scholarly journals Genetic structure of a patchily distributed philopatric migrant: implications for management and conservation

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anastasios Bounas ◽  
Dimitris Tsaparis ◽  
Ron Efrat ◽  
Gradimir Gradev ◽  
Marco Gustin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Structure ◽  
Spatial Genetic Structure ◽  
Peripheral Populations ◽  
Population Declines ◽  
Effective Population ◽  
Genetic Structuring ◽  
Mediterranean Populations ◽  
Continental Scale ◽  
Population Sizes ◽  
Lesser Kestrel

Significant demographic fluctuations can have major genetic consequences in wild populations. The Lesser Kestrel (Falco naumanni) has suffered from both population declines and range fragmentation during the second half of the 20th century. In this study we analysed multilocus microsatellite data to assess the genetic structure of the species. Our analysis revealed significant genetic structuring of Lesser Kestrel populations, not only at cross-continental scale, but also regionally within Central and Eastern (CE) Mediterranean. We detected signs of genetic bottlenecks in some of the peripheral populations coupled with small effective population sizes. Values of genetic differentiation among the largest populations were low, albeit significant, whereas the small peripheral CE Mediterranean populations showed higher levels of differentiation from all other populations. Gene flow levels were relatively low among the discontinuously distributed populations of the CE Mediterranean region. We argue that the observed spatial genetic structure can be attributed at some level to the past demographic decline experienced by the species. Finally, we identify management units in the region, and inform the design of conservation actions aiming at the increase of population sizes and dispersal rates among peripheral populations.

scholarly journals Genetic Structure and Effective Population Sizes in European Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) at a Continental Scale: Insights from Microsatellite DNA

2016 ◽  
Vol 107 (4) ◽  
pp. 318-326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank E. Zachos ◽  
Alain C. Frantz ◽  
Ralph Kuehn ◽  
Sabine Bertouille ◽  
Marc Colyn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Structure ◽  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Microsatellite Dna ◽  
Red Deer ◽  
Effective Population ◽  
Continental Scale ◽  
Population Sizes

scholarly journals Low effective population size and high spatial genetic structure of black poplar populations from the Oder valley in Poland

2021 ◽  
Vol 78 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Błażej Wójkiewicz ◽  
Andrzewj Lewandowski ◽  
Weronika B. Żukowska ◽  
Monika Litkowiec ◽  
Witold Wachowiak
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Structure ◽  
Genetic Resources ◽  
Population Size ◽  
Effective Population Size ◽  
Spatial Genetic Structure ◽  
Demographic History ◽  
River Valley ◽  
Ex Situ ◽  
Effective Population ◽  
Black Poplar

Abstract Context Black poplar (Populus nigra L.) is a keystone species of European riparian ecosystems that has been negatively impacted by riverside urbanization for centuries. Consequently, it has become an endangered tree species in many European countries. The establishment of a suitable rescue plan of the remaining black poplar forest stands requires a preliminary knowledge about the distribution of genetic variation among species populations. However, for some parts of the P. nigra distribution in Europe, the genetic resources and demographic history remain poorly recognized. Aims Here, we present the first study on identifying and characterizing the genetic resources of black poplar from the Oder valley in Poland. This study (1) assessed the genetic variability and effective population size of populations and (2) examined whether gene flow is limited by distance or there is a single migrant pool along the studied river system. Methods A total of 582 poplar trees derived from nine black poplar populations were investigated with nuclear microsatellite markers. Results (1) The allelic richness and heterozygosity level were high and comparable between populations. (2) The genetic structure of the studied poplar stands was not homogenous. (3) The signatures of past bottlenecks were detected. Conclusion Our study (1) provides evidence for genetic substructuring of natural black poplar populations from the studied river catchment, which is not a frequent phenomenon reported for this species in Europe, and (2) indicates which poplar stands may serve as new genetic conservation units (GCUs) of this species in Europe. Key message The genetic resources of black poplar in the Oder River valley are still substantial compared to those reported for rivers in Western Europe. On the other hand, clear signals of isolation by distance and genetic erosion reflected in small effective population sizes and high spatial genetic structure of the analyzed populations were detected. Based on these findings, we recommend the in situ and ex situ conservation strategies for conserving and restoring the genetic resources of black poplar populations in this strongly transformed by human river valley ecosystem.

