Universität zu Köln

van Schingen, Mona, Ziegler, Thomas, Boner, Markus, Streit, Bruno, Crook, Vicki and Ziegler, Stefan (2016). Can isotope markers differentiate between wild and captive reptile populations? A case study based on crocodile lizards (Shinisaurus crocodilurus) from Vietnam. Glob. Ecol. Conserv., 6. S. 232 - 242. AMSTERDAM: ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV. ISSN 2351-9894

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Abstract

The international wildlife trade in allegedly captive-bred'' specimens has globally increased during recent years, while the legal origin of respective animals frequently remains doubtful. Worldwide, authorities experience strong challenges to effectively control the international trade in CITES-listed species and are struggling to uncover fraudulent claims of captive-breeding''. Forensic analytical methods are being considered as potential tools to investigate wildlife crime. The present case study is the first of its kind in reptiles that investigates the application of delta C-13 and delta N-15 stable isotope ratios to discriminate between captive and wild crocodile lizards from Vietnam. The CITES-listed crocodile lizard Shinisaurus crocodilurus is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List mainly due to habitat loss and unsustainable exploitation for the international pet trade. Our results revealed significant differences in the composition of the two tested isotope systems between captive and wild individuals. Isotope values of skin samples from captive specimens were significantly enriched in C-13 and N-15 as compared to specimens from the wild. We also used the weighted k-Nearest Neighbor classifier to assign simulated samples back to their alleged place of origin and demonstrated that captive bred individuals could be distinguished with a high degree of accuracy from specimens that were not born in captivity. We conclude that isotope analysis appears to be highly attractive as a forensic tool to reduce laundering of wild caught lizards via breeding farms, but acknowledge that this potential might be limited to range restricted or ecologically specialist species. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code van Schingen, Mona UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Ziegler, Thomas UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Boner, Markus UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Streit, Bruno UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Crook, Vicki UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Ziegler, Stefan UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-280472
DOI:	10.1016/j.gecco.2016.03.004
Journal or Publication Title:	Glob. Ecol. Conserv.
Volume:	6
Page Range:	S. 232 - 242
Date:	2016
Publisher:	ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
Place of Publication:	AMSTERDAM
ISSN:	2351-9894
Language:	English
Faculty:	Unspecified
Divisions:	Unspecified
Subjects:	no entry
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Keywords Language STABLE-ISOTOPES; DISCRIMINATION; CONSERVATION; CHINA; DIET; DELTA-N-15; DELTA-C-13; PROJECTS; TISSUES; RATES Multiple languages Biodiversity Conservation; Ecology Multiple languages
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/28047