SCIENTIFIC REPORTS HIGHLIGHTS THE WORK OF CIBIO-InBIO’s RESEARCHERS ON THE GIANT SABLE ANTELOPE

In the article, published online on January 6, 2016, CIBIO-InBIO’s researchers, Pedro Vaz Pinto, Pedro Beja, Nuno Ferrand and Raquel Godinho confirm Hubb’s ‘desperation’ hypothesis in the wild, by documenting the demographic variations associated with the occurrence of introgressive hybridization between the critically endangered giant sable antelope (Hippotragus niger variani), and its neighbor roan antelope (H. equinus).

By combining data retrieved along seven years of camera-trapping and molecular surveys, the researchers were able to observe that population depletion leading to the scarcity of conspecific mates led to interspecific hybridization that was sustained over time.

Having in mind that several animal populations are nowadays facing severe size reduction, which is likely to lead to increasingly more frequent hybridization episodes, the phenomenon must be looked upon as a major biodiversity conservation concern. The findings depicted and discussed in this study stress the need to place new efforts in the early detection of hybrids as a major conservation management action.

The article has been highlighted in the official Facebook page of the journal Scientific Reports – Nature.To read the post, please follow the link below:

Male roans get the cross-breed horn | Scientific Reports’ Facebook Page | Jan 15, 2016

Click here to access the original paper.

Image Credits: "Figure 3 - Schematic representation of diagnostic field characteristics of giant sable antelopes, roan antelopes, and their F1 hybrids and backcrosses observed in Cangandala National park, Angola" from Vaz Pinto P et al, Scientific Reports, 2016