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Staps M, Miller PW, Tarnita CE, Mallarino R. Development shapes the evolutionary diversification of rodent stripe patterns. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2312077120. [PMID: 37871159 PMCID: PMC10636316 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2312077120] [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: 07/15/2023] [Accepted: 09/13/2023] [Indexed: 10/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Vertebrate groups have evolved strikingly diverse color patterns. However, it remains unknown to what extent the diversification of such patterns has been shaped by the proximate, developmental mechanisms that regulate their formation. While these developmental mechanisms have long been inaccessible empirically, here we take advantage of recent insights into rodent pattern formation to investigate the role of development in shaping pattern diversification across rodents. Based on a broad survey of museum specimens, we first establish that various rodents have independently evolved diverse patterns consisting of longitudinal stripes, varying across species in number, color, and relative positioning. We then interrogate this diversity using a simple model that incorporates recent molecular and developmental insights into stripe formation in African striped mice. Our results suggest that, on the one hand, development has facilitated pattern diversification: The diversity of patterns seen across species can be generated by a single developmental process, and small changes in this process suffice to recapitulate observed evolutionary changes in pattern organization. On the other hand, development has constrained diversification: Constraints on stripe positioning limit the scope of evolvable patterns, and although pattern organization appears at first glance phylogenetically unconstrained, development turns out to impose a cryptic constraint. Altogether, this work reveals that pattern diversification in rodents can in part be explained by the underlying development and illustrates how pattern formation models can be leveraged to interpret pattern evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Merlijn Staps
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ08544
| | - Pearson W. Miller
- Center for Computational Biology, Flatiron Institute, New York, NY10010
| | - Corina E. Tarnita
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ08544
| | - Ricardo Mallarino
- Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ08544
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Cuypers LN, Gryseels S, Van Houtte N, Baird SJE, Sabuni CA, Katakweba AS, van den Burg SRM, Bryja J, Leirs H, Goüy de Bellocq J. Subspecific rodent taxa as the relevant host taxonomic level for mammarenavirus host specificity. Virology 2023; 581:116-127. [PMID: 36958216 DOI: 10.1016/j.virol.2023.02.014] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2022] [Revised: 02/19/2023] [Accepted: 02/23/2023] [Indexed: 03/10/2023]
Abstract
Mastomys natalensis-borne mammarenaviruses appear specific to subspecific M. natalensis taxa rather than to the whole species. Yet mammarenaviruses carried by M. natalensis are known to spill over and jump hosts in northern sub-Saharan Africa. Phylogeographic studies increasingly show that, like M. natalensis, small mammals in sub-Saharan Africa are often genetically structured into several subspecific taxa. Other mammarenaviruses may thus also form virus-subspecific host taxon associations. To investigate this, and if mammarenaviruses carried by M. natalensis in southern Africa are less prone to spill-over, we screened 1225 non-M. natalensis samples from Tanzania where many small mammal taxa meet. We found mammarenavirus RNA in 6 samples. Genetic/genomic characterisation confirmed they were not spill-over from M. natalensis. We detected host jumps among rodent tribe members and an association between mammarenaviruses and subspecific taxa of Mus minutoides and Grammomys surdaster, indicating host genetic structure may be crucial to understand virus distribution and host specificity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura N Cuypers
- Evolutionary Ecology Group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Antwerp, Belgium.
| | - Sophie Gryseels
- Evolutionary Ecology Group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Antwerp, Belgium; OD Taxonomy and Phylogeny, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Vautierstraat 29, 1000, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Natalie Van Houtte
- Evolutionary Ecology Group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Stuart J E Baird
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Květná 8, 603 65, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Christopher A Sabuni
- Institute of Pest Management, Sokoine University of Agriculture, P.O. Box 3110 Chuo Kikuu, Morogoro, Tanzania
| | - Abdul S Katakweba
- Institute of Pest Management, Sokoine University of Agriculture, P.O. Box 3110 Chuo Kikuu, Morogoro, Tanzania
| | - Sebastiaan R M van den Burg
- Evolutionary Ecology Group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Josef Bryja
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Květná 8, 603 65, Brno, Czech Republic; Department of Botany and Zoology, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Herwig Leirs
- Evolutionary Ecology Group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Joëlle Goüy de Bellocq
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Květná 8, 603 65, Brno, Czech Republic
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Storniolo F, Mangiacotti M, Zuffi MAL, Scali S, Sacchi R. Large scale phenotypic characterisation of Hierophis viridiflavus (Squamata: Serpentes): climatic and environmental drivers suggest the role of evolutionary processes in a polymorphic species. Evol Ecol 2023. [DOI: 10.1007/s10682-023-10234-8] [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: 03/07/2023]
Abstract
AbstractColour variability is largely widespread in the animal world as it is tightly associated with fitness and survivorship. Therefore, the drivers and implications of such variability have been of great interest for zoologists in the past decades. Reptiles are excellent models to investigate colour variations and expression under different conditions. Here, we focused on melanism occurrence in the two main lineages of Hierophis viridiflavus at the scale of the species distribution, by extracting available data from iNaturalist, a citizen science network, with the aim of detecting any pure effect of climate or local habitat on colour expression. Our analyses highlighted that habitat does not explain differences in phenotypes, whereas marked effects of geographic and climatic variables were detected. However, the observed climatic effects could be a proxy of the geographical distribution of the two groups, and thus the high occurrence of bright colourations in western populations of the eastern lineage could be addressed to an ongoing event of asymmetric gene flow in contact zones. The current distribution of phenotypes could be the outcome of the evolutionary history of the species combined with the geological history of the Mediterranean region. This investigation, though, is only preliminary and molecular analyses on highly variable regions of the genome are mandatory to address this issue.
