Identifying source populations and genetic structure for savannah elephants in human-dominated landscapes and protected areas in the Kenya-Tanzania borderlands.

We investigated the genetic metapopulation structure of elephants across the trans Rift Valley region of Kenya and Tanzania, one of the remaining strongholds for savannah elephants (Loxodonata africana) in East Africa, using microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) markers. We then examined this population structure to determine the source population for a recent colonization event of savannah elephants on community-owned land within the trans rift valley region. Four of the five sampled populations showed significant genetic differentiation (p<0.

A simple and accurate method to sex savannah, forest and Asian elephants using noninvasive sampling techniques.

We report the development of a reliable and efficient method for molecular sexing of all extant elephant taxa. We developed primers that amplify two short Y-specific fragments (SRY1 and AMELY2) and one longer X-specific fragment (PLP1), developed from elephant sequences in one multiplex PCR. All fragments were designed to be short (< 200 basepairs) for use with degraded DNA and to be 50 basepairs apart to optimize visualization on agarose gels or as electropherograms.