Han Taub

Agony of Choice Paper

10/5/16
Conservation efforts are a complicated topic that force conservationists to make some
difficult choices. The input of geneticists, ecologists, evolutionary biologists, as well as those
involved in politics and land conservation must all be taken into account when making decisions
about the best ways to conserve species and ensure their long-term survival. It can be easy to
focus on the short-term when thinking about conservation, but often the decisions that are best
for the here and now are not the best decisions for a particular species extended survival and
ability to thrive. Here, I would like to examine the best way to approach the conservation of
African elephants by looking at genetic and ecological population data.
Firstly, I believe that African elephants should be considered two different species
forest elephants and savannah elephants. The main argument against this is that these
populations are able to hybridize and thus should not be split into two species. However, there
are multiple examples of organisms that are considered different species that are able to
hybridize. We consider lions and tigers different species regardless of their ability to produce
viable offspring; similarly, horses and donkeys are morphologically and genetically different
enough to be considered different species and are still able to hybridize. In fact, while forest and
savannah hybrids exist, these populations dont readily interbreed in the wild (Vogel 2001). The
ecological difference in habitats is very suggestive of two different species, and the adaptation of
elephant populations over time to each habitat in terms of body size, diet, and (other trait)
strongly suggests speciation. Roca et al. (2001) found that phylogenetic analysis uncovered a
large divide between the genetic makeup of forest and savannah elephants. Recognizing these

elephants as two species would help develop more nuanced conservation efforts and understand
better how to protect each species.
There are a number of genetic, morphological, and ecological traits to look at when
considering which populations would be most beneficial to prioritize for the long-term future and
health of the species. The traits that I looked at the most were the numbers of unique alleles, any
unique habitats, and observed heterozygosity. For this reason, the four populations of elephants I
recommend prioritizing are the Benoue, Bmbo, Mali, and Bia populations. According to our
genetic data, the Benoue and Bmbo populations had the highest number of unique alleles when
compared with all the other populations. This is beneficial as small population sizes, and, as a
consequence, allele fixation is a huge concern when thinking about the long-term effects of
conservation efforts. Protecting populations with high levels of genetic diversity is extremely
important for the health of the species. In the same vein, the Bia population had both the highest
number of alleles and the highest observed heterozygosity, implying that this population has a lot
of genetic diversity and would be useful. The Mali population, according to the map, is the only
one of these populations to fully reside in the desert, suggesting potential genetic differences
and/or morphological adaptations for that environment. Between these four populations, we
have conserved both forest and savannah/desert populations with a wide range of genetic
diversity.
There are some concerns that are definitely relevant when considering how and which
populations to prioritize. One is that small populations can often lead to very small pools of
reproductive options that is, inbreeding is more likely than in large populations. Inbreeding
generally leads to decreased heterozygosity and less genetic diversity, causing problems for
future generations in terms of adaptive ability. In addition, as resources in the forests and the

savannah dwindle and habitats change because of things like deforestation and global climate
change, gene flow and migration between populations might occur, bringing populations out of
Hardy-Weinberg, which can be detected using that genetic data. Because of this, choosing those
populations with high amounts of genetic diversity and a wide range of potential habitats is
important for the future of elephant populations 10, 100, or even 10,000 years from now.
Conservation efforts must be carefully planned by looking at the big picture of the development
of the two species in Africa.

Works Cited
Vogel, G. 2001. African Elephant Species Splits in Two. Science 239:1414.
Roca, AL, Georgiadis, N, Pecon-Slattery, J, OBrien SJ. 2001. Genetic Evidence for Two Species
of Elephant in Africa. Science 293:1473-1477.