title: Genetic diversity of the Ethiopian Grevy's zebra (Equus grevyi) populations that includes a unique population of the Alledeghi Plain.
abstract: The endangered Grevy's Zebra (Equus grevyi) is confined to the Horn of Africa, specifically Ethiopia and Kenya. It is threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation due to human encroachment of historic range. Knowledge of population genetics is essential for the development of appropriate conservation actions and management. The focus of this study was to assess the heterogeneity and genetic distinctiveness of the two Grevy's zebra populations in Ethiopia. Non-invasive fecal samples (N = 120) were collected during 2009-2010 from Grevy's zebra populations in the Alledeghi Wildlife Reserve and the Sarite area, Ethiopia. Analyses of a 329 bp of the mtDNA control region of 47 sequences, revealed the existence of two unreported haplotypes in the northern population of Alledeghi, that were not shared with the southern population of Sarite. The Sarite population is contiguous with the Grevy's zebra population in Kenya. The nucleotide diversity levels found in both the populations are extremely low.
authors.affiliation: a Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority , Addis Ababa , Ethiopia .
authors.forename: Fanuel
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kebede
authors.affiliation: b Research Centre for Biodiversity and Genetic Resources (CIBIO), University of Porto , Vairão , Portugal .
authors.forename: Sonia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rosenbom
authors.affiliation: b Research Centre for Biodiversity and Genetic Resources (CIBIO), University of Porto , Vairão , Portugal .
authors.forename: Leili
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Khalatbari
authors.affiliation: c IUCN/SSC Equid Specialist Group , Arusha , Tanzania , and.
authors.forename: Patricia D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Moehlman
authors.affiliation: b Research Centre for Biodiversity and Genetic Resources (CIBIO), University of Porto , Vairão , Portugal .
authors.forename: Albano
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Beja-Pereira
authors.affiliation: d Department of Zoological Sciences , Addis Ababa University , Addis Ababa , Ethiopia.
authors.forename: Afework
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bekele
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild; D001483:Base Sequence; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics; D056727:Endangered Species; D018397:Equidae / Q000235:genetics*; D005002:Ethiopia; D014644:Genetic Variation; D054629:Genome, Mitochondrial; D006239:Haplotypes; D007630:Kenya; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA / Q000662:veterinary
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial
keywords: Conservation; Ethiopia; Grevy’s zebra; genetic diversity