Incipient genetic differentiation of the African buffalo, Syncerus caffer populations: Is fencing playing a role?

Incipient genetic differentiation of the African buffalo, Syncerus caffer populations: Is fencing playing a role? | Authorea try { document.documentElement.classList.add('js'); } catch (e) { } var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'G-8VDV14Y67G']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); Skip to main content Preprints Collections Wiley Open Research IET Open Research Ecological Society of Japan All Collections About About Authorea FAQs Contact Us Quick Search anywhere Search for preprint articles, keywords, etc. Search Search ADVANCED SEARCH SCROLL Ecology and Evolution This is a preprint and has not been peer reviewed. Data may be preliminary. 9 January 2025 V1 Latest version Share on Incipient genetic differentiation of the African buffalo, Syncerus caffer populations: Is fencing playing a role? Authors : Patrick Karanja , Johnson Kinyua , Edward King’ori , Patrick Chiyo 0000-0002-6534-8708 , Vincent Obanda , and Olivia Wesula Lwande 0000-0002-9393-8756 [email protected] Authors Info & Affiliations https://doi.org/10.22541/au.173640602.23120800/v1 Published Ecology and Evolution Version of record Peer review timeline 315 views 311 downloads Contents Abstract Supplementary Material Information & Authors Metrics & Citations View Options References Figures Tables Media Share Abstract Fences are increasingly used globally as a management tool in conservation to reduce wildlife depredations, disease transmission, and wildlife mortality. There are a limited number of studies on the genetic effects of perimeter fencing of protected areas on megaherbivores. Using population genetic analyses on 226 sequences of a 400 bp fragment of the mtDNA Dloop from 10 East African buffalo populations (3 fenced and 7 unfenced), the influence of spatial isolation and fencing on buffalo population genetic diversity and genetic differentiation were examined. Mean gene diversity between fenced and unfenced buffalo populations was not different (fenced: 0.978 ± 0.003, unfenced: 0.973 ± 0.004, P = 0.300) but nucleotide diversity was higher in fenced than unfenced populations (fenced: 0.038 ± 0.019, unfenced: 0.030 ± 0.015, P = 0.005). Genetic differentiation among buffalo populations based on haplotype frequencies and model-based genetic distance was weak (FST = 0.08, ΦST = 0.06) and contributed to 6.2% and 8.5% of total genetic variance respectively. Ninety three percent of population pairs were genetically differentiated by distances determined from haplotype frequencies but only 51% of population pairs were differentiated using modelled distances suggesting recent differentiation. There was no correlation between linearized FST and geographical distance (r = -0.005, P = 0.52), but linearized ΦST was moderately correlated with geographic distance (r = 0.329, P = 0.03). The distance effect was greater when fenced populations were excluded (ΦST: r = 0.464, P = 0.05), suggesting that insularization due to fencing is distorting isolation by distance. SSD analyses revealed that 2 of 3 fenced populations and 2 of 7 unfenced populations had non-unimodal distributions suggesting demographically declining populations. Our study reveals the high genetic diversity but warn that genetic erosion due to isolation, including fencing, is only beginning to have an impact on East African buffalo populations. Supplementary Material File (manuscript_ecology_and_evolution_format_owl_250106.docx) Download 514.49 KB Information & Authors Information Version history V1 Version 1 09 January 2025 Peer review timeline Published Ecology and Evolution Version of Record 31 Jul 2025 Published Copyright This work is licensed under a Non Exclusive No Reuse License. Collection Ecology and Evolution Keywords description ecological experiment ecosystem molecular genetics population ecology terrestrial vertebrate Authors Affiliations Patrick Karanja Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology View all articles by this author Johnson Kinyua Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology View all articles by this author Edward King’ori Kenya Wildlife Service View all articles by this author Patrick Chiyo 0000-0002-6534-8708 University of Notre Dame View all articles by this author Vincent Obanda Kenya Wildlife Service View all articles by this author Olivia Wesula Lwande 0000-0002-9393-8756 [email protected] Umeå University View all articles by this author Metrics & Citations Metrics Article Usage 315 views 311 downloads .FvxKWukQNSOunydq8rnd { width: 100px; } Citations Download citation Patrick Karanja, Johnson Kinyua, Edward King’ori, et al. Incipient genetic differentiation of the African buffalo, Syncerus caffer populations: Is fencing playing a role?. Authorea . 09 January 2025. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22541/au.173640602.23120800/v1 If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download. For more information or tips please see 'Downloading to a citation manager' in the Help menu . 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