Strong population structure in a species manipulated by humans since the Neolithic: the European fallow deer (Dama dama dama)

Abstract

Species that have been translocated and otherwise manipulated by humans may show patterns of population structure that reflect those interactions. At the same time, natural processes shape populations, including behavioural characteristics like dispersal potential and breeding system. In Europe, a key factor is the geography and history of climate change through the Pleistocene. During glacial maxima throughout that period, species in Europe with temperate distributions were forced south, becoming distributed among the isolated peninsulas represented by Anatolia, Italy and Iberia. Understanding modern patterns of diversity depends on understanding these historical population dynamics. Traditionally, European fallow deer (Dama dama dama) are thought to have been restricted to refugia in Anatolia and possibly Sicily and the Balkans. However, the distribution of this species was also greatly influenced by human-mediated translocations. We focus on fallow deer to better understand the relative influence of these natural and anthropogenic processes. We compared modern fallow deer putative populations across a broad geographic range using microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA loci. The results revealed highly insular populations, depauperate of genetic variation and significantly differentiated from each other. This is consistent with the expectations of drift acting on populations founded by small numbers of individuals, and reflects known founder populations in the north. However, there was also evidence for differentiation among (but not within) physically isolated regions in the south, including Iberia. In those regions we find evidence for a stronger influence from natural processes than may be expected for a species with such strong, known anthropogenic influence.

The genetic basis and evolution of red blood cell sickling in deer

“…In the absence of reliable species-wide estimates for N e , we can nonetheless ask what N e would be required to meet a given threshold probability. Conservatively assuming an average generation time of 1 year46,47 and a split time of 7.2mya (the lowest divergence time estimate in the literature43), N e would have to be 2,403,419 to reach a threshold probability of 0.05. Although deer can have large census population sizes, an N e >2,000,000 for both fallow and white-tailed deer is comfortably outside what we would expect for large-bodied mammals, >4-fold higher than estimates for wild mice48 and >2-fold higher even than estimates for African populations of Drosophila melanogaster 49.…”

The genetic basis and evolution of red blood cell sickling in deer

“…In the absence of reliable species-wide estimates for N e , we can nonetheless ask what N e would be required to meet a given threshold probability. Conservatively assuming an average generation time of 1 year ( 42 , 43 ) and a split time of 7.2mya [the lowest divergence time estimate in the literature ( 39 )], N e would have to be 2,403,419 to reach a threshold probability of 0.05 (1,563,460 for P =0.01). Although deer populations can have a large census population sizes, an N e >2,000,000 for both fallow and white-tailed deer is comfortably outside what we would expect for large-bodied mammals, >4-fold higher than estimates for wild mice ( 44 ) and >2-fold higher even than estimates for African populations of Drosophila melanogaster ( 45 ).…”

Effecten van hoefdieren op Natura 2000-boshabitattypen op de Veluwe

“…Damherten zijn ooit in kleine aantallen naar Nederland gehaald en kennen een smalle genetische basis (Randi & Apollonio, 1988). Waarschijnlijk is die variatie altijd al geringer geweest in vergelijking met andere hertachtingen (Baker et al, 2017 Daartoe zouden de leefgebieden van de hoefdieren verder vergroot kunnen worden en de genetische uitwisselingsmogelijkheden verbeterd door aansluiting van leefgebieden met andere populaties.…”