Social organization of the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) in southern India inferred from microsatellite DNA

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
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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