scholarly journals The Genetic History of France

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aude Saint Pierre ◽  
Joanna Giemza ◽  
Matilde Karakachoff ◽  
Isabel Alves ◽  
Philippe Amouyel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Structure ◽  
Demographic History ◽  
Migration Routes ◽  
Effective Population ◽  
Genetic Studies ◽  
Independent Population ◽  
Genome Wide Data ◽  
Population Sizes ◽  
History Of ◽  
Exhaustive Study

ABSTRACTThe study of the genetic structure of different countries within Europe has provided significant insights into their demographic history and their actual stratification. Although France occupies a particular location at the end of the European peninsula and at the crossroads of migration routes, few population genetic studies have been conducted so far with genome-wide data. In this study, we analyzed SNP-chip genetic data from 2 184 individuals born in France who were enrolled in two independent population cohorts. Using FineStructure, six different genetic clusters of individuals were found that were very consistent between the two cohorts. These clusters match extremely well the geography and overlap with historical and linguistic divisions of France. By modeling the relationship between genetics and geography using EEMS software, we were able to detect gene flow barriers that are similar in the two cohorts and corresponds to major French rivers or mountains. Estimations of effective population sizes using IBDNe program also revealed very similar patterns in both cohorts with a rapid increase of effective population sizes over the last 150 generations similar to what was observed in other European countries. A marked bottleneck is also consistently seen in the two datasets starting in the fourteenth century when the Black Death raged in Europe. In conclusion, by performing the first exhaustive study of the genetic structure of France, we fill a gap in the genetic studies in Europe that would be useful to medical geneticists but also historians and archeologists.

scholarly journals Challenges to assessing connectivity between massive populations of the Australian plague locust

2011 ◽  
Vol 278 (1721) ◽  
pp. 3152-3160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie-Pierre Chapuis ◽  
Julie-Anne M. Popple ◽  
Karine Berthier ◽  
Stephen J. Simpson ◽  
Edward Deveson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Large Population ◽  
Movement Ecology ◽  
Effective Population ◽  
Continental Scale ◽  
Australian Continent ◽  
Population Structuring ◽  
Population Sizes ◽  
Approximate Bayesian ◽  
Australian Plague Locust

Linking demographic and genetic dispersal measures is of fundamental importance for movement ecology and evolution. However, such integration can be difficult, particularly for highly fecund species that are often the target of management decisions guided by an understanding of population movement. Here, we present an example of how the influence of large population sizes can preclude genetic approaches from assessing demographic population structuring, even at a continental scale. The Australian plague locust, Chortoicetes terminifera , is a significant pest, with populations on the eastern and western sides of Australia having been monitored and managed independently to date. We used microsatellites to assess genetic variation in 12 C. terminifera population samples separated by up to 3000 km. Traditional summary statistics indicated high levels of genetic diversity and a surprising lack of population structure across the entire range. An approximate Bayesian computation treatment indicated that levels of genetic diversity in C. terminifera corresponded to effective population sizes conservatively composed of tens of thousands to several million individuals. We used these estimates and computer simulations to estimate the minimum rate of dispersal, m , that could account for the observed range-wide genetic homogeneity. The rate of dispersal between both sides of the Australian continent could be several orders of magnitude lower than that typically considered as required for the demographic connectivity of populations.

