Fine-scale genetic structure suggests low levels of short-range gene flow in a wolf population of the Italian Apennines

• Published in: European Journal of Wildlife Research
• Language: English
• Published: Springer-Verlag 2012
• Subjects: Canis lupus; Autosomal microsatellites; Cryptic genetic structure; Dispersal; Non-invasive genotyping
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2262/62166; https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-011-0509-y

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: [phone] (Scandura, Massimo) [e-mail] (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