Phylogeography of Tragelaphus strepsiceros (Pallas 1766) in southern Africa

Abstract

Greater kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros) phylogeography is in need of being revisited using techniques that have developed since the last investigation on the topic, some two decades ago. Here a fragment of the mitochondrial control region and a panel of microsatellites are used to investigate the genetic diversity and differentiation of several greater kudu populations in the southern portion of the species’ distribution, using more recent techniques. I find evidence of differentiation between populations from Tanzania, South Africa’s Cape provinces and eastern South Africa. I also find high genetic diversity in Namibian populations and a split between a majority south-western and a majority eastern mitochondrial lineage. I also project the distribution of suitable habitat for the species in the present and the Last Glacial Maximum. Populations in Tanzania, the Cape and Namibia may warrant consideration as Management Units for the purposes of conservation.