Abstract Sumatran tigers (Panthera tigris sumatrae) are a critically endangered carnivore restricted to the island of Sumatra, and like many other large mammals on the Indonesian archipelago, they are threatened by high levels of poaching and widespread habitat degradation. Here, we conduct the first range-wide assessment of Sumatran tiger genetics using scat surveys and show that the wild population retains levels of genetic heterozygosity comparable to mainland tigers. However, the population also exhibits signs of subdivision due to the unprecedented rates of deforestation and land conversion in the last 30–40 years. The fact that this subspecies retains such levels of heterozygosity despite high rates of habitat loss and increasing isolation suggests a form of genetic extinction debt with an elevated risk of extinction if no action is taken within the next 30–100 years (see Kenney et al., 2014 ). However, the inherent time delay in extinction debt provides opportunities for conservation if habitat quality can be improved and connections between existing population fragments can be made. Our study highlights the importance of genetic studies for providing baseline information to improve the population management of highly threatened carnivore species. Mitigating further habitat degradation and expansion of oil palm and other cash crops in this region would improve the viability not only of Sumatran tiger populations, but of other threatened large mammal species as well.

中文翻译：

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通过粪便调查评估森林丧失和农业扩张对苏门答腊虎的影响

摘要 苏门答腊虎 (Panthera tigris sumatrae) 是一种仅限于苏门答腊岛的极度濒危食肉动物，与印度尼西亚群岛上的许多其他大型哺乳动物一样，它们受到高度偷猎和栖息地广泛退化的威胁。在这里，我们使用粪便调查对苏门答腊虎的遗传学进行了第一次广泛的评估，并表明野生种群保留了与大陆虎相当的遗传杂合性水平。然而，由于过去 30 至 40 年中空前的森林砍伐和土地转化率，人口也表现出细分的迹象。尽管栖息地丧失率高且与世隔绝，但该亚种仍保持如此水平的杂合性，这一事实表明，如果在未来 30 至 100 年内不采取任何行动，这种遗传灭绝债务形式将增加灭绝风险（参见 Kenney 等人，2017 年）。 ，2014 年）。然而，如果栖息地质量可以得到改善并且现有种群碎片之间可以建立联系，那么灭绝债务的固有时间延迟为保护提供了机会。我们的研究强调了遗传研究在提供基线信息以改善高度濒危食肉动物种群管理方面的重要性。减缓该地区栖息地的进一步退化和油棕和其他经济作物的扩张，不仅可以提高苏门答腊虎种群的生存能力，