Genomic analyses reveal poaching hotspots and illegal trade in pangolins from Africa to Asia

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Tinsman, Jen C.; Gruppi, Cristian; Bossu, Christen M.; Prigge, Tracey-Leigh; Harrigan, Ryan J.; Zaunbrecher, Virginia; Koepfli, Klaus-Peter; LeBreton, Matthew; Njabo, Kevin; Wenda, Cheng; Xing, Shuang; Abernethy, Katharine; Ades, Gary; Akeredolu, Excellence; Andrew, Imuzei B.; Barrett, Taneisha A.; Bernathova, Iva; Bolfikova, Barbora Cerna; Diffo, Joseph L.; Difouo Fopa, Ghislain; Ebong, Lionel Esong; Godwill, Ichu; Koumba Pambo, Aurelie Flore; Labuschagne, Kim; Nwobegahay Mbekem, Julius; Momboua, Brice R.; Mousset Moumbolou, Carla L.; Ntie, Stephan; Rose-Jeffreys, Elizabeth; Simo, Franklin T.; Sundar, Keerthana; Swiacka, Marketa; Takuo, Jean Michel; Talla, Valery N. K.; Tamoufe, Ubald; Dingle, Caroline; Ruegg, Kristen; Bonebrake, Timothy C.; Smith, Thomas B.
• 署名单位: University of California System; University of California Los Angeles; United States Department of the Interior; US Fish & Wildlife Service; University of California System; University of California Los Angeles; Colorado State University System; Colorado State University Fort Collins; University of Hong Kong; Smithsonian Institution; Smithsonian National Zoological Park & Conservation Biology Institute; Smithsonian Institution; Smithsonian National Zoological Park & Conservation Biology Institute; Sun Yat Sen University; University of Stirling; University of Lagos; Czech University of Life Sciences Prague; University of Yaounde I; Tomsk Polytechnic University; Mississippi State University; South African National Biodiversity Institute; Czech University of Life Sciences Prague; Universite Libre de Bruxelles; Universite de Dschang; University of California System; University of California Los Angeles
• 刊物名称: SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0036-14062
• DOI: 10.1126/science.adi5066
• 发表日期: 2023-12-15
• 页码: 1282-1286
• 关键词: elephant ivory; ancestry; seizures; format; roads

摘要

The white-bellied pangolin (Phataginus tricuspis) is the world's most trafficked mammal and is at risk of extinction. Reducing the illegal wildlife trade requires an understanding of its origins. Using a genomic approach for tracing confiscations and analyzing 111 samples collected from known geographic localities in Africa and 643 seized scales from Asia between 2012 and 2018, we found that poaching pressures shifted over time from West to Central Africa. Recently, Cameroon's southern border has emerged as a site of intense poaching. Using data from seizures representing nearly 1 million African pangolins, we identified Nigeria as one important hub for trafficking, where scales are amassed and transshipped to markets in Asia. This origin-to-destination approach offers new opportunities to disrupt the illegal wildlife trade and to guide anti-trafficking measures.