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Dianat M, Voet I, Ortiz D, Goüy de Bellocq J, Cuypers LN, Kryštufek B, Bureš M, Čížková D, Bryjová A, Bryja J, Nicolas V, Konečný A. Cryptic diversity of Crocidura shrews in the savannahs of Eastern and Southern Africa. Mol Phylogenet Evol 2023; 180:107708. [PMID: 36657626 DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2023.107708] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2022] [Revised: 01/07/2023] [Accepted: 01/12/2023] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Crocidura (Eulipotyphla, Soricidae) is the most species-rich genus among mammals, with high cryptic diversity and complicated taxonomy. The hirta-flavescens group of Crocidura represents the most abundant and widespread shrews in savannahs of eastern and southern Africa, making them a suitable phylogeographical model for assessing the role of paleoclimatic changes on current biodiversity in open African habitats. We present the first comprehensive study on the phylogeography, evolutionary history, geographical distribution, systematics, and taxonomy of the group, using the integration of mitochondrial, genome-wide (ddRAD sequencing), morphological and morphometrical data collected from specimens over most of the known geographic distribution. Our genomic data confirmed the monophyly of this group and its sister relationship with the olivieri group of Crocidura. There is a substantial genetic variation within the hirta-flavescens group, with three highly supported clades showing parapatric distribution and which can be distinguished morphologically: C. hirta, distributed in both the Zambezian and Somali-Masai bioregions, C. flavescens, known from South Africa and south-western Zambia, and C. cf. flavescens, which is known to occur only in central and western Tanzania. Morphometric data revealed relatively minor differences between C. hirta and C. cf. flavescens, but they differ in the colouration of the pelage. Diversification of the hirta-flavescens group has most likely happened during phases of grassland expansion and contraction during Plio-Pleistocene climatic cycles. Eastern African Rift system, rivers, and the distinctiveness of Zambezian and Somali-Masai bioregions seem to have also shaped the pattern of their diversity, which is very similar to sympatric rodent species living in open habitats. Finally, we review the group's taxonomy and propose to revalidate C. bloyeti, currently a synonym of C. hirta, including the specimens treated as C. cf. flavescens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Malahat Dianat
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Kvetna 8, 603 65 Brno, Czech Republic; Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlarska 2, 611 37 Brno, Czech Republic.
| | - Inessa Voet
- Institut de Systematique, Evolution, Biodiversite (ISYEB), Museum national d'Histoire naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Universite, EPHE, Universite des Antilles, CP51, 75005 Paris, France
| | - David Ortiz
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlarska 2, 611 37 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Joëlle Goüy de Bellocq
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Kvetna 8, 603 65 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Laura N Cuypers
- Evolutionary Ecology Group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp,Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium
| | | | - Michal Bureš
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlarska 2, 611 37 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Dagmar Čížková
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Kvetna 8, 603 65 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Anna Bryjová
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Kvetna 8, 603 65 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Josef Bryja
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Kvetna 8, 603 65 Brno, Czech Republic; Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlarska 2, 611 37 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Violaine Nicolas
- Institut de Systematique, Evolution, Biodiversite (ISYEB), Museum national d'Histoire naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Universite, EPHE, Universite des Antilles, CP51, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Adam Konečný
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlarska 2, 611 37 Brno, Czech Republic
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Hánová A, Bryja J, Goüy de Bellocq J, Baird SJE, Cuypers L, Konečný A, Mikula O. Historical demography and climatic niches of the Natal multimammate mouse (Mastomys natalensis) in the Zambezian region. Mamm Biol 2023. [DOI: 10.1007/s42991-023-00346-7] [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: 02/25/2023]
Abstract
AbstractThe Natal multimammate mouse (Mastomys natalensis) is the most widespread rodent species in sub-Saharan Africa, often studied as an agricultural pest and reservoir of viruses. Its mitochondrial (Mt) phylogeny revealed six major lineages parapatrically distributed across open habitats of sub-Saharan Africa. In this study we used 1949 sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene to elaborate on distribution and evolutionary history of three Mt lineages inhabiting the open habitats of the Zambezian region (corresponding roughly to the African savannas south of the Equator). We describe in more detail contact zones between the lineages—their location and extent of co-occurrence within localities—and infer past population trends. The estimates are interpreted in the light of climatic niche models. The lineages underwent reduction in effective population size during the last glacial, but they spread widely after that: two of them after the last glacial maximum and the last one in mid-Holocene. The centers of expansion, i.e., possible long-term savanna refugia, were estimated to lie close to the Eastern Arc Mountains and lakes of the Great African Rift, geomorphological structures likely to have had long-term influence on geographical distribution of the lineages. Environmental niche modeling shows climate could also affect the broad scale distribution of the lineages but is unlikely to explain the narrow width of the contact zones. The intraspecific Mt differentiation of M. natalensis echoes phylogeographic patterns observed in multiple co-distributed mammal species, which suggests the mammal communities in the region are shaped by the same long-term processes.
