Population genetics of the main population of brown bears in southwest Asia
Genetic studies of the Eurasian brown bear (Ursus arctos) have so far focused on populations from Europe and North America, although the largest distribution area of brown bears is in Asia. In this study, we reveal population genetic parameters for the brown bear population inhabiting the Grand Kaçk...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:824fb18d3df64a53b0c2e41ab73ae64d 2024-01-07T09:47:10+01:00 Population genetics of the main population of brown bears in southwest Asia Hüseyin Ambarlı Deniz Mengüllüoğlu Jörns Fickel Daniel W. Förster 2018-09-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.5660 https://doaj.org/article/824fb18d3df64a53b0c2e41ab73ae64d EN eng PeerJ Inc. https://peerj.com/articles/5660.pdf https://peerj.com/articles/5660/ https://doaj.org/toc/2167-8359 doi:10.7717/peerj.5660 2167-8359 https://doaj.org/article/824fb18d3df64a53b0c2e41ab73ae64d PeerJ, Vol 6, p e5660 (2018) Ursus arctos Microsatellite Conservation Anatolia Isolation Source population Medicine R Biology (General) QH301-705.5 article 2018 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.5660 2023-12-10T01:53:49Z Genetic studies of the Eurasian brown bear (Ursus arctos) have so far focused on populations from Europe and North America, although the largest distribution area of brown bears is in Asia. In this study, we reveal population genetic parameters for the brown bear population inhabiting the Grand Kaçkar Mountains (GKM) in the north east of Turkey, western Lesser Caucasus. Using both hair (N = 147) and tissue samples (N = 7) collected between 2008 and 2014, we found substantial levels of genetic variation (10 microsatellite loci). Bear samples (hair) taken from rubbing trees worked better for genotyping than those from power poles, regardless of the year collected. Genotyping also revealed that bears moved between habitat patches, despite ongoing massive habitat alterations and the creation of large water reservoirs. This population has the potential to serve as a genetic reserve for future reintroductions in the Middle East. Due to the importance of the GKM population for on-going and future conservation actions, the impacts of habitat alterations in the region ought to be minimized; e.g., by establishing green bridges or corridors over reservoirs and major roads to maintain habitat connectivity and gene flow among populations in the Lesser Caucasus. Article in Journal/Newspaper Ursus arctos Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles PeerJ 6 e5660 |
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Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Ursus arctos Microsatellite Conservation Anatolia Isolation Source population Medicine R Biology (General) QH301-705.5 |
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Ursus arctos Microsatellite Conservation Anatolia Isolation Source population Medicine R Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Hüseyin Ambarlı Deniz Mengüllüoğlu Jörns Fickel Daniel W. Förster Population genetics of the main population of brown bears in southwest Asia |
topic_facet |
Ursus arctos Microsatellite Conservation Anatolia Isolation Source population Medicine R Biology (General) QH301-705.5 |
description |
Genetic studies of the Eurasian brown bear (Ursus arctos) have so far focused on populations from Europe and North America, although the largest distribution area of brown bears is in Asia. In this study, we reveal population genetic parameters for the brown bear population inhabiting the Grand Kaçkar Mountains (GKM) in the north east of Turkey, western Lesser Caucasus. Using both hair (N = 147) and tissue samples (N = 7) collected between 2008 and 2014, we found substantial levels of genetic variation (10 microsatellite loci). Bear samples (hair) taken from rubbing trees worked better for genotyping than those from power poles, regardless of the year collected. Genotyping also revealed that bears moved between habitat patches, despite ongoing massive habitat alterations and the creation of large water reservoirs. This population has the potential to serve as a genetic reserve for future reintroductions in the Middle East. Due to the importance of the GKM population for on-going and future conservation actions, the impacts of habitat alterations in the region ought to be minimized; e.g., by establishing green bridges or corridors over reservoirs and major roads to maintain habitat connectivity and gene flow among populations in the Lesser Caucasus. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Hüseyin Ambarlı Deniz Mengüllüoğlu Jörns Fickel Daniel W. Förster |
author_facet |
Hüseyin Ambarlı Deniz Mengüllüoğlu Jörns Fickel Daniel W. Förster |
author_sort |
Hüseyin Ambarlı |
title |
Population genetics of the main population of brown bears in southwest Asia |
title_short |
Population genetics of the main population of brown bears in southwest Asia |
title_full |
Population genetics of the main population of brown bears in southwest Asia |
title_fullStr |
Population genetics of the main population of brown bears in southwest Asia |
title_full_unstemmed |
Population genetics of the main population of brown bears in southwest Asia |
title_sort |
population genetics of the main population of brown bears in southwest asia |
publisher |
PeerJ Inc. |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.5660 https://doaj.org/article/824fb18d3df64a53b0c2e41ab73ae64d |
genre |
Ursus arctos |
genre_facet |
Ursus arctos |
op_source |
PeerJ, Vol 6, p e5660 (2018) |
op_relation |
https://peerj.com/articles/5660.pdf https://peerj.com/articles/5660/ https://doaj.org/toc/2167-8359 doi:10.7717/peerj.5660 2167-8359 https://doaj.org/article/824fb18d3df64a53b0c2e41ab73ae64d |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.5660 |
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PeerJ |
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6 |
container_start_page |
e5660 |
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1787429150502420480 |