Of war, tusks, and genes

Societal conflict leaves an evolutionary signature in wildlife Elephants have long been dragged into war. Referred to as “elephantry,” military units rode into battle atop these giants over millennia. On page 483 of this issue, Campbell-Staton et al. ( 1 ) describe the evolutionary aftermath of a di...

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Published inScience (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 374; no. 6566; pp. 394 - 395
Main Authors Darimont, Chris T., Pelletier, Fanie
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States The American Association for the Advancement of Science 22.10.2021
Subjects
Elephants
Genes
Ivory
Loxodonta africana
Population dynamics
Tooth
War
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Summary:Societal conflict leaves an evolutionary signature in wildlife Elephants have long been dragged into war. Referred to as “elephantry,” military units rode into battle atop these giants over millennia. On page 483 of this issue, Campbell-Staton et al. ( 1 ) describe the evolutionary aftermath of a different type of wartime elephant use. Seeking ivory to finance a civil war in Mozambique, poachers relentlessly targeted specific African elephants ( Loxodonta africana ), individuals with tusks, sending the population—and the frequency of this important trait—into decline. The study reveals the consequence of this intense selective killing on the persistence of tusks and the genes associated, as well as for population dynamics. Campbell-Staton et al. also identify the simple genetic architecture underlying the presence of tusks. The findings bring new evidence to inform debates on the roles of environmental and selective forces underlying trait variation in populations subject to harvest.
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ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.abm2980