Genetic conservation of South African wattled cranes Kenneth L. Jones a, *, Lindy Rodwell b , Kevin I. McCann c , Gerhard H. Verdoorn d , Mary V. Ashley e a University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Biological Sciences (MnC 066), Chicago, IL 60607-7060, USA b South African Crane Working Group, Private Bag X11, Parkview 2122, South Africa c Eskom/EWT NCCP Project, P.O. Box 1047, Mooi River 3300, South Africa d Endangered Wildlife Trust, Private Bag X11, Parkview 2122, South Africa e University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Biological Sciences (MnC 066), Chicago, IL 60607-7060, USA ARTICLE INFO Article history: Received 24 February 2005 Received in revised form 24 June 2005 Accepted 8 July 2005 Available online 16 September 2005 Keywords: Wattled crane Gruidae Microsatellite DNA Mitochondrial DNA Population genetics ABSTRACT The wattled crane (Grus carunculatus), a species highly dependent on wetlands, is the larg- est and rarest of the six African crane species. The once vast range of the wattled crane now consists of only three disjunct populations. The South African population has shown dramatic declines and supplementation of this population using eggs from south-central Africa has been proposed. The objectives of this study were to compare levels of genetic variation in South African and south-central African populations to determine if such sup- plementation is needed, and if so, whether the south-central African populations represent a genetically similar source for supplementation. We surveyed genetic variation in samples from South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Botswana using 12 microsatellite DNA loci and a 400-bp fragment of the mitochondrial D-loop. Samples from Zimbabwe and Botswana were deemed genetically similar and pooled to increase sample size. Subsequent analyses indi- cate that the pooled south-central and South African populations show differentiation in microsatellite DNA genotypes, as well as mitochondrial DNA. As the results from both genetic markers indicate genetic isolation, these populations should be managed as sepa- rate entities. As no indication was seen from either microsatellite or mtDNA data that sig- nificant loss of genetic diversity has occurred within South African wattled cranes, supplementation from outside populations may not be necessary at this time. Ó 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction The crane family (Gruidae) is among the most threatened groups of birds in the world. Of the 15 extant species, 10 are considered globally threatened (Baillie et al., 2004). Among the many factors threatening cranes, habitat loss, poisoning, and disturbance are predominant in their decline (Meine and Archibald, 1996). The wattled crane (Grus carunculatus), the largest and rarest of the six crane species occurring in Africa (Meine and Archibald, 1996), is currently listed as vulnerable by the IUCN (Baillie et al., 2004). This species is highly depen- dant on wetland habitat for foraging and breeding (Konrad, 1981). Its dependence on wetland habitat makes this species particularly vulnerable to human impacts (McCann et al., 2000). Tarboton et al. (1987) indicates that if a wetland is repeat- edly disturbed, these birds will completely abandon a breeding area. Because of the high sensitivity of wattled cranes to human impacts and disturbances, its presence provides a 0006-3207/$ - see front matter Ó 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2005.07.016 * Corresponding author: Present address: Kansas State University, Division of Biology, 264 Chalmers Hall, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA. Fax: +1 801 457 2897. E-mail address: KenJones@ksu.edu (K.L. Jones). BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION 127 (2006) 98 – 106 available at www.sciencedirect.com journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/biocon