Genetic Analysis and Status of Brown Bear Sub-Populations in Three National Parks of Greece Functioning as Strongholds for the Species’ Conservation

In order to optimize the appropriate conservation actions for the brown bear (Ursus arctos L.) population in Greece, we estimated the census (Nc) and effective (Ne) population size as well as the genetic status of brown bear sub-populations in three National Parks (NP): Prespa (MBPNP), Pindos (PINDN...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Genes
Main Author: Tsalazidou-Founta T.-M., Stasi E.A., Samara M., Mertzanis Y., Papathanassiou M., Bagos P.G., Psaroudas S., Spyrou V., Lazarou Y., Tragos A., Tsaknakis Y., Grigoriadou E., Korakis A., Satra M., Billinis C., ARCPROM project
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2022
Subjects:
adult
article
bear
brown bear
female
gene flow
gene structure
genetic analysis
Greece
human
human experiment
inbreeding
major clinical study
male
microsatellite marker
national park
nonhuman
population structure
animal
genetic variation
genetics
recreational park
microsatellite DNA
Animals
Humans
Microsatellite Repeats
Parks
Recreational
Ursidae
MDPI
Ursus arctos
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/11615/79833
https://doi.org/10.3390/genes13081388
Description
Summary:In order to optimize the appropriate conservation actions for the brown bear (Ursus arctos L.) population in Greece, we estimated the census (Nc) and effective (Ne) population size as well as the genetic status of brown bear sub-populations in three National Parks (NP): Prespa (MBPNP), Pindos (PINDNP), and Rhodopi (RMNP). The Prespa and Pindos sub-populations are located in western Greece and the Rhodopi population is located in eastern Greece. We extracted DNA from 472 hair samples and amplified through PCR 10 microsatellite loci. In total, 257 of 472 samples (54.5%) were genotyped for 6–10 microsatellite loci. Genetic analysis revealed that the Ne was 35, 118, and 61 individuals in MBPNP, PINDNP, and RMNP, respectively, while high levels of inbreeding were found in Prespa and Rhodopi but not in Pindos. Moreover, analysis of genetic structure showed that the Pindos population is genetically distinct, whereas Prespa and Rhodopi show mutual overlaps. Finally, we found a notable gene flow from Prespa to Rhodopi (10.19%) and from Rhodopi to Prespa (14.96%). Therefore, targeted actions for the conservation of the bears that live in the abovementioned areas must be undertaken, in order to ensure the species’ viability and to preserve the corridors that allow connectivity between the bear sub-populations in Greece. © 2022 by the authors.

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