Population genetic structure of wolves in the northwestern Dinaric-Balkan region
The Balkan Peninsula and the Dinaric Mountains possess extraordinary biodiversity and support one of the largest and most diverse wolf (Canis lupus) populations in Europe. Results obtained with diverse genetic markers show west-east substructure, also seen in various other species, despite the absen...
Published in: | Ecology and Evolution |
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2021
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Online Access: | https://vbn.aau.dk/da/publications/256f3396-c0e7-4825-a109-7b12b300c6b8 https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8444 http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85120897399&partnerID=8YFLogxK |
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ftalborgunivpubl:oai:pure.atira.dk:publications/256f3396-c0e7-4825-a109-7b12b300c6b8 2024-09-30T14:33:34+00:00 Population genetic structure of wolves in the northwestern Dinaric-Balkan region Šnjegota, Dragana Stronen, Astrid Vik Boljte, Barbara Ćirović, Duško Djan, Mihajla Huber, Djuro Jelenčič, Maja Konec, Marjeta Kusak, Josip Skrbinšek, Tomaž 2021-12 https://vbn.aau.dk/da/publications/256f3396-c0e7-4825-a109-7b12b300c6b8 https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8444 http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85120897399&partnerID=8YFLogxK eng eng https://vbn.aau.dk/da/publications/256f3396-c0e7-4825-a109-7b12b300c6b8 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Šnjegota , D , Stronen , A V , Boljte , B , Ćirović , D , Djan , M , Huber , D , Jelenčič , M , Konec , M , Kusak , J & Skrbinšek , T 2021 , ' Population genetic structure of wolves in the northwestern Dinaric-Balkan region ' , Ecology and Evolution , vol. 11 , no. 24 , pp. 18492-18504 . https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8444 article 2021 ftalborgunivpubl https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8444 2024-09-19T00:52:42Z The Balkan Peninsula and the Dinaric Mountains possess extraordinary biodiversity and support one of the largest and most diverse wolf (Canis lupus) populations in Europe. Results obtained with diverse genetic markers show west-east substructure, also seen in various other species, despite the absence of obvious barriers to movement. However, the spatial extent of the genetic clusters remains unresolved, and our aim was to combine fine-scale sampling with population and spatial genetic analyses to improve resolution of wolf genetic clusters. We analyzed 16 autosomal microsatellites from 255 wolves sampled in Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH), and Serbia and documented three genetic clusters. These comprised (1) Slovenia and the regions of Gorski kotar and Lika in Croatia, (2) the region of Dalmatia in southern Croatia and BIH, and (3) Serbia. When we mapped the clusters geographically, we observed west-east genetic structure across the study area, together with some specific structure in BIH–Dalmatia. We observed that cluster 1 had a smaller effective population size, consistent with earlier reports of population recovery since the 1980s. Our results provide foundation for future genomic studies that would further resolve the observed west-east population structure and its evolutionary history in wolves and other taxa in the region and identify focal areas for habitat conservation. They also have immediate importance for conservation planning for the wolves in one of the most important parts of the species’ European range. Article in Journal/Newspaper Canis lupus Aalborg University's Research Portal Ecology and Evolution 11 24 18492 18504 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Aalborg University's Research Portal |
op_collection_id |
ftalborgunivpubl |
language |
English |
description |
The Balkan Peninsula and the Dinaric Mountains possess extraordinary biodiversity and support one of the largest and most diverse wolf (Canis lupus) populations in Europe. Results obtained with diverse genetic markers show west-east substructure, also seen in various other species, despite the absence of obvious barriers to movement. However, the spatial extent of the genetic clusters remains unresolved, and our aim was to combine fine-scale sampling with population and spatial genetic analyses to improve resolution of wolf genetic clusters. We analyzed 16 autosomal microsatellites from 255 wolves sampled in Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH), and Serbia and documented three genetic clusters. These comprised (1) Slovenia and the regions of Gorski kotar and Lika in Croatia, (2) the region of Dalmatia in southern Croatia and BIH, and (3) Serbia. When we mapped the clusters geographically, we observed west-east genetic structure across the study area, together with some specific structure in BIH–Dalmatia. We observed that cluster 1 had a smaller effective population size, consistent with earlier reports of population recovery since the 1980s. Our results provide foundation for future genomic studies that would further resolve the observed west-east population structure and its evolutionary history in wolves and other taxa in the region and identify focal areas for habitat conservation. They also have immediate importance for conservation planning for the wolves in one of the most important parts of the species’ European range. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Šnjegota, Dragana Stronen, Astrid Vik Boljte, Barbara Ćirović, Duško Djan, Mihajla Huber, Djuro Jelenčič, Maja Konec, Marjeta Kusak, Josip Skrbinšek, Tomaž |
spellingShingle |
Šnjegota, Dragana Stronen, Astrid Vik Boljte, Barbara Ćirović, Duško Djan, Mihajla Huber, Djuro Jelenčič, Maja Konec, Marjeta Kusak, Josip Skrbinšek, Tomaž Population genetic structure of wolves in the northwestern Dinaric-Balkan region |
author_facet |
Šnjegota, Dragana Stronen, Astrid Vik Boljte, Barbara Ćirović, Duško Djan, Mihajla Huber, Djuro Jelenčič, Maja Konec, Marjeta Kusak, Josip Skrbinšek, Tomaž |
author_sort |
Šnjegota, Dragana |
title |
Population genetic structure of wolves in the northwestern Dinaric-Balkan region |
title_short |
Population genetic structure of wolves in the northwestern Dinaric-Balkan region |
title_full |
Population genetic structure of wolves in the northwestern Dinaric-Balkan region |
title_fullStr |
Population genetic structure of wolves in the northwestern Dinaric-Balkan region |
title_full_unstemmed |
Population genetic structure of wolves in the northwestern Dinaric-Balkan region |
title_sort |
population genetic structure of wolves in the northwestern dinaric-balkan region |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://vbn.aau.dk/da/publications/256f3396-c0e7-4825-a109-7b12b300c6b8 https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8444 http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85120897399&partnerID=8YFLogxK |
genre |
Canis lupus |
genre_facet |
Canis lupus |
op_source |
Šnjegota , D , Stronen , A V , Boljte , B , Ćirović , D , Djan , M , Huber , D , Jelenčič , M , Konec , M , Kusak , J & Skrbinšek , T 2021 , ' Population genetic structure of wolves in the northwestern Dinaric-Balkan region ' , Ecology and Evolution , vol. 11 , no. 24 , pp. 18492-18504 . https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8444 |
op_relation |
https://vbn.aau.dk/da/publications/256f3396-c0e7-4825-a109-7b12b300c6b8 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8444 |
container_title |
Ecology and Evolution |
container_volume |
11 |
container_issue |
24 |
container_start_page |
18492 |
op_container_end_page |
18504 |
_version_ |
1811637412706648064 |