By Will DunhamApril 16 (Reuters) – The largest genomic study of African elephants to date has found that both species – savanna and forest elephants – remain in generally good genetic health despite long-term numerical declines, though some isolated populations are showing worrisome signs of inbreeding and deleterious mutations.Researchers analyzed the genetic health of African elephants – Earth’s largest land animals – by looking at genome data for 181 savanna elephants and 51 forest elephants from 29 locations across 17 countries.AdvertisementAdvertisementTheir genetic health was found to be positive overall because many populations, particularly in a broad swathe of southern Africa, can still roam across large distances and exchange genes. Signs of genetic trouble were detected in elephants cut off from other populations due to factors such as growing human populations, agricultural expansion and infrastructure projects.”We mostly see the isolation in the populations on the periphery, at the edge of the elephant distribution,” said University of Copenhagen evolutionary geneticist Patrícia Pečnerová, lead author of the research published on Thursday in the journal Nature Communications.”This includes forest and savanna elephants in the northwestern part of Africa like Sierra Leone, Mali and Cameroon, and it includes savanna elephants in Namibia in the southwest and the northeastern-most populations in Eritrea and Ethiopia,” Pečnerová said.About 100 elephants remain in Eritrea, and they live about 250 miles (400 km) from any other elephant population, Pečnerová said. The roughly 300 elephants living at the Babile Elephant Sanctuary in Ethiopia are not completely isolated but inhabit a harsh environment in shrinking pockets of land amid poaching and expanding settlements, Pečnerová said.AdvertisementAdvertisement”We see the effects of isolation in increasing levels of inbreeding, mating between relatives, which also leads to a l …
