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Balboa RF, Bertola LD, Brüniche-Olsen A, Rasmussen MS, Liu X, Besnard G, Salmona J, Santander CG, He S, Zinner D, Pedrono M, Muwanika V, Masembe C, Schubert M, Kuja J, Quinn L, Garcia-Erill G, Stæger FF, Rakotoarivony R, Henrique M, Lin L, Wang X, Heaton MP, Smith TPL, Hanghøj K, Sinding MHS, Atickem A, Chikhi L, Roos C, Gaubert P, Siegismund HR, Moltke I, Albrechtsen A, Heller R. African bushpigs exhibit porous species boundaries and appeared in Madagascar concurrently with human arrival. Nat Commun 2024; 15:172. [PMID: 38172616 PMCID: PMC10764920 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-44105-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2023] [Accepted: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Several African mammals exhibit a phylogeographic pattern where closely related taxa are split between West/Central and East/Southern Africa, but their evolutionary relationships and histories remain controversial. Bushpigs (Potamochoerus larvatus) and red river hogs (P. porcus) are recognised as separate species due to morphological distinctions, a perceived lack of interbreeding at contact, and putatively old divergence times, but historically, they were considered conspecific. Moreover, the presence of Malagasy bushpigs as the sole large terrestrial mammal shared with the African mainland raises intriguing questions about its origin and arrival in Madagascar. Analyses of 67 whole genomes revealed a genetic continuum between the two species, with putative signatures of historical gene flow, variable FST values, and a recent divergence time (<500,000 years). Thus, our study challenges key arguments for splitting Potamochoerus into two species and suggests their speciation might be incomplete. Our findings also indicate that Malagasy bushpigs diverged from southern African populations and underwent a limited bottleneck 1000-5000 years ago, concurrent with human arrival in Madagascar. These results shed light on the evolutionary history of an iconic and widespread African mammal and provide insight into the longstanding biogeographic puzzle surrounding the bushpig's presence in Madagascar.
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Affiliation(s)
- Renzo F Balboa
- Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Laura D Bertola
- Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | | | | | - Xiaodong Liu
- Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Guillaume Besnard
- Laboratoire Evolution et Diversité Biologique (EDB), UMR 5174, CNRS, IRD, Université Toulouse Paul Sabatier, 31062, Toulouse, France
| | - Jordi Salmona
- Laboratoire Evolution et Diversité Biologique (EDB), UMR 5174, CNRS, IRD, Université Toulouse Paul Sabatier, 31062, Toulouse, France
| | - Cindy G Santander
- Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Shixu He
- Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Dietmar Zinner
- Cognitive Ecology Laboratory, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
- Department of Primate Cognition, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
- Leibniz Science Campus Primate Cognition, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Miguel Pedrono
- UMR ASTRE, CIRAD, Campus International de Baillarguet, Montpellier, France
| | - Vincent Muwanika
- College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
| | - Charles Masembe
- College of Natural Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
| | - Mikkel Schubert
- Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Josiah Kuja
- Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Liam Quinn
- Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | | | | | | | | | - Long Lin
- Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Xi Wang
- Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | | | | | - Kristian Hanghøj
- Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | | | - Anagaw Atickem
- Department of Zoological Sciences, Addis Ababa University, PO Box 1176, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
| | - Lounès Chikhi
- Laboratoire Evolution et Diversité Biologique (EDB), UMR 5174, CNRS, IRD, Université Toulouse Paul Sabatier, 31062, Toulouse, France
- Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Christian Roos
- Gene Bank of Primates and Primate Genetics Laboratory, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Philippe Gaubert
- Laboratoire Evolution et Diversité Biologique (EDB), UMR 5174, CNRS, IRD, Université Toulouse Paul Sabatier, 31062, Toulouse, France
- Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental (CIIMAR), Universidade do Porto, Terminal de Cruzeiros do Porto de Leixões, Av. General Norton de Matos, s/n, 4450-208, Porto, Portugal
| | - Hans R Siegismund
- Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Ida Moltke
- Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
| | | | - Rasmus Heller
- Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
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Rakotoarivony R, Molia S, Rakotomalala E, Ramy-Ratiarison R, Jori F, Pedrono M. Bushpig (Potamochoerus larvatus) Hunting in Rural Areas of Madagascar and Its Health and Socioeconomic Implications. Front Conserv Sci 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fcosc.2022.732626] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Bushmeat consumption and trade plays a relevant role in many tropical countries as a source of protein and income for rural populations. In Madagascar, rural populations depend heavily on natural resources and wildlife as source of income and protein. The bushpig (Potamochoerus larvatus) is the largest mammal available in the island and regularly hunted. However, little is known about the importance and characteristics of this activity and its implication as a potential source of pathogens for both humans and domestic animals. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2014–2015 in five different regions of rural Madagascar suspected to have significant bushpig populations to (i) quantify and characterize the importance of bushpig hunting, (ii) assess the socioeconomic impact of bushpig trade, (iii) evaluate the potential pathogen transmission between bushpigs, domestic pigs and humans. A total of 77 hunters, 10 butchers and 95 pig farmers were individually interviewed. Hunting seasonality and the perception of local hunters with regards to the dynamics of bushpig populations in the last decade differed between the tropical dry and tropical sub-arid climatic zones. The top reason for hunting bushpigs was crop protection but personal consumption and selling of meat were also common. Hunting efficacy was largely dependent on the technique used. Snares and traps, the most widely used techniques, allowed the majority of hunters to catch from one to 10 bushpigs per year. Limited commercial bushpig trade was observed with only 0.8 bushpig sold in average per year and per hunter, representing a 16 USD income. The average price per kilo sold was USD 0.8 and the average profit received by each butcher/collector after the sale of a carcass was USD 11.9. No perception of disease risks nor precautions were taken to prevent potential pathogen transmission from bushpig to humans or pigs. Most of the hunters (68%) indicated that they had never seen a diseased bushpig. Bushpig hunting in our study areas in Madagascar was basically a small-scale subsistence hunting, very different from commercial bushmeat hunting described in areas of Central Africa or the Amazon Basin. More research is needed to verify the sustainability of bushpig hunting and its potential role in terms of reducing pressure on other endemic wildlife species and transmitting pathogens to humans and pigs.
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