
@article {108060,
	title = {Synthesizing habitat connectivity analyses of a globally important human-dominated tiger-conservation landscape.},
	journal = {Conserv Biol},
	year = {2022},
	month = {2022 Mar 14},
	abstract = {<p>As ecological data and associated analyses become more widely available, synthesizing results for effective communication with stakeholders is essential. In the case of wildlife corridors, managers in human-dominated landscapes need to identify both the locations of corridors and multiple stakeholders for effective oversight. We synthesized 5 independent studies of tiger (Panthera tigris) connectivity in central India, a global priority landscape for tiger conservation, to quantify agreement on landscape permeability for tiger movement and potential movement pathways. We used the latter analysis to identify connectivity areas on which studies agreed and stakeholders associated with these areas to determine relevant participants in corridor management. Three or more of the 5 studies{\textquoteright} resistance layers agreed in 63\% of the study area. Areas in which all studies agree on resistance were of primarily low (66\%, e.g., forest) and high (24\%, e.g., urban) resistance. Agreement was lower in intermediate resistance areas (e.g., agriculture). Despite these differences, the studies largely agreed on areas with high levels of potential movement: \&gt;40\% of high average (top 20\%) current-flow pixels were also in the top 20\% of current-flow agreement pixels (measured by low variation), indicating consensus connectivity areas (CCAs) as conservation priorities. Roughly 70\% of the CCAs fell within village administrative boundaries, and 100\% overlapped forest department management boundaries, suggesting that people live and use forests within these priority areas. Over 16\% of total CCAs{\textquoteright} area was within 1 km of linear infrastructure (437 road, 170 railway, 179 transmission line, and 339 canal crossings; 105 mines within 1 km of CCAs). In 2019, 78\% of forest land diversions for infrastructure and mining in Madhya Pradesh (which comprises most of the study region) took place in districts with CCAs. Acute competition for land in this landscape with globally important wildlife corridors calls for an effective comanagement strategy involving local communities, forest departments, Appendix 1 and infrastructure planners. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.</p>
},
	issn = {1523-1739},
	doi = {10.1111/cobi.13909},
	author = {Schoen, Jay M and Neelakantan, Amrita and Cushman, Samuel A and Dutta, Trishna and Habib, Bilal and Jhala, Yadvendradev V and Mondal, Indranil and Ramakrishnan, Uma and Reddy, P Anuradha and Saini, Swati and Sharma, Sandeep and Thatte, Prachi and Yumnam, Bibek and DeFries, Ruth}
}
@article {99113,
	title = {High frequency of an otherwise rare phenotype in a small and isolated tiger population.},
	journal = {Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A},
	volume = {118},
	year = {2021},
	month = {2021 Sep 28},
	abstract = {<p>Most endangered species exist today in small populations, many of which are isolated. Evolution in such populations is largely governed by genetic drift. Empirical evidence for drift affecting striking phenotypes based on substantial genetic data are rare. Approximately 37\% of tigers () in the Similipal Tiger Reserve (in eastern India) are pseudomelanistic, characterized by wide, merged stripes. Camera trap data across the tiger range revealed the presence of pseudomelanistic tigers only in Similipal. We investigated the genetic basis for pseudomelanism and examined the role of drift in driving this phenotype{\textquoteright}s frequency. Whole-genome data and pedigree-based association analyses from captive tigers revealed that pseudomelanism cosegregates with a conserved and functionally important coding alteration in (), a gene responsible for similar traits in other felid species. Noninvasive sampling of tigers revealed a high frequency of the Taqpep p.H454Y mutation in Similipal (12 individuals, allele frequency = 0.58) and absence from all other tiger populations (395 individuals). Population genetic analyses confirmed few (minimal number) tigers in Similipal, and its genetic isolation, with poor geneflow. Pairwise F (0.33) at the mutation site was high but not an outlier. Similipal tigers had low diversity at 81 single nucleotide polymorphisms (mean heterozygosity = 0.28, SD = 0.27). Simulations were consistent with founding events and drift as possible drivers for the observed stark difference of allele frequency. Our results highlight the role of stochastic processes in the evolution of rare phenotypes. We highlight an unusual evolutionary trajectory in a small and isolated population of an endangered species.</p>
},
	issn = {1091-6490},
	doi = {10.1073/pnas.2025273118},
	author = {Sagar, Vinay and Kaelin, Christopher B and Natesh, Meghana and Reddy, P Anuradha and Mohapatra, Rajesh K and Chhattani, Himanshu and Thatte, Prachi and Vaidyanathan, Srinivas and Biswas, Suvankar and Bhatt, Supriya and Paul, Shashi and Jhala, Yadavendradev V and Verma, Mayank M and Pandav, Bivash and Mondol, Samrat and Barsh, Gregory S and Swain, Debabrata and Ramakrishnan, Uma}
}
