Phylogeographic analyses of the pampas cat (Leopardus colocola; Carnivora, Felidae) reveal a complex demographic history

Abstract

The pampas cat is a small felid that occurs in open habitats throughout much of South America. Previous studies have revealed intriguing patterns of morphological differentiation and genetic structure among its populations, as well as molecular evidence for hybridization with the closely related L. tigrinus. Here we report phylogeographic analyses encompassing most of its distribution (focusing particularly on Brazilian specimens, which had been poorly sampled in previous studies), using a novel dataset comprising 2,143 bp of the mitogenome, along with previously reported mtDNA sequences. Our data revealed strong population strutucture and supported a west-to-east colonization process in this species’ history. We detected two population expansion events, one older (ca. 200 thousand years ago [kya]) in western South America and another more recent (ca. 60-50 kya) in eastern areas, coinciding with the expansion of savanna environments in Brazil. Analyses including L. tigrinus individuals bearing introgressed mtDNA from L. colocola showed a complete lack of shared haplotypes between species, indicating that their hybridization was ancient. Finally, we observed a close relationship between Brazilian/Uruguayan L. colocola haplotypes and those sampled in L. tigrinus, indicating that their hybridization was likely related to the demographic expansion of L. colocola into eastern South America.

Genome-Wide SNPs Clarify a Complex Radiation and Support Recognition of an Additional Cat Species

“…Importantly, we did not find any evidence of nuclear introgression from pampas cat into NE tigrina ( supplementary fig. S3 , Supplementary Material online), in striking contrast to the complete substitution of the latter’s mtDNA with that of the former ( Trigo et al 2013 ; Santos et al 2018 ). This indicates that signatures from the ancient hybridization episode between these species may have been erased from the nuclear genome by cumulative backcrossing, and highlights the remarkable cytonuclear discordance present in NE tigrinas.…”

“…In contrast, tigrina populations from northeastern Brazil (NE tigrina), identified as L. tigrinus or L. emiliae depending on the assumed classification, bear molecular signatures of ancient hybridization with pampas cats ( Trigo et al 2013 ). This ancient interspecies admixture has resulted in remarkable cytonuclear discordance in the NE tigrina, with complete replacement of its mitochondrial genome with introgressed mtDNA from the pampas cat ( Trigo et al 2013 ; Santos et al 2018 ). The latter taxon ( L. colocola ) has recently been proposed to actually comprise five distinct species ( Nascimento et al 2020 ); under this scheme, the hybridization of NE tigrina would have occurred with the central/northeastern Brazilian pampas cat ( Leopardus braccatus ), based on mtDNA phylogeographic analyses ( Santos et al 2018 ).…”

“…This ancient interspecies admixture has resulted in remarkable cytonuclear discordance in the NE tigrina, with complete replacement of its mitochondrial genome with introgressed mtDNA from the pampas cat ( Trigo et al 2013 ; Santos et al 2018 ). The latter taxon ( L. colocola ) has recently been proposed to actually comprise five distinct species ( Nascimento et al 2020 ); under this scheme, the hybridization of NE tigrina would have occurred with the central/northeastern Brazilian pampas cat ( Leopardus braccatus ), based on mtDNA phylogeographic analyses ( Santos et al 2018 ). Importantly, this mitochondrial replacement has precluded any mtDNA-based phylogenetic analysis comparing NE tigrinas with other members of the tigrina complex.…”

The Critically Endangered Pampa Cat (Leopardus munoai) on the Brink of Extinction in Brazil: The Little We Know and an Action Plan to Try to Save It

“…The Pampa cat (Leopardus munoai) -Figure 1, also known as the Uruguayan pampas cat, is a small wild felid that almost exclusively inhabits the fields of the Uruguayan savanna, a subtropical native grassland ecoregion [4] that is located in Uruguay, the extreme south of Brazil (state of Rio Grande do Sul -restricted area to the Pampas biome), as well as a small area in northeastern Argentina. This field seems to have been historically isolated in this region, possibly due to geographical barriers such as the Plata River to the south, the Paraná/Paraguay rivers to the The Critically Endangered Pampa Cat (Leopardus munoai) on the Brink of Extinction… DOI: http://dx.doi.org /10.5772/intechopen.112162 west and the Atlantic Forest to the north [3,[5][6][7]. For Martínez-Lanfranco and González [8], the term pampas cat has traditionally been used to refer to small, non-spotted, Neotropical felines of the genus Leopardus Gray, 1842, which, unlike their spotted congeners that mainly use forest habitats, occur in open environments throughout South America [3,9].…”

Landscape genetics outperforms habitat suitability in predicting landscape resistance for congeneric cat species

“…However, recent studies suggest the existence of genetic structure within L. geoffroyi's range(Bou et al, 2021;Gómez-Fernández et al, 2020), coinciding with the region of the Uruguay, Paraná and Paraguay rivers. These rivers are recognized as important barriers to the dispersal of other small Neotropical felids(da Silva Santos et al, 2018;Johnson…”