scholarly journals Sorting Out the Genetic Background of the Last Surviving South China Tigers

2019 ◽  
Vol 110 (6) ◽  
pp. 641-650 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenping Zhang ◽  
Xiao Xu ◽  
Bisong Yue ◽  
Rong Hou ◽  
Junjin Xie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South China ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Diagnostic System ◽  
Panthera Tigris ◽  
Genetic Introgression ◽  
The South ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Tiger Population ◽  
Genetic Assessment

Abstract The South China tiger (Panthera tigris amoyensis) is endemic to China and also the most critically endangered subspecies of living tigers. It is considered extinct in the wild and only about 150 individuals survive in captivity to date, whose genetic heritage, however, is ambiguous and controversial. Here, we conducted an explicit genetic assessment of 92 studbook-registered South China tigers from 14 captive facilities using a subspecies-diagnostic system in the context of comparison with other voucher specimens to evaluate the genetic ancestry and level of distinctiveness of the last surviving P. t. amoyensis. Three mtDNA haplotypes were identified from South China tigers sampled in this study, including a unique P. t. amoyensis AMO1 haplotype not found in other subspecies, a COR1 haplotype that is widespread in Indochinese tigers (P. t. corbetti), and an ALT haplotype that is characteristic of Amur tigers (P. t. altaica). Bayesian STRUCTURE analysis and parentage verification confirmed the verified subspecies ancestry (VSA) as the South China tiger in 74 individuals. Genetic introgression from other tigers was detected in 18 tigers, and subsequent exclusion of these and their offspring from the breeding program is recommended. Both STRUCTURE clustering and microsatellite-based phylogenetic analyses demonstrated a close genetic association of the VSA South China tigers to Indochinese tigers, an issue that could only be elucidated by analysis of historical South China tiger specimens with wild origin. Our results also indicated a moderate level of genetic diversity in the captive South China tiger population, suggesting a potential for genetic restoration.

scholarly journals Population genomic analysis provides strong evidence of the past success and future strategies of South China tiger breeding

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chen Wang ◽  
Dong-Dong Wu ◽  
Yao-Hua Yuan ◽  
Meng-Cheng Yao ◽  
Jian-Lin Han ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South China ◽  
Genomic Analysis ◽  
Panthera Tigris ◽  
The South ◽  
The Past ◽  
Long Read ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Rare Genetic Variants ◽  
Effective Conservation ◽  
High Depth

Abstract The South China tigers (Panthera tigris amoyensis) are extinct in the wild, but viable populations remain in breeding centers and zoos after 60 years of effective conservation efforts. At present, however, the existing genetic variation of these tigers remains unknown. In this study, we assembled a high-quality chromosome-level genome using long-read sequences and re-sequenced 29 high-depth genomes of the South China tigers. We identified two significantly differentiated genomic ancestries in the extant populations, which also harbored some rare genetic variants introgressed from other subspecies, suggesting limited but essential genetic diversity to sustain the South China tigers. The unique pattern of dual ancestry and the genomic resources generated in our study pay the way for a genomics-informed conservation, following the real-time monitoring and controlled exchange of all reproductive South China tigers.

scholarly journals The decline and impending extinction of the South China tiger

Oryx ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 243-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald Tilson ◽  
Kathy Traylor-Holzer ◽  
Qiu Ming Jiang
Keyword(s):  
Field Study ◽  
South China ◽  
Reproductive Output ◽  
Wild Population ◽  
Local People ◽  
Conservation Priorities ◽  
Panthera Tigris ◽  
Captive Population ◽  
Wild Populations ◽  
The South

The South China tiger Panthera tigris amoyensis is the rarest of the five living tiger subspecies, the most critically threatened and the closest to extinction. No wild South China tigers have been seen by officials for 25 years and one was last brought into captivity 27 years ago. The 19 reserves listed by the Chinese Ministry of Forestry within the presumed range of the tiger are spatially fragmented and most are too small to support viable tiger populations. Over the last 40 years wild populations have declined from thousands to a scattered few. Despite its plight and occasional anecdotal reports of sightings by local people, no intensive field study has been conducted on this tiger subspecies and its habitat. The captive population of about 50 tigers, derived from six wild-caught founders, is genetically impoverished with low reproductive output. Given the size and fragmentation of potential tiger habitat, saving what remains of the captive population may be the only option left to prevent extinction of this tiger subspecies, and even this option is becoming increasingly less probable. This precarious dilemma demands that conservation priorities be re-evaluated and action taken immediately to decide if recovery of the wild population will be possible.

