Little genetic structure in a Bornean endemic small mammal across a steep ecological gradient.

Janzen's influential "mountain passes are higher in the tropics" hypothesis predicts restricted gene flow and genetic isolation among populations spanning elevational gradients in the tropics. Few studies have tested this prediction, and studies that focus on population genetic structure in Southeast Asia are particularly underrepresented in the literature. Here, we test the hypothesis that mountain treeshrews (Tupaia montana) exhibit limited dispersal across their broad elevational range which spans ~2,300 m on two peaks in Kinabalu National Park (KNP) in Borneo: Mt Tambuyukon (MT) and Mt Kinabalu (MK). We sampled 83 individuals across elevations on both peaks and performed population genomics analyses on mitogenomes and single nucleotide polymorphisms from 4,106 ultraconserved element loci. We detected weak genetic structure and infer gene flow both across elevations and between peaks. We found higher genetic differentiation on MT than MK despite its lower elevation and associated environmental variation. This implies that, contrary to our hypothesis, genetic structure in this system is not primarily shaped by elevation. We propose that this pattern may instead be the result of historical processes and limited upslope gene flow on MT. Importantly, our results serve as a foundational estimate of genetic diversity and population structure from which to track potential future effects of climate change on mountain treeshrews in KNP, an important conservation stronghold for the mountain treeshrew and other montane species.

Ovarian cyclicity and prolactin status of African elephants (Loxodonta africana) in North American zoos may be influenced by life experience and individual temperament.

Hyperprolactinemia is an endocrine disorder associated with infertility in many species, including elephants. In a recent survey of zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), over half of African elephant females (N = 101) were not cycling normally, 30% of which exhibited hyperprolactinemia. We examined whether life experience and temperament predict ovarian cyclicity and circulating prolactin status in individual African elephant females. We hypothesized that, similar to humans, acyclicity and hyperprolactinemia in elephants will be associated with an apprehensive or fearful, anxious temperament, and an increased number of potentially challenging life events (transfers, deaths and births). Ninety-five adult African elephant females housed at 37 AZA institutions were included in this study. Blood samples were collected twice a month for 1 year to determine ovarian cycle (cycling, n = 44; irregular, n = 13; non-cycling, n = 38) and prolactin (normal, n = 44; low; n = 23; high; n = 28) status. Keeper ratings on a 6-point scale were obtained on 32 temperament traits in 85 of these elephants. We determined that giving birth and being exposed to herd mates entering the facility were positively associated with normal ovarian cycle and prolactin profiles. By contrast, age, serum cortisol, and an increased number of herd mates leaving a facility were negatively associated with both. Contrary to our hypothesis, hyperprolactinemia was associated with a popular and caring temperament rating, whereas consistently low prolactin was associated with a fearful, apprehensive temperament. These findings indicate that pituitary-ovarian function may be impacted by life history (cyclicity) and temperament (prolactin), which should be taken into consideration when making management decisions.

Evolutionary history of endemic Sulawesi squirrels constructed from UCEs and mitogenomes sequenced from museum specimens.

BACKGROUND: The Indonesian island of Sulawesi has a complex geological history. It is composed of several landmasses that have arrived at a near modern configuration only in the past few million years. It is the largest island in the biodiversity hotspot of Wallacea-an area demarcated by the biogeographic breaks between Wallace's and Lydekker's lines. The mammal fauna of Sulawesi is transitional between Asian and Australian faunas. Sulawesi's three genera of squirrels, all endemic (subfamily Nannosciurinae: Hyosciurus, Rubrisciurus and Prosciurillus), are of Asian origin and have evolved a variety of phenotypes that allow a range of ecological niche specializations. Here we present a molecular phylogeny of this radiation using data from museum specimens. High throughput sequencing technology was used to generate whole mitochondrial genomes and a panel of nuclear ultraconserved elements providing a large genome-wide dataset for inferring phylogenetic relationships. RESULTS: Our analysis confirmed monophyly of the Sulawesi taxa with deep divergences between the three endemic genera, which predate the amalgamation of the current island of Sulawesi. This suggests lineages may have evolved in allopatry after crossing Wallace's line. Nuclear and mitochondrial analyses were largely congruent and well supported, except for the placement of Prosciurillus murinus. Mitochondrial analysis revealed paraphyly for Prosciurillus, with P. murinus between or outside of Hyosciurus and Rubrisciurus, separate from other species of Prosciurillus. A deep but monophyletic history for the four included species of Prosciurillus was recovered with the nuclear data. CONCLUSIONS: The divergence of the Sulawesi squirrels from their closest relatives dated to ~9.7-12.5 million years ago (MYA), pushing back the age estimate of this ancient adaptive radiation prior to the formation of the current conformation of Sulawesi. Generic level diversification took place around 9.7 MYA, opening the possibility that the genera represent allopatric lineages that evolved in isolation in an ancient proto-Sulawesian archipelago. We propose that incongruence between phylogenies based on nuclear and mitochondrial sequences may have resulted from biogeographic discordance, when two allopatric lineages come into secondary contact, with complete replacement of the mitochondria in one species.

