Noninvasive genetic assessment of brown bear population structure in Bulgarian mountain regions

Frosch, Christiane; Dutsov, Aleksandar; Zlatanova, Diana; Valchev, Kostadin; Reiners, Tobias Erik; Steyer, Katharina; Pfenninger, Markus; Nowak, Carsten

doi:10.1016/j.mambio.2014.04.001

Cited by 48 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…Comparison of the experimental genotypes to the assumed true genotype allowed us to determine that incorrect genotypes were predominantly the consequence of allelic dropout and, to a lesser degree, of false alleles. This is consistent with other reports from the literature for samples with low DNA quantity and quality (e.g., Sefc et al 2003;Adams and Waits 2007;Muñoz-Fuentes et al 2010;Davoli et al 2013;Frosch et al 2014). Our data showed that while allelic dropout was most common in samples collected 1 and 24 h since predator exposure, false alleles appeared mostly in samples collected after 48 h. We found that the largest decrease in amplification success and obtaining a complete genotype occurred between 24 and 48 h after predator exposure.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Experimental evaluation of genetic predator identification from saliva traces on wildlife kills

Harms¹,

Nowak²,

Carl³

et al. 2015

JMAMMAL

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Identification of predators from saliva traces on game species and/or livestock kills is gaining increasing importance in wildlife management, particularly in areas where direct wildlife-human conflicts regularly occur. When the noninvasive sampling of hairs and scats is difficult, as with rare and elusive predators, saliva samples constitute a potentially useful source of DNA. To test the feasibility of this approach in obtaining an accurate genotype of the predator, we applied an experimental approach. Captive wolves (Canis lupus) and lynxes (Lynx lynx) were allowed to feed on freshly killed roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) pieces for 1 min. After removal, pieces were sampled for saliva traces after 1, 24, and 48 h. Microsatellite analysis revealed that error rates and amplification failure increased sharply over time. While samples collected after 1 and 24 h yielded > 83% complete genotypes, values dropped to < 50% for samples collected after 48 h, of which 7% were incorrect even when consensus genotypes from 9 polymerase chain reactions were obtained. Our results stress the importance of rapid sampling after carcass detection, as well as implementing a multiple-tubes approach when using microsatellite markers for genetic predator identification based on saliva traces.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Experimental evaluation of genetic predator identification from saliva traces on wildlife kills

Harms¹,

Nowak²,

Carl³

et al. 2015

JMAMMAL

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“…The combination of genetic isolation and population bottlenecks (i.e., reduced population size) (Lawton 1993) are expected to lead to a reduction in genetic diversity (Hoffmann and Blows 1994), such as is observed in bears in western Greece. The "yardstick" reference population method results indicate that, although genetic diversity of bears in different areas in western Greece was not as low as in, for example, the genetically depauperate Apennine bear population (Ciucci and Boitani 2008), it was not as high as in the other, much larger bear populations in the region, that is, the rest of the Dinaric-Pindos (Skrbinšek et al 2012c), the East Balkan (Frosch et al 2014) or the Carpathian population (Graban et al 2013). At the other side of the country, in eastern Greece, genetic diversity of bears in the Rodopi Mountains, which belong to the large East Balkan bear population, was in comparison considerably higher.…”

Section: Effective Population Size and Genetic Diversitymentioning

confidence: 91%

“…The results of our population structure analysis need to be interpreted in relation to the population history of the species, in both a wide and narrow geographic context. Bears in the Rodopi Mountains belong to the large East Balkan population (Frosch et al 2014;Nowak et al 2014); they are separated from bear subpopulations in western Greece by unsuitable habitat, and clearly stand as a separate population in the population structure analyses. It is possible that undetected dispersal events have occurred between the Rodopi Mountains and other subpopulations we studied; however, the lack of western individuals with high levels of Rodopi ancestry and vice versa in our sample of 241 bears suggests that eastern and western bears in Greece are effectively genetically isolated from each other.…”

