Fine-scale genetic structure suggests low levels of short-range gene flow in a wolf population of the Italian Apennines
Abstract We investigated local gene flow in a high-density wolf (Canis lupus) population of the Italian Apennines, where no effective barrier to wolf dispersal was present. From 1998 to 2004 we examined wolf carcasses and non-invasively collected samples, focusing on three mountain districts, separa...
Published in: | European Journal of Wildlife Research |
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Language: | English |
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2012
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Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/2262/62166 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-011-0509-y |
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fttrinitycoll:oai:tara.tcd.ie:2262/62166 2023-05-15T15:50:15+02:00 Fine-scale genetic structure suggests low levels of short-range gene flow in a wolf population of the Italian Apennines 2012-02-12T02:01:49Z http://hdl.handle.net/2262/62166 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-011-0509-y en eng Springer-Verlag Berlin/Heidelberg 1612-4642 (pISSN) 1439-0574 (eISSN) 1612-4642 (ISSN) 10344 (JournalID) s10344-011-0509-y (publisherID) 509 (ArticleID) http://hdl.handle.net/2262/62166 European Journal of Wildlife Research 57 4 949 958 doi:10.1007/s10344-011-0509-y Springer-Verlag, 2011 12 months Canis lupus Autosomal microsatellites Cryptic genetic structure Dispersal Non-invasive genotyping 2012 fttrinitycoll https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-011-0509-y 2020-02-16T13:53:25Z Abstract We investigated local gene flow in a high-density wolf (Canis lupus) population of the Italian Apennines, where no effective barrier to wolf dispersal was present. From 1998 to 2004 we examined wolf carcasses and non-invasively collected samples, focusing on three mountain districts, separated by two valleys, where wolf packs showed high spatial stability. Using nine autosomal microsatellites we successfully genotyped 177 samples, achieving the identification of 74 wolves. Genetic relatedness steeply decreased with increasing distance between sampling areas, thus suggesting that short-distance interpack migration is infrequent in this population. In addition, no individual from a central pack under intensive monitoring was sampled in the range of the surrounding packs over a 4-year period. The limited short-distance gene flow resulted in a cryptic genetic structure, which was revealed by Bayesian analysis. A different genetic cluster was found in each of the three mountain areas, and a small proportion of first-generation immigrants was detected. Overall, the present study suggests that local genetic differentiation in Italian wolves might arise from high spatial stability of packs and can be favoured by a combination of long-range dispersal, the attitude to mate between unrelated individuals and a high young mortality rate. phone: +39-79-228628 (Scandura, Massimo) scandura@uniss.it (Scandura, Massimo) Dipartimento di Zoologia e Genetica Evoluzionistica, Universita di Sassari - Via Muroni 25 - 07100 - Sassari - ITALY (Scandura, Massimo) Dipartimento di Zoologia e Genetica Evoluzionistica, Universita di Sassari - Via Muroni 25 - 07100 - Sassari - ITALY (Iacolina, Laura) Joint Research Centre (JRC)-Institute for Environment and Sustainability (IES)-Rural, Water and Ecosystem Resources Unit - via E. Fermi - Ispra - ITALY (Capitani, Claudia) Dipartimento di Zoologia e Genetica Evoluzionistica, Universita di Sassari - Via Muroni 25 - 07100 - Sassari - ITALY (Gazzola, Andrea) Servizio Piano Faunistico, Provincia di Arezzo - Piazza della Liberta 3 - 57100 - Arezzo - ITALY (Mattioli, Luca) Dipartimento di Zoologia e Genetica Evoluzionistica, Universita di Sassari - Via Muroni 25 - 07100 - Sassari - ITALY (Apollonio, Marco) ITALY Registration: 2011-01-28 Received: 2010-08-11 Revised: 2011-01-26 Accepted: 2011-01-28 ePublished: 2011-02-12 Other/Unknown Material Canis lupus The University of Dublin, Trinity College: TARA (Trinity's Access to Research Archive) European Journal of Wildlife Research 57 4 949 958 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
The University of Dublin, Trinity College: TARA (Trinity's Access to Research Archive) |
op_collection_id |
fttrinitycoll |
language |
English |
topic |
