Population genetic structure of Malayan Tapir (Tapirus indicus Desmarest) in Peninsular Malaysia
The Malayan tapir (Tapirus indicus Desmarest) is an endangered fauna listed in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List with estimated population size at less than 2,000 individuals in Peninsular Malaysia. Despite the existing conservation programme and ecological inform...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2019
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| Online Access: | http://ethesis.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/14144/1/FS%202019%2055%20T.pdf |
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| Summary: | The Malayan tapir (Tapirus indicus Desmarest) is an endangered fauna listed
in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List with
estimated population size at less than 2,000 individuals in Peninsular Malaysia.
Despite the existing conservation programme and ecological information about
this species, the population genetic structure of the Malayan tapir in Peninsular
Malaysia is still not well-known, largely due to a lack of available genetic
markers. The lack of such information may impede the on-going efforts for its
conservation and management. The works presented here aimed to develop
genetic markers for the investigation of population genetic structure of the
Malayan tapir in Peninsular Malaysia. Forty-one microsatellite markers
comprising of seven random amplified microsatellite (RAM)-isolated and 34
cross-amplification microsatellite markers, obtained from literature and National
Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) database, were screened with
polymerase chain reaction (PCR), sequencing and fragment analysis in 67
Malayan tapirs. Eight polymorphic markers were successfully developed and
used in the population genetic structure analysis. Using K-means clustering
algorithm, five clusters were inferred among the wild samples (N = 57), which
showed a complex population structure probably comprising multiple
continuous populations that also experiencing considerably restricted gene flow
due to isolation by geographical barriers especially mountain ranges.
Mitochondrial control region sequences in Peninsular Malaysia samples (N =
44; including two samples from Singapore Zoo) revealed two clades that might
be established during the late Pleistocene. One of the clades was exclusive in
Peninsular Malaysia samples in comparison with the Thailand samples from a
previous study. However, the geographical distribution of the clades did not
show a clear population structure. A total of 12 novel haplotypes were detected.
Both the markers suggested low to moderate genetic diversity in the Malayan
tapir studied. In addition, a universal sex-typing method based on the sex determining region Y and zinc finger gene (as positive control) was tested. A
preliminary assessment of sex ratio was conducted using the data extracted
from the tapir datasheets obtained from the Department of Wildlife and National
Parks, Sungai Dusun Wildlife Conservation Centre and Zoo Negara; and aided
with the developed sex-typing marker for those biological samples with
unknown sex. Overall, there was no significant bias towards either sex.
Nevertheless, in the wild-born tapirs, the sex ratio seemed to favour females
and the opposite was observed in the captive-born tapirs. From 2004 to 2015,
there seemed to be an increase in the male proportion but no extreme ratio
was found. Combined with microsatellite data, there was no sex-biased
dispersal detected in a spatial autocorrelation analysis that might shape the
population structure of the Malayan tapir observed. A major limitation in all
these studies was the sampling bias where, across Peninsular Malaysia, more
samples were sampled from the Selangor-Negeri Sembilan-Pahang regions
and only a few were representatives of the populations from the north forest
complexes. |
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