Ancient Mitogenomes Suggest Stable Mitochondrial Clades of the Siberian Roe Deer

The roe deer (Capreolus spp.) has been present in China since the early Pleistocene. Despite abundant fossils available for detailed morphological analyses, little is known about the phylogenetic relationships of the fossil individuals to contemporary roe deer. We generated near-complete mitochondrial genomes for four roe deer remains from Northeastern China to explore the genetic connection of the ancient roe deer to the extant populations and to investigate the evolutionary history and population dynamics of this species. Phylogenetic analyses indicated the four ancient samples fall into three out of four different haplogroups of the Siberian roe deer. Haplogroup C, distributed throughout Eurasia, have existed in Northeastern China since at least the Late Pleistocene, while haplogroup A and D, found in the east of Lake Baikal, emerged in Northeastern China after the Mid Holocene. The Bayesian estimation suggested that the first split within the Siberian roe deer occurred approximately 0.34 million years ago (Ma). Moreover, Bayesian skyline plot analyses suggested that the Siberian roe deer had a population increase between 325 and 225 thousand years ago (Kya) and suffered a transient decline between 50 and 18 Kya. This study provides novel insights into the evolutionary history and population dynamics of the roe deer.

Integrated system for organizing effective biotechnical protection of siberian roe deer (capreolus pygargus) in a specially protected natural area

To preserve the Siberian roe deer, the most vulnerable species of the deer family, in conditions of high snow conditions, integrated methods of its biotechnical protection are necessary. The involvement of fallow lands in the biotechnical crop rotation, the creation of large forage areas is the basic basis for the conservation of this biological species in the anomalously critical periods of the winter cycle.

Feeding ecology of the wolf (Canis lupus) in a near-natural ecosystem in Mongolia

The increasing animosity towards wolves (Canislupus) by livestock-keeping nomads in Mongolia and the accompanying conflicts highlight the urgent need for knowledge about the feeding behavior of wolves, since information on the feeding ecology of wolves in Mongolia is rare, especially in the mountain taiga and mountain forest steppe regions of Northern Mongolia. Those regions are characterized by a relatively high wildlife diversity and are sparsely populated by humans. To face this problem, 137 wolf scats were collected in the Khentii Mountain range in Northern Mongolia between 2008 and 2012. Almost all wolf faeces contained remnants of wild ungulates, which made up 89% of the consumed biomass. Siberian roe deer (Capreoluspygargus) was the most important and positively selected prey species. It was followed by red deer (Cervuselaphus) and wild boar (Susscrofa), which was negatively selected by wolves. Wolves also fed on buffer prey species such as lagomorphs and small mammals. No evidence of domestic ungulates was found in the wolf diet. Thus, near-natural habitats with a diverse fauna of wild animals are important to limit livestock depredation.

Estimating Abundance of Siberian Roe Deer Using Fecal-DNA Capture-Mark-Recapture in Northeast China

It is necessary to estimate the population abundance of deer for managing their populations. However, most estimates are from high-density populations inhabiting the forests of North America or Europe; there is currently a lack of necessary knowledge regarding low-density deer populations in different forest habitats. In this article, we used fecal DNA based on the capture-mark-recapture method to estimate the population abundance of Siberian roe deer (Capreolus pygargus) in Liangshui National Nature Reserve in the Lesser Xing’an Mountains, northeast China, where the deer population was found to be of a low density by limited studies. We used a robust survey design to collect 422 fecal pellet groups in 2016 and extracted DNA from those samples, generating 265 different genotypes; we thus identified 77 deer individuals based on six microsatellite markers (Roe1, Roe8, Roe9, BM757, MB25 and OarFCB304). With capture and recapture records of these 77 individuals, the abundance of roe deer was estimated to be 87 deer (80–112, 95% CI) using the Program CAPTURE. Using an effective sampling area which resulted from the mean maximum recapture distance (MMRD), we converted the population abundance to a density of 2.9 deer/km2 (2.7–3.7, 95% CI). Our study estimated the roe deer population abundance by a feces-based capture-mark-recapture approach in northeast China, successfully demonstrating the applicability of non-invasive genetic sampling in monitoring populations of deer in this area, which contributes to the development of low-density deer population ecology and management.

Morphological abnormalities in the testes and epididymides of roe deer that affect spermatogenesis

In the wild fauna of the Amur region there has been a decrease in the population of Siberian roe deer in recent years. Abnormalities associated with loss of reproductive quality affect the number of animals. When analyzing pathological abnormalities in the reproductive organs, it is important to take into account not only the morphology in the structure of the genitals, but also the defective development of spermatozoa. The aim of this research is to study the influence of morphological deviations in the testes and epididymides in male Siberian roe deer on the development of spermatozoa.The object of the study was 24 males of Siberian roe deer aged from 1 to 6 years old; they were divided into 2 groups of 12 individuals each, from which the testes with epididymides were selected, and visual morphometric and histological studies were performed using generally accepted methods. Morphological abnormalities in roe deer were observed at the age of up to 1 year old. The greatest number of pathologies was found in male roe deer aged from 2 to 3 years old and older than 6 years old. Histological analysis of the testes and epididymides showed violations in the composition of the structural elements of this organ; they contribute to the further development of deviations. The main reason for the violation of spermatogenesis in roe deer is oligospermia, deformation of the convoluted seminal tubules, which leads to a violation of the development of gonadocytes.