Jennifer Pastorini

• PhD
• Researcher at Centre for Conservation and Research

Human-elephant conflict (HEC) threatens the survival of endangered Asian elephants (Elephas maximus). Translocating "problem-elephants" is an important HEC mitigation and elephant conservation strategy across elephant range, with hundreds translocated annually. In the first comprehensive assessment of elephant translocation, we monitored 16 translo...

The Endangered Asian elephant Elephas maximus comes into widespread conflict with agrarian communities, necessitating active management. The species’ distribution is of primary importance for management planning. However, data-based countrywide distribution maps have not been available for any of the 13 Asian elephant range states. We conducted a 5...

The lemurs of Madagascar provide an excellent model for exploring evolutionary diversification. This study investigates genetic divergence among most extant lemur taxa in relation to potential geographical boundaries to gene flow. For this purpose, approximately 2,400 bp of mitochondrial DNA (part of the COIII gene; ND3, ND4L, and ND4 genes; and fi...

Hybrid zones generally represent areas of secondary contact after speciation. The nature of the interaction between genes of individuals in a hybrid zone is of interest in the study of evolutionary processes. In this study, data from nuclear microsatellites and mitochondrial DNA sequences were used to genetically characterize hybridization between...

Community-based seasonal electric fences effectively prevent raiding of seasonal crops by elephants. However, their success is contingent on a number of inter-related factors such as community ownership and involvement, fence location and design, material quality, construction standards and maintenance. Farmers deploy the fences on the perimeter of...

Highlights • Visitor satisfaction was positively related to sightings of the 'big three', elephants, leopards and sloth bears. • Visitor satisfaction was not related to overcrowding at sightings. • Reduced mobile coverage lessened overcrowding at sightings. • Reduced mobile coverage decreased sightings, resulting in reduction of visitor satisfactio...

Especially in species with complex social systems, the relatedness between individuals is important information. Visual phenotypic cues present one way to identify closely related conspecifics. Humans are capable of recognizing such visual cues in the faces of their own as well as several primate species, but to which degree this applies to non-pri...

Animals moving through landscapes need to strike a balance between finding sufficient resources to grow and reproduce while minimizing encounters with predators. Because encounter rates are determined by the average distance over which directed motion persists, this trade-off should be apparent in individuals’ movement. Using GPS data from 1,396 in...

Population structure provides important information for managing and conserving free ranging Asian elephant populations. A variety of size-age classes, based on estimating height or age and measuring captive animals of known age, have been used previously. Here we propose a simple scale, using the individual’s height relative to an adult female. We...

We studied garbage consumption by Asian elephants at the Uddakandara garbage dump in southern Sri Lanka. Garbage at the dump was classified under six categories and quantified using a grid overlay. Elephants visiting the dump were individually identified by morphological criteria and items and quantities consumed by them were determined by focal an...

Feeding of wild Asian elephants at the Udawalawe National Park perimeter electric fence by the general public is longstanding. We monitored the elephants and feeding activities, and conducted questionnaire surveys of stakeholders. Over 50 individual adult male elephants engaged in the activity. The exclusive male presence was consistent with a high...

Accurately quantifying species’ area requirements is a prerequisite for effective area‐based conservation. This typically involves collecting tracking data on species of interest and then conducting home‐range analyses. Problematically, autocorrelation in tracking data can result in space needs being severely underestimated. Based on the previous w...

Five primate species, representing three genera and 12 subspecies, occur in Sri Lanka. We conducted an island-wide questionnaire survey of primate presence/absence, based on a 5x5 km grid with three questionnaires administered to residents in each cell. Respondents were queried on the presence of Slender Lorises, Toque Macaques, Sri Lankan Sacred L...

Obesity is a common problem in captive elephants. Therefore, physical state monitoring presents a critical aspect in preventive elephant healthcare. Some institutions lack the equipment to weigh elephants regularly, so body condition scoring (BCS) is a valuable alternative tool. As yet, the BCS of both elephant species has not been assessed compreh...

Protected areas provide some of the last refuges for Asian elephants in the wild. Managing these areas for elephants will be critical for elephant conservation. Scientists know little about elephant habitat use in Asia and how invasive species or livestock grazing influence habitat use. We studied these issues in two protected areas in Sri Lanka, U...

Population health and habitat quality are intimately related and seasonal changes in habitat quality are likely to be reflected in the body condition of animals. We studied seasonal variation of body condition in free ranging Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) in Udawalawe National Park, Sri Lanka based on visual scoring of individually identified e...

Some primate populations include both trichromatic and dichromatic (red– green colour blind) individuals due to allelic variation at the X-linked opsin locus. This polymorphic trichromacy is well described in day-active New World monkeys. Less is known about colour vision in Malagasy lemurs, but, unlike New World monkeys, only some day-active lemur...

