Efficient and cost-effective non-invasive population monitoring as a method to assess the genetic diversity of the last remaining population of Amur leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis) in the Russia Far East

Abstract

Small populations of the endangered species are more vulnerable to extinction and hence require periodic genetic monitoring to establish and revisit the conservation strategies. The Amur leopard is critically endangered with about 100 individuals in the wild. In this study, we developed a simple and cost-effective noninvasive genetic monitoring protocol for Amur leopards. Also, we investigated the impact of fecal sample’s age, storage, and collection season on microsatellite genotyping success and data quality. We identified 89 leopard scats out of the 342 fecal samples collected from Land of the Leopard between 2014–2019. Microsatellite genotyping using 12 markers optimized in 3 multiplex PCR reactions reveals presence of at least 24 leopard individuals (18 males and 6 females). There was a significant difference in the success rate of genotyping depending on the time from feces deposition to collection (p = 0.014, Fisher’s exact test), with better genotyping success for samples having <2 weeks of environmental exposure. Amur leopard genetic diversity was found low (Ho− 0.33, HE− 0.35, and NA− 2.57) with no visible population substructure and recent bottleneck signature. Although a historical bottleneck footprint was observed. Mitochondrial DNA diversity was also found low with two haplotypes differing by a point mutation reported in 1,769 bp of investigated sequence covering parts of cytochrome b gene (846 bp), NADH-5 gene (611 bp) and control region (312 bp). We recommend periodic genetic monitoring of wild Amur leopards following the proposed methodology to achieve cost effectiveness and efficiency.

First mitogenome phylogeny of the sun bear Helarctos malayanus reveals a deep split between Indochinese and Sundaic lineages

“…Archival and non‐invasively collected sample material is increasingly utilized in molecular studies of wildlife species, particularly if these are rare, elusive, protected, or inhabit areas that are difficult to access (e.g., Cho et al, 2022; Hessels et al, 2021; Mengüllüoğlu et al, 2021; Paijmans et al, 2020; Sacks et al, 2021; von Thaden et al, 2021). DNA extracted from such material is usually highly degraded, rendering downstream analyses difficult (e.g., Pääbo, 1989).…”

Transboundary Cooperation in the Tumen River Basin Is the Key to Amur Leopard (Panthera pardus) Population Recovery in the Korean Peninsula

“…According to a joint survey conducted by Chinese and Russian researchers in 2014–2015, the estimated population of Amur leopards in the two countries was 84 individuals [ 3 ]. Recent evidence suggests that the population of Amur leopards is recovering [ 4 , 5 ], but they still face severe conservation challenges such as inbreeding [ 6 ] and habitat loss [ 7 ]. Without intervention, under varying levels of inbreeding depression, the risk of extinction within 100 years ranges from 10.3% to 99.9% [ 8 ].…”