Low genetic diversity in Colobus vellerosus populations in Kikélé Sacred and Okuta Kobunan Forests, Benin.

Abstract

The critically endangered white-thighed colobus, Colobus vellerosus, is on the brink of extinction, necessitating the implementation of effective conservation management strategies. The population in Kikélé village serves as the primary remaining stronghold for this species in Benin, comprising around twenty-nine individuals in the small Kikélé Sacred Forest (KSF) and an additional eight individuals in the community-managed Okuta Kobunan Forest (OKF). The KSF is a well-established sacred forest managed by the Kikélé community and is situated an average of 7.5 km from the OKF, which is currently being developed as a community-managed forest. These two populations are believed to have descended from a single founding pair introduced to the Kikélé region circa 1800. Given the small population size and the possible severe genetic bottleneck at its foundation, the genetic diversity might be extremely low. In our study, we conducted a first analysis of the genetic diversity of the two populations using mitochondrial markers, the complete cytochrome b (cytb) and a segment of the hypervariable control region (D-loop, 750 bp). Our findings revealed only one cytb haplotype, along with two haplotypes that differ by just one site in the D-loop. We recommend a range-wide population genetic assessment of the species to explore the possibility of translocations as a potential genetic rescue strategy.