We assessed gastrointestinal strongyle prevalence and abundance in 141 captive Asian elephants under two management regimes and compared them to 50 wild elephants. Gastrointestinal nematode prevalence was found to be 38% in Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage, 90% in privately owned and 100% in wild elephants. Mean number of larvae was 1.9 in Pinnawela, 1...

In group-living species with male dominance hierarchies where receptive periods of females do not overlap, high male reproductive skew would be predicted. However, the existence of female multiple mating and alternative male mating strategies can call into question single-male monopolization of paternity in groups. Ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta)...

Lemur catta has traditionally been considered a species with male-biased dispersal; however, occasional female dispersal occurs. Using molecular data, we evaluated dispersal patterns in 2 L. catta populations in southwestern Madagascar: Tsimanampesotse National Park (TNP) and Bezà Mahafaly Special Reserve (BMSR). We also investigated the genetic di...

Lemur catta has traditionally been considered a species with male-biased dispersal; however, occasional female dispersal occurs. Using molecular data, we evaluated dispersal patterns in 2 L. catta populations in southwestern Madagascar: Tsimanampeso-tse National Park (TNP) and Bezà Mahafaly Special Reserve (BMSR). We also investigated the genetic d...

Genetic variability among captive and wild ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) was assessed using mitochondrial and nuclear DNA data. A 529 bp segment of mtDNA was sequenced and 9 microsatellite loci were genotyped for 286 ring-tailed lemurs. Samples were obtained from the well-studied L. catta population at the Bezà Mahafaly Special Reserve and from...

Asian elephants are difficult to observe because of habitat constraints and behavioural adaptations to avoid people. Consequently, accurate information on their movement patterns, habitat occupancy and resource use can only be obtained through radio- tracking. GPS radio telemetry is particularly useful for this purpose as it provides a wealth of hi...

Shifting cultivation, in which fields are traditionally cultivated for two or three consecutive years and left fallow for four to five years, is an ancient practice still prevalent in the dry zone of Sri Lanka. Traditionally, shifting agriculture is rain dependent and is limited to the wet season. However, traditional patterns are now changing due...

Shifting cultivation, in which fields are traditionally cultivated for two or three consecutive years and left fallow for four to five years, is an ancient practice still prevalent in the dry zone of Sri Lanka. Traditionally, shifting agriculture is rain dependent and is limited to the wet season. However, traditional patterns are now changing due...

Pseudophilautus stellatus (Kelaart 1853) has been rediscovered from the Peak Wilderness, Central Hills of Sri Lanka. The species, till now known only from its lost holotype, was the first shrub frog described from Sri Lanka, and had not been reported since then. It was thought to have become extinct for nearly 157 years, being the amphibian species...

Dwarfism is unusual in wild animals. Individuals with disproportionate dwarfism are especially unlikely to survive in the wild as shorter limbs impose severe fitness costs in predators or prey. As social mega-herbivores without predators, Asian elephants are one of the very few species in whom a dwarf phenotype may not be lethal. Here we report the...

We assessed water-body use by elephants through monitoring elephant signs around them. Elephant footprints and dung piles were recorded at 25 water bodies fortnightly for one year. Elephants preferred perennial water bodies and avoided those with temporary human dwellings. Human activities did not significantly affect elephant use of water bodies,...

We assessed water-body use by elephants through monitoring elephant signs around them. Elephant footprints and dung piles were recorded at 25 water bodies fortnightly for one year. Elephants preferred perennial water bodies and avoided those with temporary human dwellings. Human activities did not significantly affect elephant use of water bodies,...

The ring-tailed mongoose (Galidia elegans) represents one of the most widely distributed mongooses in Madagascar; however, we know little about the ecology of this seemingly ubiquitous species. Currently, G. elegans is divided into three recognized subspecies--G. e. elegans, G. e. dambrensis, and G. e. occidentalis--based on differences in pelage c...

Human-elephant conflict (HEC) is widespread across Asian elephant range (Sukumar 1989; Santhiapillai & Jackson 1990). The threat to elephants from HEC makes it a serious conservation problem. Loss of human life and limb, and economic losses due to crop raiding and property damage by elephants, makes it a major socio-economic and political issue (Fe...

Digestive physiology and movement patterns of animal dispersers determine deposition patterns for endozoochorously dispersed seeds. We combined data from feeding trials, germination tests, and GPS telemetry of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) to (1) describe the spatial scale at which Asian elephants disperse seeds; (2) assess whether seasonal dif...

We studied the ranging patterns of 10 elephants in and around the Yala protected area complex, southern Sri Lanka, using VHF radio telemetry. All tracked elephants displayed similar ranging patterns. The observed home ranges were small (mean=115.2±64.0 km2) relative to reported home ranges in India, possibly in response to high habitat productivity...

The systematic relationships of snakes in the Lampropeltis mexicana complex (L. mexicana, L. alterna, and L. ruthveni) are poorly known despite several taxonomic studies over the last 80 years. Mitochondrial DNA sequences were used to infer the phylogeny of the L. mexicana complex. At least one representative sample from the nine currently recogniz...

