Data from: Creating small food-habituated groups might alter genetic diversity in the endangered Yunnan snub-nosed monkey. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e01422
DOI10.5281/ZENODO.4423417Zenodo4423417MaRDI QIDQ6672683FDOQ6672683
Dataset published at Zenodo repository.
Patrick Giraudoux, Amaël Dupaix, Zhonghua Yu, Rong Fu, Eve Afonso, Li Li, Dayong Li, Anne-Claude Goydadin
Publication date: 7 January 2021
Copyright license: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
Ecotourism is increasing worldwide for financial, educational and social purposes. Organized viewing of wildlife, especially at feeding sites where wildlife is ready-to-view, increases the opportunities for tourists to observe animals in the wild. However, feeding sites might retain only a subsample of wild populations. We thus hypothesized that such human intervention could induce population subdivisions and alter random mating by artificially creating small groups. The endangered Yunnan snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus bieti) is an emblematic example reflecting the contradictions between conservation and ecotourism. In Gehuaqing/Xiangguqing (Yunnan, China), some individuals are maintained at feeding sites, while the rest of the monkey subpopulation wanders in a large surrounding area. Using faecal sampling and molecular analyses, we showed that this subpopulation is genetically structured into two moderately differentiated subgroups. The fed subgroup exhibited lower genetic diversity and higher relatedness than the rest of the subpopulation. Simulation model results indicated that a single translocation probably would not restore genetic diversity in fed individuals. Thus, feeding sites implementation and associated management practices might rapidly induce founder effects. We discuss the possibilities of conciliating ecotourism and the conservation of endangered animal species from this viewpoint.
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