Origin of a pair of red-crowned cranes (Grus japonensis)
found in Sarobetsu Wetland,northwestern Hokkaido,Japan: a possible crossbreeding between
the island and the mainland population |
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| Authors: | Erika KAWASAKI Makoto HASEBE Ji-Hee HWANG Eun-Young KIM Kisup LEE Kunikazu MOMOSE Hiroki TERAOKA |
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| Institution: | 1)School of Veterinary Medicine, Rakuno Gakuen University, Ebetsu, Hokkaio 069-8501, Japan;2)NPO Sarobetsu Eco Network, Toyotomi, Hokkaido 098-4100, Japan;3)Department of Life and Nanopharmaceutical Science, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 130-701, South Korea;4)Waterbird Network Korea, Seoul 110-776, South Korea;5)NPO Red-crowned Crane Conservancy, Kushiro, Hokkaido 085-0036, Japan |
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| Abstract: | Red-crowned cranes Grus japonensis, which are an endangered species, have two separate populations, a mainland population in the Eurasian continent and an island population in eastern Hokkaido, Japan. Island cranes showed three haplotypes (Gj1, Gj2 and Gj13), whereas ten haplotypes (Gj3–Gj12) were confirmed in captive cranes and stray cranes. We found Gj5 haplotype in feathers of two cranes as well as four new haplotypes in seven wild crane feathers collected in South Korea. We also found feathers in the nest in Sarobetsu Wetland in northwestern Hokkaido. While the haplotype of female-derived feathers was Gj2, that of male-derived feathers was Gj5. The results suggest that there has been crossbreeding between cranes in the island population and cranes in the mainland population. |
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| Keywords: | east Eurasia genetic diversity Grus japonensis Hokkaido Red-crowned crane |
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