Doha: A researcher at Qatar University (QU) was part of a recently-published study on the origins of modern lions.
Dr Nobuyuki Yamaguchi, Associate Professor of Animal Ecology, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, College of Arts & Sciences, participated with scientists from universities in Australia, Denmark, France, Sweden, the UK, and the US on the study ‘Revealing the maternal demographic history of Panthera leo using ancient DNA and a spatially explicit genealogical analysis’.
The research was published early this month in the BMC Evolutionary Biology, a peer-reviewed scientific journal, and was a top story entitled “Modern lions’ origins revealed in genetic analysis” on the BBC News webpage, Nature/Environment Section.
It involved the genetic analysis of living lions from Asia and Africa with specimens in museums and collections around the world. The findings highlight the possible evolutionary processes of different subspecies, and suggest that climate and environmental changes likely played important roles in shaping the phylogeography of the modern lion subspecies.
Dr Yamaguchi said: “I am pleased to be able to contribute through research to improving our understanding and conservation of the lion, an endangered charismatic species.
“The study results serve to improve our understanding of the intra-specific phylogeography of the lion, which will greatly contribute to its conservation through the provision of useful information for conservation prioritisation and meta-population management.
“I am also pleased if my involvement in the research contributes to raising the research profile of QU, even if it is in a very small way. I thank the department, the college and QU for support and encouragement”.
Dr Yamaguchi’s study has taken him to Morocco, Algeria, India, Namibia, Botswana, South Africa and many European countries where lion specimens are kept in natural history collections, and has resulted in several findings and published papers.
In 2008, he participated with researchers from Natural History Museum and Oxford University on a study that recorded the first genetic evidence that England’s first lions hailed from North Africa. He is an expert in mammalogy research and has been the mentor on the hedgehog project being conducted by QU biological and environmental students. The Peninsula
