Genetic structure of the wild boar population in Portugal: Evidence of a recent bottleneck

Abstract

The present study assesses the degree of genetic structure and the presence of recent genetic bottlenecks in the wild boar population in Portugal. One hundred and ten individuals were sampled after capture during organised legal drive hunts, conducted in 58 municipalities across the continental territory, during the game seasons of 2002/2003 and 2003/2004. Individuals were genetically typed at six microsatellite loci using multiplex PCR amplification. Significant deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium were found for the total population of wild boar in Portugal. Wild boar population genetic structure was assessed using Bayesian methods, suggesting the existence of three subpopulations (North, Centre and South). Tests were conducted to detect the presence of potential migrants and hybrids between subpopulations. After exclusion of these individuals, three sets of wild boars representative of respective subpopulations were distinguished and tested for the effects of recent bottlenecks. Genetic distances between pairs of subpopulations were quantified using F ST and R ST estimators, revealing a variation of 0.138-0.178 and 0.107-0.198, respectively. On the basis of genetic and distribution data for Portuguese wild boar from the beginning of the 20th century, a model of strong demographic decline and contraction to isolated refuge areas at the national level, followed by a recovery and expansion towards former distribution limits is suggested. Some evidence points to present admixture among subpopulations in contact areas.

Epidemiology of Mycobacterium Bovis Infection in Wild Boar (Sus Scrofa) From Portugal

“…It is not known how long M. bovis has been present in wild boar populations in Portugal. One possible explanation of the pattern we observed is that five decades ago wild boar tuberculosis was restricted to historic refuges (Ferreira et al, 2008). From these refugia, wild boar populations expanded quickly throughout Portugal.…”

“…Historic refuges of wild boar in Portugal correspond to their distribution during the first half of the 20th century ( Fig. 1) according to Ferreira et al (2008) and Lopes and Borges (2004).…”

“…By then the species was restricted, in Portugal, to a few historic refuges ( Fig. 1) (Lopes and Borges, 2004;Ferreira et al, 2008). Thereafter, wild boar populations expanded during the second half of the 20th century (Sáez-Royuela and Tellería, 1986) and now the species occurs throughout Portugal (Lopes and Borges, 2004;Ferreira et al, 2008).…”

Effects of human perturbation on the genetic make-up of an island population: the case of the Sardinian wild boar

“…A remarkable genetic differentiation was revealed by Bayesian analysis also in other managed wild boar populations. In Portugal, Ferreira et al (2009) showed a latitudinal partition into three subpopulations, and interpreted it as possibly originating during the last century from isolated refuge nuclei. Similarly, three to four clusters stand out in a transboundary population in central Europe, although isolation by distance seemed to concur to this pattern (Frantz et al, 2009).…”

Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA analyses reveal pronounced genetic structuring in Tunisian wild boar Sus scrofa

“…This similarity would suggest that there might have been interchanges between North Africa and the European populations. While European wild boar have been studied widely with respect to genetic structure, hybridisation and phylogeography (Ferreira et al 2009;Koutsogiannouli et al 2010;Nikolov et al 2009;Scandura et al 2008;Vernesi et al 2003), there is as yet no study dealing with the North African part of the Communicated by C. Gortázar G. E. M. Hajji (*) : F. E. Zachos distribution range at the population level. In Tunisia, the wild boar is very common, widespread and the most important large game species.…”