Population genetic assessment of extant populations of greater one-horned rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) in India

The greater one-horned rhino has a wide range of historical distribution across the northern Indian subcontinent and now being confined to restricted patches in India and Nepal. Development of effective conservation strategy for rhino requires a clear understanding of the extant and spatial distribution of genetic diversity. In the present study, we employed nine microsatellite markers to analyze 238 noninvasively sampled individual rhinos from five protected areasin India, in order to assess genetic diversityand population geneticstructure in the wild. We observed a moderate to high level of genetic diversitywith allelic richness (Ar) ranging from 2.589 (±0.88) to 3.635 (±0.93) and expected heterozygosity (He) ranging from 0.352 (±0.20) to 0.59 (±0.13) in the area. Significant level of geneticdifferentiation was observed between the Protected Areasof Assam and West Bengal, especially, Gorumara National Park showing a unique geneticsignature (F ST ≥ 0.25; p < 0.001, with all other protected areas). Given the degree of population geneticstructure observed, prolonged separation of these protected areasis unwanted as this could lead to further loss of genetic diversity, consequently, affecting long-term viability of the species. The results presented here will be crucial in designing in situ conservationand management strategies of the species.