Vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops) are one of the most widely distributed
primate species in Africa. The aim of this study was to determine the level of genetic
differentiation among conspecific vervet monkey populations in the south-eastern
regions of South Africa, as part of a bigger project to determine levels of
differentiation across South Africa. For this purpose, samples were taken from four
localities in the Free State Province (Soetdoring Nature Reserve (NR), Gariep Dam
NR, Sandveld NR and the Parys area), four Eastern Cape locations (Tsolwana NR,
Baviaanskloof NR, Shamwari Private Game Reserve (PGR) and the Nelson Mandela
Metropolitan University (NMMU) campus, Port Elizabeth), three Kwa-Zulu Natal
location (St. Lucia area) and one Limpopo Province locality. Genetic differentiation
was quantified using sequence data from a portion of the mtDNA control region.
Twelve Haplotypes were identified within the total sample group. The nucleotide
diversity for each grouping was calculated over all loci. Nucleotide diversity ranged
from 0 to 0.038% ±0.02. Haplotype frequencies distribution among samples was
calculated. An analysis of Molecular Variance (AMOVA) test was conducted and
population pairwise FST values were estimated. The AMOVA test revealed that the
majority of the genetic diversity occurred among the different groups (52.5%), with
only 4.9% of the variation found within populations. The populations were assigned
to groups according to geographic origins. The pairwise analysis identified
significant levels of genetic variation among populations, with an average FST value
of 0.851. These haplotypes were found to coincide with the geographical borders of
Provinces. A ML tree was constructed using the haplotype data, and results showed
clustering corresponding to geographical borders. A phylogenetic network was
constructed, and this showed clustering similar to that found with the ML tree
analysis. According to these results it is clear that there is genetic structuring among
vervet monkey populations in South Africa. This clustering of populations can be
potentially explained by female philopatry and geographical barriers. Female
philopatry is a well known occurrence amongst Cercopithecine primates. The
occurrence of geographical barriers, such as rivers and mountains had influence on
migration rates and genetic structuring. This clustering pattern observed with
mtDNA analysis contradicts results from previous studies working with nuclear DNA markers. This can be caused by various factors. Except for female philopatry
having an effect on mtDNA differentiation patterns, it should be noted that the faster
evolutionary rate of mtDNA vs. nuclear DNA can also cause different genetic
patterns. The effective population size of mtDNA is also four-fold smaller than that of
nuclear genes, and will also cause skewed results when comparing mtDNA data with
nuclear DNA data. No reliable recommendations can be made toward the release of
rehabilitated vervet monkeys, as further analysis is needed. It is thus suggested to
use both genetic markers in follow-up studies. An increase in sample size from a
broader geographical range is also recommended. In addition to further work on
patterns of genetic variation, the adaptive significance of observed genetic
differences should also be investigated.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:ufs/oai:etd.uovs.ac.za:etd-05142013-092517 |
| Date | 14 May 2013 |
| Creators | Coetzer, Willem Gabriël |
| Contributors | Prof TR Turner, Prof JP Grobler |
| Publisher | University of the Free State |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en-uk |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.uovs.ac.za//theses/available/etd-05142013-092517/restricted/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University Free State or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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