| Summary: | During the last centuries many West European populations of wolf Canis lupus Linnaeus, 1758 and brown bear Ursus arctos Linnaeus, 1758 have been exttirpated from most of their former ranges. Isolated populations of wolves (about 300 - 400 animals) and brown bears (about 80 - 100 animals) actually survive in the Italian Apennines, while very few (5 - 10) brown bears remain in the Italian eastern Alps. We have investigated the consequences of isolation, demographic decline, and random drift on genetic variability of the Italian populations of wolf and brown bear using restriction site analysis and nucleotide sequencing of portions of the mitochondrial genome. During the last centuries many West European populations of wolf Canis lupus Linnaeus, 1758 and brown bear Ursus arctos Linnaeus, 1758 have been exttirpated from most of their former ranges. Isolated populations of wolves (about 300 - 400 animals) and brown bears (about 80 - 100 animals) actually survive in the Italian Apennines, while very few (5 - 10) brown bears remain in the Italian eastern Alps. We have investigated the consequences of isolation, demographic decline, and random drift on genetic variability of the Italian populations of wolf and brown bear using restriction site analysis and nucleotide sequencing of portions of the mitochondrial genome.
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