Conservation genetics of a resident population of Greylag Goose (Anser anser) at the southernmost limit of the species’ distribution in Europe

Abstract

Background: Conservation of small and isolated populations can be challenging since they are prone to loss of genetic diversity due to random genetic drift and inbreeding. Therefore, information from the assessment of genetic diversity and structure are needed for conservation programs to determine the appropriate management strategy for the populations. We investigated the levels of genetic variability in a resident Greylag Goose (Anser anser) population, the southernmost breeding population of the species in Europe and the sole viable population of any goose species in Greece. Methods:A fragment of mtDNA Control Region and a panel of 11 microsatellite markers were used to search for any signs of genetic impoverishment and population substructure and to reveal the underlying processes through the identification of possible past demographic events. Results:The population was found to be monomorphic in the amplified fragment of the mitochondrial Control Region, with all individuals sharing a single private haplotype. Analyses showed a lack of any population substructure indicating a panmictic population. Although the population seems to have experienced a strong and recent genetic bottleneck and exhibits a small effective population size, we did not find evidence of either extremely low levels of genetic diversity or inbreeding depression. Conclusions:The recent demographic decline we detected and the combined influence of residency and anthropogenic factors have probably shaped the current genetic status. Our study population does not need emergency conservation actions but should be regarded as a discrete management unit. Future management strategies should focus on population and genetic monitoring and preventing further abundance declines that would increase the risk of genetic impoverishment.

Genetic and Phenotypic Characterization of Domestic Geese (Anser anser) in Egypt

“…The six sequenced individuals were found to be monomorphic in the amplified fragment of the D-loop, providing a single haplotype in the three Egyptian goose populations, thus indicating the same maternal origins. The low sequence divergence among the Egyptian geese from the GenBank sequence of Anser anser confirms that all of these samples belong to the same species ( Anser anser ), and the mtDNA D-loop sequence divergence is more suitable for the analysis of interspecies divergence than intraspecies divergence [ 48 ].…”

The state of breeding birds in Greece: trends, threats, and implications for conservation

“…The country has no endemic species but encompasses the southernmost or westernmost limit of several species’ breeding range within the Western Palearctic (Legakis and Maragou 2009). Two species, the Goosander Mergus merganser and the Greylag Goose Anser anser , exhibit isolated breeding populations that are considered to be relict populations that settled in the area after the last glacial maximum (Catsadorakis et al 2016, Bounas et al 2018). Moreover, for some species, Greece hosts a major percentage of their global population, e.g.…”

DRD4 allele frequencies in greylag geese vary between urban and rural sites

“…To get an initial idea of the variation of the DRD4 gene in greylag geese and to avoid sampling bias (Morin et al, 2004 ) we analyzed samples from autochthonous breeding populations of A. a. anser in Iceland (Icelandic flyway; Powolny et al, 2018 ), Norway and Denmark (Atlantic flyway; Powolny et al, 2018 ) and a sedentary population of A. a. rubrirostris in Greece, Prespa (Bounas et al, 2018 ). Greylag geese from Iceland winter in the United Kingdom, while Norwegian and Danish greylag geese winter in the Netherlands and Spain, respectively.…”