Canis lupus Autosomal microsatellites Cryptic genetic structure Dispersal Non-invasive genotyping |
spellingShingle |
Canis lupus Autosomal microsatellites Cryptic genetic structure Dispersal Non-invasive genotyping Fine-scale genetic structure suggests low levels of short-range gene flow in a wolf population of the Italian Apennines |
topic_facet |
Canis lupus Autosomal microsatellites Cryptic genetic structure Dispersal Non-invasive genotyping |
description |
Abstract We investigated local gene flow in a high-density wolf (Canis lupus) population of the Italian Apennines, where no effective barrier to wolf dispersal was present. From 1998 to 2004 we examined wolf carcasses and non-invasively collected samples, focusing on three mountain districts, separated by two valleys, where wolf packs showed high spatial stability. Using nine autosomal microsatellites we successfully genotyped 177 samples, achieving the identification of 74 wolves. Genetic relatedness steeply decreased with increasing distance between sampling areas, thus suggesting that short-distance interpack migration is infrequent in this population. In addition, no individual from a central pack under intensive monitoring was sampled in the range of the surrounding packs over a 4-year period. The limited short-distance gene flow resulted in a cryptic genetic structure, which was revealed by Bayesian analysis. A different genetic cluster was found in each of the three mountain areas, and a small proportion of first-generation immigrants was detected. Overall, the present study suggests that local genetic differentiation in Italian wolves might arise from high spatial stability of packs and can be favoured by a combination of long-range dispersal, the attitude to mate between unrelated individuals and a high young mortality rate. phone: +39-79-228628 (Scandura, Massimo) scandura@uniss.it (Scandura, Massimo) Dipartimento di Zoologia e Genetica Evoluzionistica, Universita di Sassari - Via Muroni 25 - 07100 - Sassari - ITALY (Scandura, Massimo) Dipartimento di Zoologia e Genetica Evoluzionistica, Universita di Sassari - Via Muroni 25 - 07100 - Sassari - ITALY (Iacolina, Laura) Joint Research Centre (JRC)-Institute for Environment and Sustainability (IES)-Rural, Water and Ecosystem Resources Unit - via E. Fermi - Ispra - ITALY (Capitani, Claudia) Dipartimento di Zoologia e Genetica Evoluzionistica, Universita di Sassari - Via Muroni 25 - 07100 - Sassari - ITALY (Gazzola, Andrea) Servizio Piano Faunistico, Provincia di Arezzo - Piazza della Liberta 3 - 57100 - Arezzo - ITALY (Mattioli, Luca) Dipartimento di Zoologia e Genetica Evoluzionistica, Universita di Sassari - Via Muroni 25 - 07100 - Sassari - ITALY (Apollonio, Marco) ITALY Registration: 2011-01-28 Received: 2010-08-11 Revised: 2011-01-26 Accepted: 2011-01-28 ePublished: 2011-02-12 |
title |
Fine-scale genetic structure suggests low levels of short-range gene flow in a wolf population of the Italian Apennines |
title_short |
Fine-scale genetic structure suggests low levels of short-range gene flow in a wolf population of the Italian Apennines |
title_full |
Fine-scale genetic structure suggests low levels of short-range gene flow in a wolf population of the Italian Apennines |
title_fullStr |
Fine-scale genetic structure suggests low levels of short-range gene flow in a wolf population of the Italian Apennines |
title_full_unstemmed |
Fine-scale genetic structure suggests low levels of short-range gene flow in a wolf population of the Italian Apennines |
title_sort |
fine-scale genetic structure suggests low levels of short-range gene flow in a wolf population of the italian apennines |
publisher |
Springer-Verlag |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/2262/62166 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-011-0509-y |
genre |
Canis lupus |
genre_facet |
Canis lupus |
op_relation |
1612-4642 (pISSN) 1439-0574 (eISSN) 1612-4642 (ISSN) 10344 (JournalID) s10344-011-0509-y (publisherID) 509 (ArticleID) http://hdl.handle.net/2262/62166 European Journal of Wildlife Research 57 4 949 958 doi:10.1007/s10344-011-0509-y |
op_rights |
Springer-Verlag, 2011 12 months |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-011-0509-y |
container_title |
European Journal of Wildlife Research |
container_volume |
57 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
949 |
op_container_end_page |
958 |
_version_ |
1766385232567599104 |