Abstract
Distribution and recent expansion of alien macaque species is known in Izu-ohshima Island, offshore the Kantou District, Japan. Using excremental samples, we examined molecular variations in a partial sequence (202 bp) of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) non-coding region. Results of sequencing for 24 samples suggested that the exotic species is the Taiwan macaque (Macaca cyclopis) and that there are at least two distinct types of mtDNA in the island. The two types were distributed ubiquitously, one in east and the other in north and west. This distribution pattern may result from differential expansion of two maternal lineages from a zoological park in northeast, one to the south and the other to the north/west. Application and availability of molecular genetic markers for the monitoring of the alien species are discussed.
