article.pdf?random=541729
After the embargo, article available at journal websites: http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcevolbiol/
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcbiol/
Cryptic biodiversity in a changing worlLuciano B Beheregaray and Adalgisa Caccone Journal of Biology 2007, 6:9
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BMC Biology - the flagship biology journal of the BMC series - publishes research and methodology articles of special importance and broad interest in any area of biology and biomedical sciences. BMC Biology (ISSN 1741-7007) is covered by PubMed, Scopus, CAS, BIOSIS, Zoological Record and Google Scholar. The journal is tracked by Thomson Scientific (ISI) and will receive its first Impact Factor in 2008.
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