Vidya, TNC and Sukumar, R (2005) Social organization of the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) in southern India inferred from microsatellite DNA. In: Journal of Ethology, 23 (2). pp. 205-210.
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Abstract
Social organization of the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) is not well understood in the absence of long-term studies of identified individuals. Adult Asian elephant females and their young offspring of both sexes form matriarchal groups, with pubertal males dispersing from natal groups, but whether these social groups represent families and whether males show locational or social dispersal were unknown. Using nuclear microsatellite loci amplified from dung-extracted DNA of free-ranging elephants in a large southern Indian population, we demonstrate that female-led herds comprise closely related individuals that are indeed families, and that males exhibit non-random locational dispersal.
Item Type: | Journal Article |
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Publication: | Journal of Ethology |
Publisher: | Springer Toyko |
Additional Information: | Copyright for this article belongs to Springer Toyko. |
Keywords: | loxodonta-africana;dispersal;consequences;populations;evolution;kinship;loci |
Department/Centre: | Division of Biological Sciences > Centre for Ecological Sciences |
Date Deposited: | 25 Aug 2005 |
Last Modified: | 19 Sep 2010 04:19 |
URI: | http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/3561 |
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