A REPORT FROM THE SAHELO SAHARAN INTEREST GROUP - PARC NATIONAL DE L'AHAGGAR SURVEY, ALGERIA (March 2005), Part 5: Using Molecular Genetics to study the Presence of Endangered Carnivores (Nov.2006).

ABSTRACT The status of the cheetah, Acinonyx jubatus , in Northern Africa is poorly known. Study of this species has concentrated on the two major populations of the Serengeti in Tanzania and in Namibia. A lack of detailed baseline data has led to an increasingly detached and unsure view of the present status of this animal in its most northern reaches of Africa. This paper represents the first steps to use multiple techniques to confirm the presence of cheetahs in Algeria and to show the power and importance of the genetics. A joint 2005 expedition to the Ahaggar region of the Algerian Sahara collected over 40 putative carnivore scat samples for further analysis. The first major objective of this analysis was to assign species identity to the scat. This was done through genetic analyses of the samples. Among other carnivores, eight cheetahs and a leopard were found. This is the first time leopards have been recorded in this part of Algeria. Thus, this paper has an ancillary purpose in presenting a new way of using non-invasive molecular ecological techniques to compile a species list in remote areas where resources only allow for short reconnaissance studies. Having identified the species present, the second objective of this study was to analyse the genetic structure of the cheetah samples through microsatellite studies. Cheetah from Tanzania were used as reference samples and combined in the analysis with the Algerian cheetahs, and the number of unique genotypes and possible kinship relationships were ascertained. The cheetah samples were then geo-referenced on a map containing information gathered on the 2005 expedition. This paper, therefore, demonstrates the existence of cheetahs and leopards in Algeria and provides impetus for future work in this remote region.