1. India plays a significant role in dugong conservation by having the largest population within South Asia. The status of dugongs in India is largely unknown due to a paucity of reliable ecological data. This study generated mitochondrial control region sequences from ~10% of dugong individuals from existing populations within India. Furthermore, data generated in this study were compared with the global data to assess genetic lineages, population structure, and genetic diversity of Indian populations.
2. Multiple analyses suggest that the Indian dugong populations are part of a single genetic cluster, comprising South Asia, North‐west Indian Ocean, and South‐west Indian Ocean populations. Despite small population size, they retain high genetic diversity with unique mitochondrial DNA haplotypes within South Asia. Within India, novel haplotypes are observed from all dugong habitats sampled, with overall high haplotype diversity (0.85 ± 0.04) but low nucleotide diversity (0.005 ± 0.001). Indian populations exhibit genetic differentiation with higher within‐population variance (63.41%) than among populations (36.59%). Two of the haplotypes observed in India are shared with Sri Lanka, implying genetic connectivity between these populations.
3. The genetic data from Indian dugong populations provide critical insights into the identification of dugong corridors and important dugong conservation zones in India. We suggest site‐specific interventions, including the creation of new marine protected areas and boundary reorganization and expansion of other existing protected areas, to ensure population connectivity. In addition, simultaneous efforts towards seagrass meadow restoration, reduction of dugong mortalities, and community participation in dugong conservation are recommended for population recovery of this threatened marine herbivore.

中文翻译：

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线粒体系统学显示印度儒艮（Dugong dugon）具有很高的单倍型多样性和独特的遗传谱系

1. 印度在南亚地区拥有最多的人口，在儒艮保护方面发挥着重要作用。由于缺乏可靠的生态数据，印度儒艮的地位在很大程度上是未知的。这项研究从印度现有人口中约10％的儒艮个体中产生了线粒体控制区序列。此外，将本研究中产生的数据与全球数据进行比较，以评估印度人口的遗传谱系，种群结构和遗传多样性。
2. 多种分析表明，印度儒艮种群是单个遗传簇的一部分，包括南亚，西北印度洋和西南印度洋种群。尽管人口少，但它们在南亚地区仍具有独特的线粒体DNA单倍型，具有很高的遗传多样性。在印度，从所有儒艮生境中观察到新颖的单倍型，总体单倍型多样性较高（0.85±0.04），而核苷酸多样性较低（0.005±0.001）。印度人口显示出遗传分化，其种群内差异较高（63.41％），高于人口之间的差异（36.59％）。在印度观察到的两种单倍型与斯里兰卡共有，这意味着这些种群之间的遗传连通性。
3. 来自印度儒艮种群的遗传数据为确定印度的儒艮走廊和重要的儒艮保护区提供了重要的见识。我们建议针对特定地点的干预措施，包括创建新的海洋保护区以及对边界进行改组和扩展其他现有保护区，以确保人口之间的连通性。此外，建议同时努力恢复海草草甸，减少儒艮死亡率，并让社区参与儒艮的保护，以恢复这种受威胁的海洋草食动物的种群数量。