Genetic structure of the Danish red deer (Cervus elaphus)

Nielsen, Elsemarie Kragh; Olesen, Carsten Riis; Pertoldi, Cino; Gravlund, Peter; Barker, J. S. F.; Mucci, Nadia; Randi, Ettore; Loeschcke, Volker

doi:10.1111/j.1095-8312.2008.01115.x

Cited by 22 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…However, only the Danish red deer population investigated in the study by Nielsen et al (2008) had average heterozygosity values that were systematically lower. However, results are not strictly comparable as the two studies mostly employed different microsatellite markers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Population structure and genetic diversity of red deer (Cervus elaphus) in forest fragments in north-western France

et al. 2011

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Red deer have been subjected to anthropogenic interference for many centuries. Most populations are managed according to hunting schedules, some have been kept long-term in enclosures and other populations have been restocked with foreign deer. The red deer in the Brittany region of north-western France only occupy the largest forests in the region, reaching quite high densities in restricted areas. Here, we aimed to assess the extent of the genetic variability of the populations in four forest fragments and investigate their population genetic structure. We show that, despite relatively large expected heterozygosity values, these geographically isolated populations are genetically impoverished relative to individuals from large continuous forests in other parts of Western Europe. We provide evidence for population genetic structure with large genetic differentiation between geographically close populations, suggesting the absence of effective exchange between the forests. Using samples from the most likely source population, we show that at least two populations were non-indigenous. In order to limit further loss of genetic diversity, it should be a management objective to reduce isolation of the different forests, rather than further increase it by fences and hunting practices that could limit free movement of red deer.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Population structure and genetic diversity of red deer (Cervus elaphus) in forest fragments in north-western France

et al. 2011

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“…Of these, the two central haplotypes NO1 and NO4 are widespread, being present in Scotland and the border forests between Germany and the Czech Republic [14,23,25], with NO4 also found in Spain [14], and NO1 being one of the most common types found in the Scottish highlands today [25]. None of the extant Norwegian haplotypes are shared with other Scandinavian countries; although the ancient NO6 is found in Denmark today [27]. The Swedish population seems to have experienced a more severe bottleneck than the Norwegian as only one haplotype, closely related to NO1, is found among indigenous animals [11,14].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reconstructing the history of a fragmented and heavily exploited red deer population using ancient and contemporary DNA

et al. 2012

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BackgroundRed deer (Cervus elaphus) have been an important human resource for millennia, experiencing intensive human influence through habitat alterations, hunting and translocation of animals. In this study we investigate a time series of ancient and contemporary DNA from Norwegian red deer spanning about 7,000 years. Our main aim was to investigate how increasing agricultural land use, hunting pressure and possibly human mediated translocation of animals have affected the genetic diversity on a long-term scale.ResultsWe obtained mtDNA (D-loop) sequences from 73 ancient specimens. These show higher genetic diversity in ancient compared to extant samples, with the highest diversity preceding the onset of agricultural intensification in the Early Iron Age. Using standard diversity indices, Bayesian skyline plot and approximate Bayesian computation, we detected a population reduction which was more prolonged than, but not as severe as, historic documents indicate. There are signs of substantial changes in haplotype frequencies primarily due to loss of haplotypes through genetic drift. There is no indication of human mediated translocations into the Norwegian population. All the Norwegian sequences show a western European origin, from which the Norwegian lineage diverged approximately 15,000 years ago.ConclusionsOur results provide direct insight into the effects of increasing habitat fragmentation and human hunting pressure on genetic diversity and structure of red deer populations. They also shed light on the northward post-glacial colonisation process of red deer in Europe and suggest increased precision in inferring past demographic events when including both ancient and contemporary DNA.

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“…It is important in the context of this study to consider human influences on red deer distribution. In the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries, red deer numbers declined in many countries of the continent (Hartl et al 2003; Kuehn et al 2003, 2004; Hmwe et al 2006b; Nielsen et al 2008), and in some places, especially in central and eastern Europe (east of the Vistula River), the species even became extinct (Mager 1941; Baleišis and Škerys 1984; Baleišis 1988). Since then, red deer have been translocated and/or migrated from places where densities were still high to areas where they were absent or occurred in low numbers (Mager 1941; Barabash-Nikiforov and Pavlovskii 1949; Frevert 1964; Kozlo 1970; Vereshchagin and Rusakov 1979; Baleišis and Škerys 1984; Baleišis 1988; Hmwe et al 2006b; Nussey et al 2006).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Molecular biogeography of red deer Cervus elaphus from eastern Europe: insights from mitochondrial DNA sequences

et al. 2010

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European red deer are known to show a conspicuous phylogeographic pattern with three distinct mtDNA lineages (western, eastern and North-African/Sardinian). The western lineage, believed to be indicative of a southwestern glacial refuge in Iberia and southern France, nowadays covers large areas of the continent including the British Isles, Scandinavia and parts of central Europe, while the eastern lineage is primarily found in southeast-central Europe, the Carpathians and the Balkans. However, large parts of central Europe and the whole northeast of the continent were not covered by previous analyses. To close this gap, we produced mtDNA control region sequences from more than 500 red deer from Denmark, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine and western Russia and combined our data with sequences available from earlier studies to an overall sample size of almost 1,100. Our results show that the western lineage extends far into the European east and is prominent in all eastern countries except for the Polish Carpathians, Ukraine and Russia where only eastern haplotypes occurred. While the latter may actually reflect the natural northward expansion of the eastern lineage after the last ice age, the present distribution of the western lineage in eastern Europe may in large parts be artificial and a result of translocations and reintroduction of red deer into areas where the species became extinct in historical times.

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Genetic structure of the Danish red deer (Cervus elaphus)

Cited by 22 publications

References 48 publications

Population structure and genetic diversity of red deer (Cervus elaphus) in forest fragments in north-western France

Population structure and genetic diversity of red deer (Cervus elaphus) in forest fragments in north-western France

Reconstructing the history of a fragmented and heavily exploited red deer population using ancient and contemporary DNA

Molecular biogeography of red deer Cervus elaphus from eastern Europe: insights from mitochondrial DNA sequences

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