Genetic variability and differentiation in red deer (Cervus elaphus) from Scotland and England

Abstract

Samples from 69 British red deer Cervus elaphus scoticus from seven populations in Scotland and England were analysed with respect to variability within and differentiation among stocks using 11 polymorphic microsatellite loci and 439 bp of the mitochondrial control region. The results clearly showed the effects of anthropogenic factors on British red deer. On the whole, variability values were within the species' reported range. The island population of Islay, Scotland, however, while showing average microsatellite variability, exhibited no mitochondrial variation at all. One microsatellite locus was monomorphic in three Scottish populations (Islay, Dunachton and Achnacarry). Overall and pairwise F ST values indicate considerable differentiation among the populations studied, but Dunachton and Achnacarry, two adjacent populations free from recorded introductions, showed only a little differentiation and were paired in trees based on genetic distances. In terms of variability, no statistically significant differences were observed between island and mainland populations and the overall test of isolation by distance was negative. Possible reasons for the genetic patterns observed, such as differences in human impact on the populations, are discussed.

Genetic diversity and population structure of Scottish Highland red deer (Cervus elaphus) populations: a mitochondrial survey

“…A survey of the long-term study area on the island of Rum using mtDNA markers showed that red deer haplotype diversity was low and a divergent haplotype closely related to Corsican red deer (Cervus elaphus corsicanus) was found in some individuals, both features presumably a result of the entire population having originated from documented introduction events (Nussey et al, 2006). Low mtDNA variability was also found in the island of Arran, where the current population also originated from introduced individuals, and the island of Islay where documented introductions are known to have occurred in one studied locality (Hmwe et al, 2006).…”

“…However, this study included some island populations and one small English population of red deer for which extensive introductions have been documented. The two of the mainland Scottish populations studied by Hmwe et al (2006), Dunarchy and Achnacarry, for which there are no documented introductions, presented higher genetic diversity and a population structure concordant with geography. A recent study which included 695 red deer sampled in 14 estates of the Scottish mainland and genotyped for 21 microsatellites found high genetic diversity and significant population structure in the study area, with isolation by distance and landscape features playing an important role in population structure (Pérez-Espona et al, 2008).…”

“…Genetic diversity and population genetic structure for red deer in the mainland of Scotland has not been widely assessed but has shown a higher diversity and less disturbed population structure than on the islands (Hmwe et al, 2006;Pérez-Espona et al, 2008). In a study comparing data from 11 microsatellites and mtDNA sequences obtained from 69 individuals sampled in four Scottish mainland populations, two island populations (Arran and Islay) and one English population, Hmwe et al (2006) found that overall there was a lack of congruence between geographical and genetic structure, which they attributed to the impact of past red deer management practices on some of the populations studied.…”

“…In a study comparing data from 11 microsatellites and mtDNA sequences obtained from 69 individuals sampled in four Scottish mainland populations, two island populations (Arran and Islay) and one English population, Hmwe et al (2006) found that overall there was a lack of congruence between geographical and genetic structure, which they attributed to the impact of past red deer management practices on some of the populations studied. However, this study included some island populations and one small English population of red deer for which extensive introductions have been documented.…”

The Genetic Diversity of Tibetan Red Deer Populations Determined using Mitochondrial and Microsatellite Markers

“…The present research found the genetic diversity of Tibetan red deer to be 2.78%, which was higher than for some other species. For example, the nucleotide diversity of roan antelope (Hippotragus equines Saint-Hilaire) is 1.90% (Alpers et al, 2004), of English red deer (Cervus elaphus L.) is 0.56% (Hmwe et al, 2006) and of Chinese sika deer is 2.11% (Cervus Nippon) (Liu et al, 2003). Geomorphologic analysis reveals that the Gangdise Mountain region studied in this paper was formed by the collision, extrusion and fold rise of the Indian and Asian plates.…”