Tarid Purisotayo

Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (Khonkaen University, Thailand
Zoo and wildlife animal medicine lecturer (Mahasarakham university, Thailand)

Research interests

My PhD Project primarily involves assigning paternity and generating population pedigree of the southern white rhinoceros in Botswana using genetic markers. This population in Botswana has been trans located from South Africa because the indigenous population was extinct. Although the number of rhinoceroses in Africa has been increased as a result of several conservation strategies, they originated from only about 20 individuals. With such a small number of the founding population, this leads to comparatively low genotypic variation in this species and may cause unexpected genetic consequences. This will require the development of a novel set of genetic “SNP” markers to solve the problem. The genetic relationship amongst individuals and populations will provide valuable information for reproductive planning particularly for minimising the consequences of inbreeding.

Project Partners

The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland