Recent population expansion in wild gaur ( Bos gaurus gaurus ) as revealed by microsatellite markers

The Indian bison, commonly called gaur ( Bos gaurus gaurus ), is native to South and Southeast Asia. In all its distribution ranges, the conservation status of the gaur lies between “vulnerable” and “endangered”. In this study, we genotyped 70 free-ranging wild gaurs from the Melghat Tiger Reserve (MTR), one of the first nine tiger reserves created in 1972 for tiger conservation in India. Fourteen microsatellite loci were genotyped in DNA extracted from the dung samples. An observed average heterozygosity of 0.726, evidence of gene flow was observed in the wild gaur population sampled from 11 locations in MTR. The effective population size ( N e ) was 52.7. Approximate Bayesian computation analysis revealed population decline in the wild gaur population with the rise of mature Indus civilization ~ 2880 years ago. The population decline intensified during the reign of the medieval Monarch, extending further with the arrival of the British ~ 250 years ago. Our analyses detect population recovery in the free-ranging gaur population of MTR around 66 years ago, a time period coinciding with the independence of India followed by the implementation of the Indian wildlife protection act in the year 1972. The genetic data were discussed in the background of anthropology, archaeology and history of the Indian subcontinent.