Loxodonta Localizer

Loxodonta Localizer infers geographic origins of African elephants and confiscated ivory from 316 bp mitochondrial control-region sequences to support provenance analyses for conservation and law enforcement.

Key Features:

• Database Utilization: Leverages a compiled mtDNA sequence database representing 1,917 African elephants sampled across 24 range countries.
• Mitochondrial DNA Analysis: Focuses on a 316 bp control-region mitochondrial marker and leverages female philopatry for geographic inference.
• Haplotype Similarity Ranking: Produces a listing of haplotypes sorted by similarity to the query sequence.
• Geographic Mapping of Reported Localities: Associates haplotypes with African localities where they have been previously reported and displays those localities spatially.
• Rapid Provenance Assessment: Enables assessment of probable ivory source regions within days using widely available molecular methods applied to the 316 bp control-region sequence.

Scientific Applications:

• Conservation Efforts: Supports identification of source populations to inform targeted conservation strategies for vulnerable elephant populations.
• Law Enforcement: Aids tracing of poached ivory to probable geographic origins to support investigations into illegal wildlife trade networks.
• Research and Monitoring: Provides a dataset and comparative framework for studying poaching patterns and temporal changes in the geographic distribution of exploited elephant populations.

Methodology:

Accepts a 316 bp mtDNA control-region query sequence, compares the query against the comprehensive mtDNA database, lists matching haplotypes by similarity, and visualizes associated reported localities on a map.