ArticleMolecular ecology2021
Historical population declines prompted significant genomic erosion in the northern and southern white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum).
Article in Molecular ecology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
27 citing papers in PubMed.
- Over-Representation of Sperm-Associated Deleterious Mutations Across Wild and Ex Situ Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) Populations.Molecular ecology · 2026Article
- Chromosome-Scale Genome Architecture and Historical Demography of the Southern White Rhinoceros.Biology · 2026Article
- Pangolin museum genomics reveal the dynamic genetic consequences and extinction risk of the critically endangered Chinese pangolin.Molecular biology and evolution · 2026Article
- Large-scale genomic phylogeography provides insights into evolutionary history and conservation priorities of the white-bellied pangolin (Phataginus tricuspis).Molecular biology and evolution · 2026Article
- Genome Shows no Recent Inbreeding in Near-Extinction Woolly Rhinoceros Sample Found in Ancient Wolf's Stomach.Genome biology and evolution · 2026Article
- Persistent Genomic Erosion in Whooping Cranes Despite Demographic Recovery.Molecular ecology · 2025Article
- Genomic analyses support locally derived crown-of-thorns seastar outbreaks in the Pacific.BMC biology · 2025Article
- Beyond population size: Whole-genome data reveal bottleneck legacies in the peninsular Italian wolf.The Journal of heredity · 2025Article
- Genomics identifies koala populations at risk across eastern Australia.Ecological applications : a publication of the Ecological Society of America · 2025Article
- Detectability of runs of homozygosity is influenced by analysis parameters and population-specific demographic history.PLoS computational biology · 2024Article
- Genetic load and viability of a future restored northern white rhino population.Evolutionary applications · 2024Article
- Recent increase in species-wide diversity after interspecies introgression in the highly endangered Iberian lynx.Nature ecology & evolution · 2024Article
- Ecological disturbance reduces genomic diversity across an Alpine whitefish adaptive radiation.Evolutionary applications · 2024Article
- Genetic Load and Adaptive Potential of a Recovered Avian Species that Narrowly Avoided Extinction.Molecular biology and evolution · 2023Article
- Redefining the Evolutionary History of the Rock Dove, Columba livia, Using Whole Genome Sequences.Molecular biology and evolution · 2023Article
- Genomic analysis reveals a cryptic pangolin species.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2023Article
- Historic Sampling of a Vanishing Beast: Population Structure and Diversity in the Black Rhinoceros.Molecular biology and evolution · 2023Article
- Contrasting genomic consequences of anthropogenic reintroduction and natural recolonization in high-arctic wild reindeer.Evolutionary applications · 2023Article
- Genomic signatures of bottleneck and founder effects in dingoes.Ecology and evolution · 2023Article
- The contribution of historical processes to contemporary extinction risk in placental mammals.Science (New York, N.Y.) · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
18 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Large vertebrates are extremely sensitive to anthropogenic pressure, and their populations are declining fast. The white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) is a paradigmatic case: this African megaherbivore has suffered a remarkable decline in the last 150 years due to human activities. Its subspecies, the northern (NWR) and the southern white rhinoceros (SWR), however, underwent opposite fates: the NWR vanished quickly, while the SWR recovered after the severe decline. Such demographic events are predicted to have an erosive effect at the genomic level, linked to the extirpation of diversity, and increased genetic drift and inbreeding. However, there is little empirical data available to directly reconstruct the subtleties of such processes in light of distinct demographic histories. Therefore, we generated a whole-genome, temporal data set consisting of 52 resequenced white rhinoceros genomes, representing both subspecies at two time windows: before and during/after the bottleneck. Our data reveal previously unknown population structure within both subspecies, as well as quantifiable genomic erosion. Genome-wide heterozygosity decreased significantly by 10% in the NWR and 36% in the SWR, and inbreeding coefficients rose significantly by 11% and 39%, respectively. Despite the remarkable loss of genomic diversity and recent inbreeding it suffered, the only surviving subspecies, the SWR, does not show a significant accumulation of genetic load compared to its historical counterpart. Our data provide empirical support for predictions about the genomic consequences of shrinking populations, and our findings have the potential to inform the conservation efforts of the remaining white rhinoceroses.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.