The genomic impact of population connectivity and decline in Africa’s elephants
Abstract
Abstract African elephants are keystone species facing severe declines due to the ivory trade and habitat loss. To investigate the genomic consequences, we analyze 232 high-coverage genomes from 17 African countries in the first continent-wide genomic analysis treating savanna ( Loxodonta africana ) and forest ( L. cyclotis ) elephants as distinct species. We find a deep divergence between species, with forest elephants showing higher heterozygosity and historically larger effective population sizes, while savanna elephants exhibit greater inbreeding and genetic load. Surprisingly, we detect widespread introgression of trace forest ancestry across savanna populations, suggesting a complex history of hybridization. Within species, historically high mobility promoted genetic connectivity, though we identify signs of human-induced isolation and drift in peripheral populations. Our findings highlight gene flow as a key force in African elephant evolution and underscore the urgency of understanding the impact of accelerating habitat fragmentation in these ecosystem engineers.
Article Details
Authors (37)
Patrícia Pečnerová
Yasuko Ishida
Genís Garcia-Erill
Laura D. Bertola
Cindy G. Santander
Xiaodong Liu
Anna Brüniche-Olsen
Anubhab Khan
School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow
Lauren M. Hennelly
Renzo F. Balboa
Long Lin
Malthe S. Rasmussen
Xi Wang
Mikkel Schubert
Amal Al-Chaer
Sylwia Urbaniak
Kan Nobuta
Sasha Treadup
Karine A. Viaud-Martinez
Alida de Flamingh
Ripan S. Malhi
Savanah Bird
Nelson Ting
Mrinalini Watsa
Martin N. Tchamba
Stéphanie Bourgeois
Chris Thouless
Iain Douglas-Hamilton
George Wittemyer
Peter J. Van Coeverden de Groot
Vincent B. Muwanika
Charles Masembe
Nicholas J. Georgiadis
Christina Hvilsom
Rasmus Heller
Hans Redlef Siegismund
Alfred L. Roca