Reduced Genetic Diversity and Increased Dispersal in Guigna (Leopardus guigna) in Chilean Fragmented Landscapes

Abstract

Landscape fragmentation is often a major cause of species extinction as it can affect a wide variety of ecological processes. The impact of fragmentation varies among species depending on many factors, including their life-history traits and dispersal abilities. Felids are one of the groups most threatened by fragmented landscapes because of their large home ranges, territorial behavior, and low population densities. Here, we model the impacts of habitat fragmentation on patterns of genetic diversity in the guigna (Leopardus guigna), a small felid that is closely associated with the heavily human-impacted temperate rainforests of southern South America. We assessed genetic variation in 1798 base pairs of mitochondrial DNA sequences, 15 microsatellite loci, and 2 sex chromosome genes and estimated genetic diversity, kinship, inbreeding, and dispersal in 38 individuals from landscapes with differing degrees of fragmentation on Chiloé Island in southern Chile. Increased fragmentation was associated with reduced genetic diversity, but not with increased kinship or inbreeding. However, in fragmented landscapes, there was a weaker negative correlation between pairwise kinship and geographic distance, suggesting increased dispersal distances. These results highlight the importance of biological corridors to maximize connectivity in fragmented landscapes and contribute to our understanding of the broader genetic consequences of habitat fragmentation, especially for forest-specialist carnivores.

A Comparative Analysis of Genetic Diversity and Structure in Jaguars (Panthera onca), Pumas (Puma concolor), and Ocelots (Leopardus pardalis) in Fragmented Landscapes of a Critical Mesoamerican Linkage Zone

“…Second, migration rates between northern and southern sites were also found to be directional, with higher levels of gene flow going from the north to the south (21% of individuals for this generation), than from southern to northern regions (9%) ( Fig 7 ; Table 6 ). Although ocelots are still considered widely abundant across Central America, they are understudied, and we found that the effects of habitat loss and fragmentation may have the potential to severely reduce genetic connectivity, which has been documented in ocelots at the northern extent of their range (e.g., [ 78 ]) and other small felid populations (e.g., [ 112 , 113 ]).…”

Genetic comparison of Altai and Gobi argali sheep (Ovis ammon) populations using mitochondrial and microsatellite markers: Implication on conservation

“…Overall Hd and π were 0.982±0.012 and 0.02589, respectively. These results demonstrated Altai and Gobi populations have low genetic diversity with high genetic differentiation, hinting the subpopulations within these two populations have been isolated from each other and may lead to reduction in population size [20], [21].…”

<b>Contrasting human perceptions of and attitudes towards two threatened small carnivores, <I>Lycalopex fulvipes</I> and <I>Leopardus guigna</I>, in rural communities adjacent to protected areas in Chile</b>

“…Other explanation could be that Guignas kill more animals than Darwin´s Foxes and can repeat predation events on poultry, thus providing people with a negative perception towards them. When inquired about damage caused by poultry depredation, most respondents in both study areas considered both Darwin's Foxes and Guignas to be damaging or very (Molina 1795), even though comparatively fewer real incidents occur nowadays. The high proportion of negative attitudes reported in some studies (Stowhas 2012;Herrmann et al 2013) seems unjustified or at least not proportionally linked to the amount of the currently caused damage, considering that the reported attacks performed by Guignas and Darwin's Foxes seem to be rare events and that the actual livestock and poultry losses are low.…”