Genetic signatures of a demographic collapse in a large‐bodied forest dwelling primate (Mandrillus leucophaeus)

• Published in: Ecology and evolution Vol. 2; no. 3; pp. 550 - 561
• Main Authors: Ting, Nelson, Astaras, Christos, Hearn, Gail, Honarvar, Shaya, Corush, Joel, Burrell, Andrew S., Phillips, Naomi, Morgan, Bethan J., Gadsby, Elizabeth L., Raaum, Ryan, Roos, Christian
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.03.2012; John Wiley & Sons, Inc
• Subjects: Aridity; Bayesian analysis; Bayesian Skyline Plot; bottleneck; Climate change; Climate prediction; Cross‐Sanaga‐Bioko forests; Demographics; Demography; drill; Endangered species; Environmental changes; Females; Forests; Holocene; Lakes; Mandrillus; Mandrillus leucophaeus; Mitochondrial DNA; Original Research; Palynology; Pleistocene; Population decline; Population dynamics; Population number; Rainforests; Seasonal variations; Wildlife; New York; Cameroon; Madagascar; United States > US; Africa; Cross-Sanaga-Bioko forests; Bayesian Skyline Plot; drill; Mandrillus; bottleneck; climate change
• ISSN: 2045-7758; 2045-7758
• DOI: 10.1002/ece3.98

It is difficult to predict how current climate change will affect wildlife species adapted to a tropical rainforest environment. Understanding how population dynamics fluctuated in such species throughout periods of past climatic change can provide insight into this issue. The drill (Mandrillus leucophaeus) is a large‐bodied rainforest adapted mammal found in West Central Africa. In the middle of this endangered monkey's geographic range is Lake Barombi Mbo, which has a well‐documented palynological record of environmental change that dates to the Late Pleistocene. We used a Bayesian coalescent‐based framework to analyze 2,076 base pairs of mitochondrial DNA across wild drill populations to infer past changes in female effective population size since the Late Pleistocene. Our results suggest that the drill underwent a nearly 15‐fold demographic collapse in female effective population size that was most prominent during the Mid Holocene (approximately 3‐5 Ka). This time period coincides with a period of increased dryness and seasonality across Africa and a dramatic reduction in forest coverage at Lake Barombi Mbo. We believe that these changes in climate and forest coverage were the driving forces behind the drill population decline. Furthermore, the warm temperatures and increased aridity of the Mid Holocene are potentially analogous to current and future conditions faced by many tropical rainforest communities. In order to prevent future declines in population size in rainforest‐adapted species such as the drill, large tracts of forest should be protected to both preserve habitat and prevent forest loss through aridification. The drill (Mandrillus leucophaeus) is a cryptic and endangered primate that inhabits the rainforests of West Central Africa. We discovered a nearly 15‐fold decline in drill female effective population size that is most marked during the Mid Holocene. We postulate the cause of the population collapse to be forest recession brought on by a warm and arid climate, conditions which may be analogous to projected changes in climate for some current tropical forested regions.