Division of Biological Sciences
226 Tucker Hall
University of Missouri
Columbia, MO  65211

e-mail: csiripunkaw<at>hotmail.com

Research Interests

The Salak-Pra elephant population appears to be divided into 3 major subpopulations, each containing groups ranging from 10 to 20 individuals.  Using fecal DNA, I will determine the genetic relatedness between individuals and groups within and between these regions to infer the level of social organization in Asian elephants.

During the dry season, solitary males have been observed guarding water sources, while female groups move from place to place.  These females use the same water source repeatedly before moving away.  By genotyping elephant young, their mothers, and as many as possible of the potential sires in the region, I will infer the reproductive success of individual bulls.  I will then investigate the relationship between reproductive success and the apparent quality of the water sources guarded by individual bulls.

Publications

Kongrit, C., Siripunkaw, C., Brockelman, W., and Eggert, L. S. 2007. Isolation and characterization of dinucleotide microsatellite loci in the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) Molecular Ecology Notes Online Early Articles; doi: 10.1111/j.1471-8286.2007.01916.x

Siripunkaw, C., Kongrit, C., Monello,  R., Wright, T. W., and Eggert, L. S. 2007. Isolation and characterization of polymorphic microsatellite loci in the raccoon (Procyon lotor) Molecular Ecology Notes Online Early Articles; doi: 10.1111/j.1471-8286.2007.01922.x