The use of microsatellites in the study of social structure in large mammals: Italian wolf and fallow deer as case studies
The content of the present PhD thesis deals with the application of microsatellite analysis to the study of two species of large mammals, referring to some aspects of their social and mating systems. The Italian wolf (Canis lupus) and the fallow deer (Dama dama) were chosen as case studies, since ge...
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| Language: | English |
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Niedersächsische Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek
2004
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| Online Access: | http://webdoc.sub.gwdg.de/ebook/dissts/Bielefeld/Scandura2004.pdf http://bieson.ub.uni-bielefeld.de/volltexte/2005/655/index.html http://deposit.ddb.de/cgi-bin/dokserv?idn=974295647 http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:hbz:361-6550 |
| Summary: | The content of the present PhD thesis deals with the application of microsatellite analysis to the study of two species of large mammals, referring to some aspects of their social and mating systems. The Italian wolf (Canis lupus) and the fallow deer (Dama dama) were chosen as case studies, since genetic investigations on their populations result, for different reasons, problematic. The wolf in Italy is a particularly protected species, recovering throughout the peninsula from the effects of a recent bottleneck. Sampling wolves may not rely on capturing or killing them, therefore an alternative, non-invasive, approach was adopted in my study. Scats, shed hairs and blood drops collected on the snow represented the main source of DNA for the analysis. Methodological cares were necessary to obtain reliable wolf genotypes. A set of ten canine microsatellites was employed to achieve unique multilocus genotypes in the population. Fifty-two individuals were typed in the period 1998 - 2003. In some cases, pack composition was determined, confirming that familiar bonds are at the basis of wolf social units. An unpredictable high local differentiation was found among geographic areas. Early dispersal seem to be common in the population, but its effects on the gene flow are not detectable, at least at my study scale. I proposed that most of this dispersal may be unsuccessful or over long distances. Univ., Diss--Bielefeld, 2004 |
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