Distinctiveness of declining northern populations of Blanchard’s Cricket Frog (Acris blanchardi) justifies recovery efforts

2010 ◽  
Vol 88 (6) ◽  
pp. 553-566 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaela B. Beauclerc ◽  
Bob Johnson ◽  
Bradley N. White
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Structure ◽  
Spatial Genetic Structure ◽  
Mitochondrial Control Region ◽  
Peripheral Populations ◽  
Evolutionary Potential ◽  
Widespread Species ◽  
Range Edge ◽  
The North ◽  
Central United States ◽  
Cricket Frog

Peripheral populations of widespread species are often considered unworthy of conservation efforts; however, they may be adapted to the conditions found at the range edge and are therefore important to the future evolutionary potential of the species. Blanchard’s Cricket Frog (Acris blanchardi Harper, 1947) is widespread and abundant throughout the central United States, but is declining at the northern edge of its range. To assess the distinctiveness and conservation value of the northern populations, we investigated the spatial genetic structure and phylogeography of this anuran using mitochondrial control region sequences. Analysis of 479 individuals identified 101 haplotypes, with relatively low nucleotide diversity. Two moderately divergent clades were found. One was restricted to the southwest, which was probably a refugium during the Pleistocene, whereas the other occurred primarily across the north and is likely the result of postglacial colonization. The genetic distinctiveness of northern populations indicates the potential for adaptive differences of individuals in this region relative to those in the south. We therefore conclude that conservation efforts are justified for the declining northern populations of Blanchard’s Cricket Frog, and we use the spatial genetic structure described here to develop specific recommendations for this anuran.

scholarly journals Temporal patterns of spatial genetic structure and effective population size in European plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) along the west coast of Scotland and in the Irish Sea

2009 ◽  
Vol 67 (4) ◽  
pp. 607-616 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phillip C. Watts ◽  
Suzanne M. Kay ◽  
Drew Wolfenden ◽  
Clive J. Fox ◽  
Audrey J. Geffen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Structure ◽  
Population Size ◽  
Effective Population Size ◽  
West Coast ◽  
Isolation By Distance ◽  
Spatial Genetic Structure ◽  
Irish Sea ◽  
Effective Population ◽  
The West ◽  
Pleuronectes Platessa

Abstract Watts, P. C., Kay, S. M., Wolfenden, D., Fox, C. J., Geffen, A. J., Kemp, S. J., and Nash, R. D. M. 2010. Temporal patterns of spatial genetic structure and effective population size in European plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) along the west coast of Scotland and in the Irish Sea. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 67: 607–616. The European plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) is a relatively mobile flatfish species, and previous studies have reported broad-scale genetic homogeneity among samples distributed throughout much of its northern European range, with no evidence for isolation-by-distance (IBD) population structure. Using microsatellite loci, the pattern of spatial genetic structure and effective population size is characterized for >800 plaice collected from locations off the west coast of Great Britain over a 3-year period (2001–2003). The plaice populations are characterized by weak spatial genetic structure, consistent with tagging data, and relatively low effective population sizes. In contrast to previous work, a pattern of isolation by distance is present among pairs of plaice from within each sampling period. However, IBD spatial structure was not observed for comparisons of plaice from different sampling years or using the entire dataset, indicating a patchy temporal genetic structure. Therefore, pooling the data from several years can mask subtle patterns of population structure and potentially confound estimation of other important demographic parameters, such as effective population size.

scholarly journals Demographic inference provides insights into the extirpation and ecological dominance of eusocial snapping shrimps

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Solomon T. C. Chak ◽  
Stephen E. Harris ◽  
Kristin M. Hultgren ◽  
J. Emmett Duffy ◽  
Dustin R. Rubenstein
Keyword(s):  
Life Histories ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Population Declines ◽  
Effective Population ◽  
Social Traits ◽  
Population Sizes ◽  
Demographic Inference ◽  
Ecological Dominance ◽  
Snapping Shrimps ◽  
Eusocial Species

AbstractEusocial animals often achieve ecological dominance in the ecosystems where they occur, a process that may be linked to their demography. That is, reproductive division of labor and high reproductive skew in eusocial species is predicted to result in more stable effective population sizes that may make groups more competitive, but also lower effective population sizes that may make groups more susceptible to inbreeding and extinction. We examined the relationship between demography and social organization in one of the few animal lineages where eusociality has evolved recently and repeatedly among close relatives, the Synalpheus snapping shrimps. Although eusocial species often dominate the reefs where they occur by outcompeting their non-eusocial relatives for access to sponge hosts, many eusocial species have recently become extirpated across the Caribbean. Coalescent-based historical demographic inference in 12 species found that across nearly 100,000 generations, eusocial species tended to have lower but more stable effective population sizes through time. Our results are consistent with the idea that stable population sizes may enable eusocial shrimps to be more competitively dominant, but they also suggest that recent population declines are likely caused by eusocial shrimps’ heightened sensitivity to anthropogenically-driven environmental changes as a result of their low effective population sizes and localized dispersal, rather than to natural cycles of inbreeding and extinction. Thus, although the unique life histories and demography of eusocial shrimps has likely contributed to their persistence and ecological dominance over evolutionary timescales, these social traits may also make them vulnerable to contemporary environmental change.