scholarly journals Can Zoos Ever Be Big Enough for Large Wild Animals? A Review Using an Expert Panel Assessment of the Psychological Priorities of the Amur Tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) as a Model Species

Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 1536
Author(s):  
Jake Stuart Veasey
Keyword(s):  
Expert Panel ◽  
Panthera Tigris ◽  
Amur Tiger ◽  
Habitat Size ◽  
Model Species ◽  
Panthera Tigris Altaica ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Management Paradigms ◽  
The Impact

The ecology of large, wide-ranging carnivores appears to make them vulnerable to conservation challenges in the wild and welfare challenges in captivity. This poses an ethical dilemma for the zoo community and supports the case that there is a need to reconsider prevailing management paradigms for these species in captivity. Whilst the welfare challenges wide ranging carnivores face have been attributed to reduced ranging opportunities associated with the decreased size of captive habitats, attempts to augment wild carnivore welfare in captivity typically focus on behaviours linked to hunting. Thus far, this has yet to result in the systematic elimination of signs of compromised welfare amongst captive carnivores. Here an assessment is carried out to identify the likely welfare priorities for Amur tigers, which, as one of the widest ranging terrestrial carnivores, serves as an excellent exemplar for species experiencing extreme compression of their ranging opportunities in captivity. These priorities are then used to consider novel strategies to address the welfare challenges associated with existing management paradigms, and in particular, attempt to overcome the issue of restricted space. The insights generated here have wider implications for other species experiencing substantive habitat compression in captivity. It is proposed here that the impact of habitat compression on captive carnivore welfare may not be a consequence of the reduction in habitat size per se, but rather the reduction in cognitive opportunities that likely covary with size, and that this should inform strategies to augment welfare.

Historical change on distribution and quantity of the South-China Tiger (Panthera tigris amoyensis)

1998 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 136-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jin Kun ◽  
Zheng Dong ◽  
Hong Meiling ◽  
Wang Lijun
Keyword(s):  
South China ◽  
Historical Change ◽  
Panthera Tigris ◽  
The South

Activity of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenals axis in the Siberian tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) in captivity and in the wild, and its dynamics throughout the year

2011 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 301-305 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. V. Naidenko ◽  
E. A. Ivanov ◽  
V. S. Lukarevskii ◽  
J. A. Hernandez-Blanco ◽  
P. A. Sorokin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Panthera Tigris ◽  
Siberian Tiger ◽  
Panthera Tigris Altaica ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
In The Wild

Twelve polymorphic microsatellite loci for the South China tiger Panthera tigris amoyensis

2006 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
ZHI-HE ZHANG ◽  
WEN-PING ZHANG ◽  
BI-SONG YUE ◽  
FU-JUN SHEN ◽  
LIANG ZHANG ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South China ◽  
Microsatellite Loci ◽  
Panthera Tigris ◽  
The South ◽  
Polymorphic Microsatellite

scholarly journals Oceanicola nitratireducens sp. nov., a marine alphaproteobacterium isolated from the South China Sea

2010 ◽  
Vol 60 (7) ◽  
pp. 1655-1659 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiang Zheng ◽  
Chuang Chen ◽  
Ya-Nan Wang ◽  
Nianzhi Jiao
Keyword(s):  
South China Sea ◽  
South China ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
The South China Sea ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Beibu Gulf ◽  
16S Rrna Gene Sequences ◽  
The South ◽  
Phenotypic Data ◽  
China Sea

A Gram-negative, non-motile, short-rod-shaped bacterial strain (JLT1210T) that accumulates poly-β-hydroxybutyrate granules was isolated from the Beibu Gulf in the South China Sea. Cells have polar or subpolar flagella. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that the strain belongs to the genus Oceanicola in the order Rhodobacterales, class Alphaproteobacteria. The closest neighbours were Oceanicola nanhaiensis SS011B1-20T (96.5 % similarity) and Oceanicola batsensis HTCC2597T (96.4 %). The predominant respiratory ubiquinone of strain JLT1210T was Q-10 and the DNA G+C content was 72.8 mol%. Evidence from genotypic, chemotaxonomic and phenotypic data shows that strain JLT1210T represents a novel species of the genus Oceanicola, for which the name Oceanicola nitratireducens sp. nov. is proposed; the type strain is JLT1210T (=LMG 24663T=CGMCC 1.7292T).

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