During the twentieth century otter (Lutra lutra) populations in central and western Europe declined and became fragmented because of habitat alterations, chemical pollution and direct persecution. In this study we used microsatellites to describe spatial patterns of genetic diversity and subdivision in otters from eight populations in Europe. Genetic diversity was moderately high within populations (He = 0.45-0.77), and significantly partitioned among locations (F ST = 0.17; R ST = 0.16; P < 0.001). A Bayesian cluster analysis of multilocus genotypes assigned individuals to seven genetically distinct groups, which were partly concordant with the geographical origin of the samples. An assignment test of the individuals to the populations showed that the Danish and, to a lesser extent, the Spanish populations were unique and distinct, whereas the other populations were partially admixed. Inference of past demographic fluctuations from coalescent analysis suggested that otter populations probably declined several thousand years ago, with the exception of the Irish population for which no such decline could be detected. No genetic evidence for recent bottlenecks was found. The historical decline could stem from post-glacial founding events and recolonization of northern Europe after the last glacial maximum, or from more recent dry stages in the early Holocene in central Europe. On the basis of these results, we recommend that recovery plans should promote the expansion of existing natural populations through improvements of river and wetland habitats.

The role of southern European peninsulas as glacial refugia for temperate species has been widely established, but the role of cryptic northern refugia has only recently been addressed. Here, we describe the phylogeographic pattern of the forest‐dwelling European pine marten (Martes martes), using a 1600‐bp mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) fragment from 287 individuals sampled across the entire distribution range of the species. To clarify the relationships between M. martes and its sister species the sable (Martes zibellina) in Fennoscandia and Russia, ten M. zibellina samples were also included in the analyses. Our results reveal the presence of 69 different haplotypes for M. martes and ten haplotypes for M. zibellina, which are split into three major assemblages: Mediterranean, central–northern European, and Fennoscandian–Russian clades, showing a global pattern of spatial segregation, with some area of overlap and genetic admixture. It is apparent that the Mediterranean phylogroup did not significantly contribute to the postglacial recolonization of most of the Palaearctic range of the species. Instead, most of Europe was colonized by the central–northern European phylogroup, which probably survived the last glaciations in northern cryptic refugia, as has previously been suggested by palaeontological studies. A highly divergent phylogroup has been discovered in Fennoscandia–Russia, which includes specimens from both Martes species. Calculations of divergence times suggest that the phylogroups split during the Pleistocene. Overall, our study indicates a complex phylogeographic history for M. martes, indicating a mixed pattern of recolonization of northern Europe from both Mediterranean and non‐Mediterranean refugia, providing new insights into the existence of cryptic northern glacial refugia for temperate species in Europe. © 2013 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2013, 109, 1–18.

No abstract

No abstract

Background The low cost and rapidity of microsatellite analysis have led to the development of several markers for many species. Because in non-invasive genetics it is recommended to genotype individuals using few loci, generally a subset of markers is selected. The choice of different marker panels by different research groups studying the same population can cause problems and bias in data analysis. A priority issue in conservation genetics is the comparability of data produced by different labs with different methods. Here, we compared data from previous and ongoing studies to identify a panel of microsatellite loci efficient for the long-term monitoring of Apennine brown bears (Ursus arctos marsicanus), aiming at reducing genotyping uncertainty and allowing reliable individual identifications overtimes. Results We examined all microsatellite markers used up to now and identified 19 candidate loci. We evaluated the efficacy of 13 of the most commonly used loci analyzing 194 DNA samples belonging to 113 distinct bears selected from the Italian national biobank. We compared data from 4 different marker subsets on the basis of genotyping errors, allelic patterns, observed and expected heterozygosity, discriminatory powers, number of mismatching pairs, and probability of identity. The optimal marker set was selected evaluating the low molecular weight, the high discriminatory power, and the low occurrence of genotyping errors of each primer. We calibrated allele calls and verified matches among genotypes obtained in previous studies using the complete set of 13 STRs (Short Tandem Repeats), analyzing six invasive DNA samples from distinct individuals. Differences in allele-sizing between labs were consistent, showing a substantial overlap of the individual genotyping. Conclusions The proposed marker set comprises 11 Ursus specific markers with the addition of cxx20, the canid-locus less prone to genotyping errors, in order to prevent underestimation (maximizing the discriminatory power) and overestimation (minimizing the genotyping errors) of the number of Apennine brown bears. The selected markers allow saving time and costs with the amplification in multiplex of all loci thanks to the same annealing temperature. Our work optimizes the available resources by identifying a shared panel and a uniform methodology capable of improving comparisons between past and future studies.