Conservation genetics of American crocodile, Crocodylus acutus, populations in Pacific Costa RicaÂ

Maintaining genetic diversity is crucial for the survival and management of threatened and endangered species. In this study, we analyzed genetic diversity and population genetic structure at neutral loci in American crocodiles, Crocodylus acutus, from several areas (Parque Nacional Marino Las Baulas, Parque Nacional Santa Rosa, Parque Nacional Palo Verde, Rio Tarcoles, and Osa Conservation Area) in Pacific Costa Rica. We genotyped 184 individuals at nine microsatellite loci to describe the genetic diversity and conservation genetics between and among populations. No population was at Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium (HWE) over all loci tested and a small to moderate amount of inbreeding was present. Populations along the Pacific coast had an average heterozygosity of 0.572 across all loci. All populations were significantly differentiated from each other with both FST and RST measures of population differentiation with a greater degree of molecular variance (81%) found within populations. Ou...

维持遗传多样性对于受威胁与濒危物种的生存及物种管理至关重要。本研究以哥斯达黎加太平洋沿岸的多个区域（拉斯巴拉斯海洋国家公园、圣罗莎国家公园、帕洛维德国家公园、塔尔科莱斯河以及奥萨保护区）的美洲鳄（Crocodylus acutus）为研究对象，对其中性位点（neutral loci）的遗传多样性与种群遗传结构展开分析。我们对184个个体的9个微卫星位点（microsatellite loci）进行基因分型，以阐明种群间与种群内的遗传多样性及保护遗传学特征。所有受试种群在全部检测位点上均未达到哈迪-温伯格平衡（Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium, HWE），且存在轻度至中度的近交现象。太平洋沿岸种群的所有位点平均杂合度为0.572。基于种群分化指标FST与RST的分析显示，所有种群间均存在显著遗传分化，且种群内部的分子变异占总变异的81%，占比更高。Ou...