Yala National Park in southeast Sri Lanka, lay in the direct path of the December 2004 tsunami, hence af- forded a rare opportunity to study tsunami impacts on a natural ecosystem. We surveyed the impacted area and studied the damage caused to vegetation, early re- sponse of vegetation, and effects on animals. Tsunami incursion was patchy, much of...

With a total population of less than 60 individuals limited to two locations, the Javan rhinoceros is perhaps the most endangered large mammal on earth. Although species specific information is crucial to its conservation, its precarious status, habitat inaccessibility, and behavioral adaptations pose major obstacles to its study. Here we report on...

The Asian elephant is an endangered species and the main challenge confronting its conservation is conflict with humans. The north-central part of Sri Lanka, where Wasgamuwa is situated, is an important area for elephant conservation. Due to the opening up of extensive tracts of land for irrigated agriculture over the past few decades, as over most...

Throughout Asia, elephants come into conflict with people, making elephant conservation a difficult and complex issue, with socio-economic and political overtones. Previous efforts to conserve elephants and mitigate the human-elephant-conflict in Sri Lanka have focused on translocating and confining elephants within protected areas. However, protec...

We evaluated some products and protocols designed for reliable RNA extraction from minute tissue samples and safe tissue storage at room temperature without RNA degradation. Success of RNA retrieval was compared for varying amounts of tissue (3, 5, 10 hair follicles), stored at different temperatures (room temperature, −20 °C) for variable duration...

In this report we describe the development and characterization of six dinucleotide microsatellite loci for the ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta). The new markers were isolated from the genomic DNA of L. catta and all loci were found to be polymorphic when evaluated by genotyping a minimum of 34 individuals. Mendelian inheritance of each locus was ve...

We present here 10 new microsatellite markers for the mongoose lemur (Eulemur mongoz), nine of which were isolated from E. mongoz and one from Lemur catta. At least 60 individuals were genotyped for each of the 10 loci. Mendelian inheritance at each locus was tested by genotyping five captive families with known pedigrees. All loci were polymorphic...

In this contribution, we present baseline data on the existing level of genetic diversity in the wild Alaotran gentle lemur population, and evaluate its evolutionary divergence from its most closely related subspecies, H. g. griseus. We studied sequence variation in the rapidly evolving control region of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) to describe th...

We report on a captive study that provides strong evidence for a monogamous reproductive system in unrelated Goeldi's monkeys in social groups that were compatible with any reproductive system. The study design allowed us to tease apart the relative and interdependent contributions of intra- and intersexual relationships to the emergent reproductiv...

Molecular data strongly support the specific status of H. aureus, a sister-group relationship between H. aureus and H. griseus, and a basal position of H. simus among gentle lemurs. The sequence data do not yield clear resolution of H. g. griseus from H. g. alaotrensis. There is a potential taxonomic problem regarding the paraphyly of these two sub...

The family Lemuridae includes four genera: Eulemur, Hapalemur, Lemur,Varecia. Taxonomy and phylogenetic relationships between L. catta, Eulemur and Hapalemur, and of Varecia to these other lemurids, continue to be hotly debated. Nodal relationships among the five Eulemur species also remain contentious. A mitochondrial DNA sequence dataset from the...

In species with a promiscuous mating system, the functions of male-infant caretaking remain unclear in the absence of genetic paternity tests. We tested paternal investment and hypotheses concerning reproductive tactics in wild groups of Barbary macaques, including results of genetic paternity tests. Our study revealed that male-infant caretaking w...

Cheirogaleidae currently comprises five genera whose relationships remain contentious. The taxonomic status and phylogenetic position of both Mirza coquereli and Allocebus trichotis are still unclear. The taxonomic status of the recently discovered Microcebus ravelobensis (a sympatric sibling species of Microcebus murinus) and its phylogenetic posi...

The sifakas (Propithecus) include three species containing up to 10 described subspecies, whose evolutionary relationships remain contentious. In particular, it is unclear whether P. verreauxi deckeni and P.v. coronatus populations are differentiated at the subspecific level. Furthermore, the taxonomic status of the recently discovered P. tattersal...

The brown lemurs (Eulemur fulvus) include seven subspecies, whose evolutionary relationships remain contentious. In particular, it is unclear whether the Malagasy and Comorian E. f. fulvus populations are differentiated at the subspecific level (E. f. mayottensis). Furthermore, it has been suggested that E. f. collaris and E. f. albocollaris are se...

The New World monkeys are divided into two main groups, Callitrichidae and Cebidae. Callimico goeldii shares traits with both the Cebidae and the Callitrichidae. Recent morphological phyletic studies generally place Callimico as the most basal member of the Callitrichidae. In contrast, genetic studies (immunological, restriction fragment, and seque...

The New World monkeys are divided into two main groups, Callitrichidae and Cebidae.