Phylogeny, biogeography and systematic revision of plain long-nosed squirrels (genus Dremomys, Nannosciurinae).

The plain long-nosed squirrels, genus Dremomys, are high elevation species in East and Southeast Asia. Here we present a complete molecular phylogeny for the genus based on nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences. Concatenated mitochondrial and nuclear gene trees were constructed to determine the tree topology, and date the tree. All speciation events within the plain-long nosed squirrels (genus Dremomys) were ancient (dated to the Pliocene or Miocene), and averaged older than many speciation events in the related Sunda squirrels, genus Sundasciurus. Within the plain long-nosed squirrels, the most recent interspecific split occurred 2.9 million years ago, older than some splits within Sunda squirrels, which dated to the Pleistocene. Our results demonstrate that the plain long-nosed squirrels are not monophyletic. The single species with a distinct distribution, the Bornean mountain ground squirrel (Dremomys everetti), which is endemic to the high mountains of Borneo, is nested within the Sunda squirrels with high support. This species diverged from its sister taxa in the Sunda squirrels 6.62 million years ago, and other plain long-nosed squirrels over 11 million years ago. Our analyses of morphological traits in these related genera support the re-classification of the Bornean mountain ground squirrel, Dremomys everetti, to the genus Sundasciurus, which changes its name to Sundasciurus everetti. Past inclusion in the plain long-nosed squirrels (Dremomys) reflects convergent evolution between these high elevation species.

Whole-Genome Sequencing of Procyonids Reveals Distinct Demographic Histories in Kinkajou (Potos flavus) and Northern Raccoon (Procyon lotor).

Here, we present the initial comparison of the nuclear genomes of the North American raccoon (Procyon lotor) and the kinkajou (Potos flavus) based on draft assemblies. These two species encompass almost 21 Myr of evolutionary history within Procyonidae. Because assemblies greatly impact downstream results, such as gene prediction and annotation, we tested three de novo assembly strategies (implemented in ALLPATHS-LG, MaSuRCA, and Platanus), some of which are optimized for highly heterozygous genomes. We discovered significant variation in contig and scaffold N50 and L50 statistics and genome completeness depending on the de novo assembler used. We compared the performance of these three assembly algorithms in hopes that this study will aid others looking to improve the quality of existing draft genome assemblies even without additional sequence data. We also estimate the demographic histories of raccoons and kinkajous using the Pairwise Sequentially Markovian Coalescent and discuss the variation in population sizes with respect to climatic change during the Pleistocene, as well as aspects of their ecology and taxonomy. Our goal is to achieve a better understanding of the evolutionary history of procyonids and to create robust genomic resources for future studies regarding adaptive divergence and selection.

Attitudes of College Undergraduates Towards Coyotes (Canis latrans) in an Urban Landscape: Management and Public Outreach Implications.

Understanding and assessing the public's attitudes towards urban wildlife is an important step towards creating management plans, increasing knowledge and awareness, and fostering coexistence between people and wildlife. We conducted a survey of undergraduate college students in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area-where coyotes are recent arrivals-to determine existing attitudes towards coyotes and coyote management methods. Amongst other findings, we found that the more a person feared coyotes, the less likely they were to support their presence (p < 0.001), and the less likely they were to believe that pet owners should be directly responsible for protecting their pets (p < 0.001). Respondents demonstrated major gaps in their understanding of basic coyote biology and ecology. Respondents broke wildlife management practices into two categories: those that involved an action on coyotes (both lethal or non-lethal; referred to as "Coyote"), and those that restricted human behavior (referred to as "Human"); the "Human" methods were preferred. We found important differences between key demographic groups in terms of attitudes and management preferences. Our study suggests that wildlife professionals have unique opportunities in urban areas to prevent and reduce conflict before it escalates, in part by targeting tailored outreach messages to various demographic and social groups.