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Article

Fencing Can Alter Gene Flow of Asian Elephant Populations within Protected Areas

by
Jean-Philippe Puyravaud
1,
Samuel A. Cushman
2,
P. Anuradha Reddy
3,
Durairaj Boominathan
4,
Reeta Sharma
5,
Neelakantan Arumugam
6,
Kanagaraj Muthamizh Selvan
7,
Nagarathinam Mohanraj
4,
Sedupathy Arulmozhi
8,
Abdul Rahim
8,
Tamanna Kalam
8,
Rahul De
5,
Swati Udayraj
8,
Andrea Luis
8,
Muneer Ul Islam Najar
8,
Kothandapani Raman
9,
Bawa Mothilal Krishnakumar
8,
Surendra Prakash Goyal
5 and
Priya Davidar
8,*
1
Sigur Nature Trust, Mavinhalla PO, Nilgiris 643223, India
2
Rocky Mountain Research Station, Flagstaff, AZ 86001, USA
3
Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad 500030, India
4
WWF-India, Edayarpalayam, Coimbatore 641025, India
5
Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun 248001, India
6
Department of Biotechnology, Pondicherry University, Puducherry 605014, India
7
Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, New Delhi 110003, India
8
Department Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Pondicherry University, Puducherry 605014, India
9
Indigenous Biodiversity Foundation, Pondicherry 605001, India
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Conservation 2022, 2(4), 709-725; https://doi.org/10.3390/conservation2040046
Submission received: 31 August 2022 / Revised: 14 November 2022 / Accepted: 29 November 2022 / Published: 5 December 2022
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Abstract

The Asian elephant is mostly confined to mountainous ranges and therefore risks population fragmentation if hard protected area (PA) boundaries near steep slopes prevent movement. We tested whether elephant gene flow is (i) controlled by slope and (ii) affected by the interplay between barriers and slope. We used 176 unique genotypes obtained non-invasively from fresh elephant dung to assess individual-by-individual genetic distance across the Western Ghats of India, a biodiversity hotspot. To assess landscape distance, 36 resistance models were produced by transforming a slope raster. Core areas and corridors were calculated from the raster that provided the best correlation between the genetic and distance matrices. The influence of the closure of PAs on gene flow was examined for one region, the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. The best resistance raster obtained by transforming the slope occupancy model was better than Euclidean distance for explaining genetic distance, indicating that slope partially controls gene flow. Fencing elephant PAs on hilly terrain reduces core areas and disrupts corridors. Consequently, hard PA boundaries abutting slopes can fragment elephant populations, but this can be ameliorated by protecting the adjacent flatter terrain.
Keywords: Asian elephant; slope; protected area; gene flow; connectivity Asian elephant; slope; protected area; gene flow; connectivity

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MDPI and ACS Style

Puyravaud, J.-P.; Cushman, S.A.; Reddy, P.A.; Boominathan, D.; Sharma, R.; Arumugam, N.; Selvan, K.M.; Mohanraj, N.; Arulmozhi, S.; Rahim, A.; et al. Fencing Can Alter Gene Flow of Asian Elephant Populations within Protected Areas. Conservation 2022, 2, 709-725. https://doi.org/10.3390/conservation2040046

AMA Style

Puyravaud J-P, Cushman SA, Reddy PA, Boominathan D, Sharma R, Arumugam N, Selvan KM, Mohanraj N, Arulmozhi S, Rahim A, et al. Fencing Can Alter Gene Flow of Asian Elephant Populations within Protected Areas. Conservation. 2022; 2(4):709-725. https://doi.org/10.3390/conservation2040046

Chicago/Turabian Style

Puyravaud, Jean-Philippe, Samuel A. Cushman, P. Anuradha Reddy, Durairaj Boominathan, Reeta Sharma, Neelakantan Arumugam, Kanagaraj Muthamizh Selvan, Nagarathinam Mohanraj, Sedupathy Arulmozhi, Abdul Rahim, and et al. 2022. "Fencing Can Alter Gene Flow of Asian Elephant Populations within Protected Areas" Conservation 2, no. 4: 709-725. https://doi.org/10.3390/conservation2040046

APA Style

Puyravaud, J.-P., Cushman, S. A., Reddy, P. A., Boominathan, D., Sharma, R., Arumugam, N., Selvan, K. M., Mohanraj, N., Arulmozhi, S., Rahim, A., Kalam, T., De, R., Udayraj, S., Luis, A., Najar, M. U. I., Raman, K., Krishnakumar, B. M., Goyal, S. P., & Davidar, P. (2022). Fencing Can Alter Gene Flow of Asian Elephant Populations within Protected Areas. Conservation, 2(4), 709-725. https://doi.org/10.3390/conservation2040046

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