Evidence of a complex phylogeographic structure in the common dormouse, Muscardinus avellanarius (Rodentia: Gliridae)

Abstract

This is the first mitochondrial phylogeography of the common dormouse, Muscardinus avellanarius (Linnaeus, 1758), a hibernating rodent strictly protected in Europe (Habitat Directive, annex IV; Bern Convention, annex III). The 84 individuals of M. avellanarius, sampled throughout the distributional range of the species, have been sequenced at the mitochondrial DNA gene (cytochrome b, 704 base pairs). The results revealed two highly divergent lineages, with an ancient separation around 7.7 Mya and a genetic divergence of 7.7%. Lineage 1 occurs in Western Europe (France, Belgium, and Switzerland) and Italy, and lineage 2 occurs in Central–Northern Europe (Poland, Germany, Latvia, and Lithuania), on the Balkan Peninsula, and in Turkey. Furthermore, these two lineages are subdivided into five sublineages genetically isolated with a strong geographical association. Therefore, lineage 1 branches into two further sublineages (Western European and Italian), whereas lineage 2 contained three sublineages (Central–Northern European, Turkish, and Balkan). We observed low genetic diversity within the sublineages, in contrast to the significant level of genetic differentiation between them. The understanding of genetic population structure is essential for identifying units to be conserved. Therefore, these results may have important implications for M. avellanarius conservation. © 2012 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, 105, 648–664.

After the Ice Age: The Impact of Post-Glacial Dispersal on the Phylogeography of a Small Mammal, Muscardinus avellanarius

“…Samples were stored in sterile tubes at −20 • C. A total of 125 samples were collected from 25 populations around the UK (Table 1, Figure 1) and stored under licenses from Natural England and the UK National Trust. This sample size is commensurate with current standards for biogeographical genetic studies with the goal of estimating long-term divergence of lineages (see Gillespie, 2004;Mouton Figure 2A) and corresponding GenBank accession numbers for each gene. Reintroduction locations are indicated (*).…”

“…Three of our study sites were from reintroduced populations within the UK ( Table 1) as part of the dormouse reintroduction programme, to enable us to quantify genetic differentiation, if any, between these and natural populations. We analyzed UK data we produced along with previously published sequences available on GenBank from continental Europe (Mouton et al, 2012) and outgroup taxa.…”

“…Phylogeographic data for the common dormouse within continental Europe have suggested that lineages from Western and Eastern populations are relatively divergent, but that within these clades there is low genetic diversity (Mouton et al, 2012). While it is understood that genetic data are sometimes critical to delineate units for conservation (Moritz, 1994;Crandall et al, 2000;Funk et al, 2012), there is no available information available to describe the genetic biogeography of the common dormouse in the UK.…”

Habitat preferences of edible dormouse,Glis glis italicus: implications for the management of arboreal mammals in Mediterranean forests

“…We therefore referred our research in terms of habitat preference, because we aimed to determine the habitat features on which the settlement of our focal species (the edible dormouse, Glis glis) depends in a Mediterranean forest, and whether habitat requirements are the same between different age cohorts of individuals. The phylogeography of glirids (Hürner et al 2010, Lo Brutto et al 2011, Mouton et al 2012, Perez et al 2013) has been recently analysed in the Palaearctic by mitochondrial DNA analyses. Results on edible dormouse (Hürner et al 2010) have revealed two different lineages, namely the European and Italian lineage.…”

“…We therefore referred our research in terms of habitat preference, because we aimed to determine the habitat features on which the settlement of our focal species (the edible dormouse, Glis glis) depends in a Mediterranean forest, and whether habitat requirements are the same between different age cohorts of individuals. The phylogeography of glirids (Hürner et al 2010, Lo Brutto et al 2011, Mouton et al 2012, Perez et al 2013 (Berg & Berg 1998, Lurz et al 2000, Wolton 2009) and southern Palaearctic (Cagnin et al 2000, Bertolino & Di Montezemolo 2007. Very few information about the ecology of G. g. italicus in peninsular Italy (Franco 1990, Capizzi et al 2003 and Sicily (Milazzo et al 2003) is available, and modelling on edible dormice habitat preferences in Mediterranean forests is totally lacking.…”