#LOCALIZER TOOL SOFTWARE#

We demonstrate examples of haplotypes reported from only a single locality or country, examine the utility of the program in identifying elephants from countries with varying degrees of sampling, and analyze batches of confiscated ivory. The African locations from which haplotype sequences have been previously reported are shown on a map.

#LOCALIZER TOOL SOFTWARE#

The software generates a listing of haplotypes reported among 1917 African elephants in 24 range countries, sorted in order of similarity to the query sequence. A 316 bp control region sequence, which can be readily generated from DNA extracted from ivory, is used as a query. Here, we introduce the Loxodonta Localizer (LL an interactive software tool that uses a database of mtDNA sequences compiled from previously published studies to provide information on the potential provenance of confiscated ivory. However, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences can also provide information on the geographic origins of elephants due to female elephant philopatry. DNA from tusks has been used to infer the source populations for confiscated ivory, relying on nuclear genetic markers. Illegal hunting is a major threat to the elephants of Africa, with more elephants killed by poachers than die from natural causes. 12 TRACE Wildlife Forensics Network, Edinburgh, UK.11 Puget Sound Institute, University of Washington, Tacoma, WA.Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL. 9 Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL.8 Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Science, University of Nevada, Reno, NV.7 Conservation Ecology Research Unit, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.6 Department of Geography, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.4 Agence Nationale des Parcs Nationaux, Libreville, Gabon.

3 Program in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana IL.

2 National Wildlife Forensic Laboratory, Ex-Situ Conservation Division, Department of Wildlife and National Parks, Jalan Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

1 Department of Animal Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL.

Localizer tool