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Cuypers LN, Sabuni C, Šumbera R, Aghová T, Lišková E, Leirs H, Baird SJE, Goüy de Bellocq J, Bryja J. Biogeographical Importance of the Livingstone Mountains in Southern Tanzania: Comparative Genetic Structure of Small Non-volant Mammals. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.742851] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The Livingstone Mountains (LM; also known as the Kipengere Range) found in south-western Tanzania at the northern end of Lake Nyasa are an important region for understanding the biogeography of Eastern Africa. The two branches of the East African Rift Valley meet here and the mountains might represent stepping stones for colonization and migration between different parts of the Eastern Afromontane Biodiversity Hotspot (especially the link between the Eastern Arc Mountains, EAM, and the Southern Rift Mountains, SRM), as well as an efficient barrier to gene flow for taxa living in drier savannahs in lower elevations. Here we combine new mitochondrial sequence data from 610 recently sampled rodents and shrews with available georeferenced genetic data (3538 specimens) from southern Tanzania, northern Malawi/Zambia and northern Mozambique and compare the spatial genetic structure among different taxa. There is no universal phylogeographic pattern in taxa preferring humid montane habitats. For some of them, the Makambako Gap acts as a barrier between the SRM and the EAM, but other taxa can bridge this gap. Barriers within the EAM (frequently) and within the SRM (sometimes) appear more important. The Rukwa rift between the SRM and the ARM is an important barrier that perhaps can only be crossed by taxa that are not that strictly tied to humid montane environments. For mammals living in lower-elevation savannah-like habitats, the LM can act as a strict barrier to gene flow, and together with the Ufipa Plateau, Lake Nyasa and the EAM create a very similar phylogeographic pattern with three recognizable genetic groups in most savannah-dwellers. The Livingstone Mountains thus appear to be one of the most important biogeographic crossroads in Eastern Africa.
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Hánová A, Konečný A, Mikula O, Bryjová A, Šumbera R, Bryja J. Diversity, distribution, and evolutionary history of the most studied African rodents, multimammate mice of the genus
Mastomys
: An overview after a quarter of century of using DNA sequencing. J ZOOL SYST EVOL RES 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/jzs.12569] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra Hánová
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic Brno Czech Republic
- Department of Botany and Zoology Faculty of Science Masaryk University Brno Czech Republic
| | - Adam Konečný
- Department of Botany and Zoology Faculty of Science Masaryk University Brno Czech Republic
| | - Ondřej Mikula
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic Brno Czech Republic
| | - Anna Bryjová
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic Brno Czech Republic
| | - Radim Šumbera
- Department of Zoology Faculty of Science University of South Bohemia České Budějovice Czech Republic
| | - Josef Bryja
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic Brno Czech Republic
- Department of Botany and Zoology Faculty of Science Masaryk University Brno Czech Republic
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Ademola OJ, Massawe AW, Mulungu LS, Hieronimo P, Makonda FBS, Makundi RH. Habitat type impacts small mammal diversity in the Ukaguru Mountains, Tanzania. MAMMALIA 2021. [DOI: 10.1515/mammalia-2020-0158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
We assessed the habitat association of the diversity and abundance of small mammals in the Ukaguru Mountains within the Eastern Arc Mountains, Tanzania. An estimation of the vegetation parameters and live-trapping of small mammals for three consecutive nights per month for 21 months were carried out in farmland, disturbed and intact forests. A total of 1196 individual small mammals comprising 13 species were captured. Species diversity and evenness in intact forest were much higher compared to disturbed forest. Principal component analysis (PCA) explained 87.7% of the variance with two factors. The study suggests vegetation and habitat disturbances are factors responsible for the observed diversity of small mammals in the Ukaguru Mountains. Mastomys natalensis, Mus triton and Praomys delectorum accounted for 90.0% of total captures. M. triton and M. natalensis were the most abundant in farmland with 46.8 and 42.8% of total captures respectively and associated with the herbaceous vegetation. P. delectorum correlated with litter depth and trees and accounted for 90.0 and 80.0% total captures in disturbed and intact forests respectively but the mean abundances in both habitats were not significantly different (p = 0.72).