Section: Population Structurementioning

confidence: 99%

History-driven population structure and asymmetric gene flow in a recovering large carnivore at the rear-edge of its European range

et al. 2017

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Understanding the mechanisms and patterns involved in population recoveries is challenging and important in shaping conservation strategies. We used a recovering rear-edge population of brown bears at their southernmost European range in Greece as a case study (2007-2010) to explore the recovery genetics at a species' distribution edge. We used 17 microsatellite and a mitochondrial markers to evaluate genetic structure, estimate effective population size and genetic diversity, and infer gene flow between the identified subpopulations. To understand the larger picture, we also compared the observed genetic diversity of each subpopulation with other brown bear populations in the region. The results indicate that the levels of genetic diversity for bears in western Greece are the lowest recorded in southeastern Europe, but still higher than those of other genetically depauperate bear populations. Apart from a complete separation of bear populations in eastern and western Greece, our results also indicate a considerable genetic sub-structuring in the West. As bear populations in Greece are now recovering, this structure is dissolving through a "recovery cascade" of asymmetric gene flow from South to North between neighboring subpopulations, mediated mainly by males. Our study outlines the importance of small, persisting populations, which can act as "stepping stones" that enable a rapid population expansion and recovery. This in turn makes their importance much greater than their numeric or genetic contribution to a species as a whole.

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“…Unlike in many other regions, ranges of many central European species, such as large terrestrial mammals seem to be rather well known, as there is considerable public interest in their distribution and they often serve as prominent flagship species for nature conservation (Chapron et al 2014). Therefore, there is a particular focus on the distribution of this group to document and monitor occurrence, range size and population status (Frosch et al 2014;Kraus et al 2015;Simon et al 2005). In Germany, the European wildcat (Felis silvestris silvestris Schreber 1777) has become a primary target species for promoting large, connected and near-natural broad-leaf forests over the past years.…”

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confidence: 99%

Large-scale genetic census of an elusive carnivore, the European wildcat (Felis s. silvestris)

et al. 2016

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The European wildcat, Felis silvestris silvestris, serves as a prominent target species for the reconnection of central European forest habitats. Monitoring of this species, however, appears difficult due to its elusive behaviour and the ease of confusion with domestic cats. Recently, evidence for multiple wildcat occurrences outside its known distribution has accumulated in several areas across Central Europe, questioning the validity of available distribution data for this species. Our aim was to assess the fine-scale distribution and genetic status of the wildcat in its central European distribution range. We compiled and analysed genetic samples from roadkills and hundreds of recent hair-trapping surveys and applied phylogenetic and genetic clustering methods to discriminate wild and domestic cats and identify population subdivision. 2220 individuals were confirmed as either wildcat (n = 1792) or domestic cat (n = 342), and the remaining 86 (3.9 %) were identified as hybrids between the two. Remarkably, genetic distinction of domestic cats, wildcats and their hybrids was only possible when taking into account the presence of two highly distinct genetic lineages of wildcats, with a suture zone in central Germany. 44 % of the individual wildcats where sampled outside the previously published distribution. Our analyses confirm a relatively continuous spatial presence of wildcats across large parts of the study area in contrast to previous analyses indicating a highly fragmented distribution. Our results suggest that wildcat conservation and management should take advantage of the higher than previously assumed dispersal potential of wildcats, which may use wildlife corridors very efficiently.

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Noninvasive genetic assessment of brown bear population structure in Bulgarian mountain regions

Cited by 48 publications

References 52 publications

Experimental evaluation of genetic predator identification from saliva traces on wildlife kills

Experimental evaluation of genetic predator identification from saliva traces on wildlife kills

History-driven population structure and asymmetric gene flow in a recovering large carnivore at the rear-edge of its European range

Large-scale genetic census of an elusive carnivore, the European wildcat (Felis s. silvestris)

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