SUBSTANTIAL GENETIC-VARIATION IN SOUTHERN AFRICAN BLACK RHINOCEROS (DICEROS-BICORNIS)

Thirty protein-coding loci of southern African black rhinoceros (Dicer os bicornis) from four isolated populations were studied using starch gel electrophoresis and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Gene diver sity estimates varied between 0.036 and 0.058, with the Zambezi Valley population having the largest amount of protein variation. These leve ls are higher than those in other studies of genetic variation in blac k rhinoceros and are similar to the amount of genetic variation observ ed for outbred natural populations that are not genetically depauperat e. Because the observed levels of genetic variation vastly exceed the expectations for current effective population sizes, the current level s apparently reflect large black rhinoceros populations which have exi sted until recently. Observed levels of genetic variation within popul ations are consistent with the expectations when recent demographic ev ents are taken into account.