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Affiliation(s)
- Olaoluwa John Ademola
- African Center of Excellence for Innovative Rodent Pest Management and Biosensor Technology, Sokoine University of Agriculture , Morogoro , Tanzania
- Department of Wildlife Management , Sokoine University of Agriculture , Morogoro , Tanzania
- Department of Zoology , University of Ilorin , Ilorin , Nigeria
| | - Apia W. Massawe
- African Center of Excellence for Innovative Rodent Pest Management and Biosensor Technology, Sokoine University of Agriculture , Morogoro , Tanzania
| | - Loth S. Mulungu
- Pest Management Centre , Sokoine University of Agriculture , Morogoro , Tanzania
| | - Proches Hieronimo
- Department of Agricultural Engineering and Land Planning , Sokoine University of Agriculture , Morogoro , Tanzania
| | - Fortunatus B. S. Makonda
- Department of Forest Engineering and Wood Sciences , Sokoine University of Agriculture , Morogoro , Tanzania
| | - Rhodes H. Makundi
- African Center of Excellence for Innovative Rodent Pest Management and Biosensor Technology, Sokoine University of Agriculture , Morogoro , Tanzania
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Uhrová M, Mikula O, Bennett NC, Van Daele P, Piálek L, Bryja J, Visser JH, Jansen van Vuuren B, Šumbera R. Species limits and phylogeographic structure in two genera of solitary African mole-rats Georychus and Heliophobius. Mol Phylogenet Evol 2021; 167:107337. [PMID: 34757170 DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2021.107337] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2021] [Revised: 10/19/2021] [Accepted: 10/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
African mole-rats (Bathyergidae) are an intensively studied family of subterranean rodents including three highly social and three solitary genera. Although their phylogenetic interrelations are clear, genetic diversity and the number of species within each genus is much less certain. Among the solitary genera, Heliophobius and Georychus were for a long time considered as monotypic, but molecular studies demonstrated strong phylogeographic structure within each genus and proposed that they represent complexes of cryptic species. The present study re-evaluates their internal genetic/phylogenetic structure using a combination of methodological approaches. We generated datasets of one mitochondrial and six specifically selected nuclear markers as well as of a large number of double digest restriction site associated (ddRAD) loci and then applied species delimitation analyses based on the multispecies coalescent model or clustering on co-ancestry matrices. The population structure was largely congruent across all analyses, but the methods differed in their resolution scale when determining distinct gene pools. While the multispecies coalescent model distinguished five Georychus and between eleven to thirteen Heliophobius gene pools in both Sanger sequenced and ddRAD loci, two clustering algorithms revealed significantly finer or coarser structure in ddRAD based co-ancestry matrices. Tens of clusters were distinguished by fineRADstructure and one (in Georychus) or two clusters (in Heliophobius) by Infomap. The divergence dating of the bathyergid phylogeny estimated that diversification within both genera coincided with the onset of the Pleistocene and was likely driven by repeated large-scale climatic changes. Based on this updated genetic evidence, we suggest recognizing one species of Georychus and two species of Heliophobius, corresponding to a northern and southern major lineage, separated by the Eastern Arc Mountains. Yet, the final taxonomic revision should await integrated evidence stemming from e.g.. morphological, ecological, or behavioral datasets.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Uhrová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Sciences, University of South Bohemia
| | - O Mikula
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Sciences, University of South Bohemia; Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences
| | - N C Bennett
- Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, 0002, South Africa
| | - P Van Daele
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Sciences, University of South Bohemia
| | - L Piálek
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Sciences, University of South Bohemia
| | - J Bryja
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences
| | - J H Visser
- Centre for Ecological Genomics and Wildlife Conservation, Department of Zoology, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park, Johannesburg, South Africa; Department of Conservation and Marine Sciences, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, P.O. Box 652, Cape Town 8000, South Africa
| | - B Jansen van Vuuren
- Centre for Ecological Genomics and Wildlife Conservation, Department of Zoology, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - R Šumbera
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Sciences, University of South Bohemia
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