Autosomal and mtDNA markers affirm the distinctiveness of lions in West and Central Africa

The evolutionary history of a species is key for understanding the taxonomy and for the design of effective management strategies for species conservation. The knowledge about the phylogenetic position of the lion (Panthera leo) in West/Central Africa is largely based on mitochondrial markers. Previous studies using mtDNA only have shown this region to hold a distinct evolutionary lineage. In addition, anthropogenic factors have led to a strong decline in West/Central African lion numbers, thus, the conservation value of these populations is particularly high. Here, we investigate whether autosomal markers are concordant with previously described phylogeographic patterns, and confirm the unique position of the West/Central African lion. Analysis of 20 microsatellites and 1,454 bp of the mitochondrial DNA in 16 lion populations representing the entire geographic range of the species found congruence in both types of markers, identifying four clusters: 1) West/Central Africa, 2) East Africa, 3) Southern Africa and 4) India. This is not in line with the current taxonomy, as defined by the IUCN, which only recognizes an African and an Asiatic subspecies. There are no indications that genetic diversity in West/Central Africa lions is lower than in either East or Southern Africa, however, given this genetic distinction and the recent declines of lion numbers in this region, we strongly recommend prioritization of conservation projects in West/Central Africa. As the current taxonomic nomenclature does not reflect the evolutionary history of the lion, we suggest that a taxonomic revision of the lion is warranted

Relationship between populations of lions based on mtDNA data and on 20 microsatellite loci.

<p>A: Haplotype network based on median-joining algorithm in Network; B: Phenetic tree based on D_A genetic distance of microsatellite data of 12 lion populations.</p

Overview of lion populations included in this study.

<p>Overview of lion populations included in this study.</p

Results of PCA based on 20 microsatellite loci of lion populations.

<p>A: results of PCA of 12 populations (Dataset 1, excluding Chad and Ethiopia2), shown in a two-dimensional plot and a table indicating the percentage and the cumulative percentage explained by the first three axes; B: Results of PCA of 11 populations, excluding India.</p

Results of STRUCTURE analysis based on 20 microsatellite loci of 15 lion populations (Dataset 1 + 2 individuals from Ethiopia1).

<p>A: representation of assignment values found by STRUCTURE, using K = 4; B: Overview of included populations; C: Plot indicating mean log likelihood Ln (P(X|K); D: plot indicating ΔK values as a function of the number of genetic clusters (K), in which ΔK = mean(|L”(K)|)/sd(L(K)); E: Representation of assignment values found by STRUCTURE, using K = 2. K = 3, K = 5 and K = 6.</p

Map showing the location of the 16 lion populations included in the analysis.

<p>In the legend, the composition of the datasets and the number of included microsatellite loci is indicated. Lion range data from IUCN (2014). Region definitions from IUCN SSC Cat Specialist Group (2006a; b).</p

Spatial patterns of large African cats : a large-scale study on density, home range size, and home range overlap of lions Panthera leo and leopards Panthera pardus

Spatial patterns of and competition for resources by territorial carnivores are typically explained by two hypotheses: 1) the territorial defence hypothesis and 2) the searching efficiency hypothesis. According to the territorial defence hypothesis, when food resources are abundant, carnivore densities will be high and home ranges small. In addition, carnivores can maximise their necessary energy intake with minimal territorial defence. At medium resource levels, larger ranges will be needed, and it will become more economically beneficial to defend resources against a lower density of competitors. At low resource levels, carnivore densities will be low and home ranges large, but resources will be too scarce to make it beneficial to defend such large territories. Thus, home range overlap will be minimal at intermediate carnivore densities. According to the searching efficiency hypothesis, there is a cost to knowing a home range. Larger areas are harder to learn and easier to forget, so carnivores constantly need to keep their cognitive map updated by regularly revisiting parts of their home ranges. Consequently, when resources are scarce, carnivores require larger home ranges to acquire sufficient food. These larger home ranges lead to more overlap among individuals' ranges, so that overlap in home ranges is largest when food availability is the lowest. Since conspecific density is low when food availability is low, this hypothesis predicts that overlap is largest when densities are the lowest. We measured home range overlap and used a novel method to compare intraspecific home range overlaps for lions Panthera leo (n = 149) and leopards Panthera pardus (n = 111) in Africa. We estimated home range sizes from telemetry location data and gathered carnivore density data from the literature. Our results did not support the territorial defence hypothesis for either species. Lion prides increased their home range overlap at conspecific lower densities whereas leopards did not. Lion pride changes in overlap were primarily due to increases in group size at lower densities. By contrast, the unique dispersal strategies of leopards led to reduced overlap at lower densities. However, when human-caused mortality was higher, leopards increased their home range overlap. Although lions and leopards are territorial, their territorial behaviour was less important than the acquisition of food in determining their space use. Such information is crucial for the future conservation of these two iconic African carnivores