Demographic and genetic structure of a severely fragmented population of the endangered hog deer (Axis porcinus) in the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot

were significantly higher than the He values. When a population experiences a reduction in its effective size, it generally develops a heterozygosity excess at selectively neutral loci [39]. The bottleneck analysis using heterozygosity excess test revealed that the hog deer popula- tion of KLNP has not undergone any genetic bottleneck in the recent past. The global analysis indicated no significant heterozygosity excess and therefore, null hypothesis of a mutation– drift equilibrium was rejected, no visible genetic signature of a bottleneck in the recent past. The mode shift test also resulted in a normal L-shaped curve, indicating an absence of genetic bottleneck in hog deer population at KLNP. This study assessed the population structure and genetic diversity of the small and isolated population of hog deer, and highlighted the need to prioritize conservation measures for the persistence of the population in its natural habitat. Although the population was showing a declining trend, it is showing signs of recovery. This could be attributed to stringent protection measures undertaken by the park authority. However, habitat degradation, poaching and mor- talities due to disease still persists in the park. Hence, strict protection measures coupled with scientifically sound management regimes will certainly enhance the long term persistence of the hog deer population in the park. Supporting information S1 Table. Total estimated population size of hog deer in Keibul Lamjao National Park, India (2003–2018). (DOCX)

S2 Table. Best model analysis of hog deer during population estimation during the study period in Keibul Lamjao National Park, India. (DOCX) S3 Table. Bottleneck detection of hog deer in Keibul Lamjao National Park, India indicat- ing (He < Heq) mutation–drift equilibrium obtained with three mutation models. (DOCX) Acknowledgments This study was conducted under the project “Conservation Ecology of Eld’s Deer and Its Wet- land Habitat” and “Conservation action plan for Manipur’s brow-antlered deer or Sangai: an integrated approach”. We are grateful to the Department of Forests, Government of Manipur for granting us logistic support. We thank the Director and the Dean at the Wildlife Institute of India for their support. Author Contributions Conceptualization: Syed Ainul Hussain. Data curation: Sangeeta Angom, Chongpi Tuboi, Mirza Ghazanfar Ullah Ghazi. Formal analysis: Sangeeta Angom, Chongpi Tuboi. Funding acquisition: Ruchi Badola, Syed Ainul Hussain. Investigation: Sangeeta Angom, Syed Ainul Hussain. Methodology: Sangeeta Angom, Syed Ainul Hussain. Project administration: Syed Ainul Hussain. Resources: Ruchi Badola, Syed Ainul Hussain. Demographic and genetic structure of hog deer in the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0210382 February 6, 2020 12 / 16