scholarly journals Coalescent models at small effective population sizes and population declines are positively misleading

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Elise Lauterbur
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Sample Size ◽  
Population Size ◽  
Effective Population Size ◽  
Genetic Relationships ◽  
Population Decline ◽  
Population Declines ◽  
Effective Population ◽  
Analytical Approximations ◽  
Population Sizes

AbstractPopulation genetics employs two major models for conceptualizing genetic relationships among individuals – outcome-driven (coalescent) and process-driven (forward). These models are complementary, but the basic Kingman coalescent and its extensions make fundamental assumptions to allow analytical approximations: a constant effective population size much larger than the sample size. These make the probability of multiple coalescent events per generation negligible. Although these assumptions are often violated in species of conservation concern, conservation genetics often uses coalescent models of effective population sizes and trajectories in endangered species. Despite this, the effect of very small effective population sizes, and their interaction with bottlenecks and sample sizes, on such analyses of genetic diversity remains unexplored. Here, I use simulations to analyze the influence of small effective population size, population decline, and their relationship with sample size, on coalescent-based estimates of genetic diversity. Compared to forward process-based estimates, coalescent models significantly overestimate genetic diversity in oversampled populations with very small effective sizes. When sampled soon after a decline, coalescent models overestimate genetic diversity in small populations regardless of sample size. Such overestimates artificially inflate estimates of both bottleneck and population split times. For conservation applications with small effective population sizes, forward simulations that do not make population size assumptions are computationally tractable and should be considered instead of coalescent-based models. These findings underscore the importance of the theoretical basis of analytical techniques as applied to conservation questions.

scholarly journals Population genetic structure of Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides) in the Southeast Pacific and Southwest Atlantic Ocean

PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e4173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristian B. Canales-Aguirre ◽  
Sandra Ferrada-Fuentes ◽  
Ricardo Galleguillos ◽  
Fernanda X. Oyarzun ◽  
Cristián E. Hernández
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Structure ◽  
Continental Shelf ◽  
Population Genetic Structure ◽  
Population Genetic ◽  
South American ◽  
The South ◽  
Effective Population ◽  
Genetic Structuring ◽  
South Georgia ◽  
Dissostichus Eleginoides

Previous studies of population genetic structure inDissostichus eleginoideshave shown that oceanographic and geographic discontinuities drive in this species population differentiation. Studies have focused on the genetics ofD.eleginoidesin the Southern Ocean; however, there is little knowledge of their genetic variation along the South American continental shelf. In this study, we used a panel of six microsatellites to test whetherD.eleginoidesshows population genetic structuring in this region. We hypothesized that this species would show zero or very limited genetic structuring due to the habitat continuity along the South American shelf from Peru in the Pacific Ocean to the Falkland Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. We used Bayesian and traditional analyses to evaluate population genetic structure, and we estimated the number of putative migrants and effective population size. Consistent with our predictions, our results showed no significant genetic structuring among populations of the South American continental shelf but supported two significant and well-defined genetic clusters ofD.eleginoidesbetween regions (South American continental shelf and South Georgia clusters). Genetic connectivity between these two clusters was 11.3% of putative migrants from the South American cluster to the South Georgia Island and 0.7% in the opposite direction. Effective population size was higher in locations from the South American continental shelf as compared with the South Georgia Island. Overall, our results support that the continuity of the deep-sea habitat along the continental shelf and the biological features of the study species are plausible drivers of intraspecific population genetic structuring across the distribution ofD.eleginoideson the South American continental shelf.

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