Bottlenecks and rescue effects in a fluctuating population of golden-mantled ground squirrels (Spermophilus lateralis)

McEachern, Mary Brooke; Vuren, Dirk H. Van; Floyd, Chris H.; May, Bernie; Eadie, John M.

doi:10.1007/s10592-010-0139-z

Cited by 50 publications

(46 citation statements)

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“…However, we did not find evidence for a significant bottleneck in the Gran Canaria blue chaffinch population, even though a demographic decline was observed. This surprising lack of genetic evidence for a bottleneck, using this analytical technique, has been also observed for other species (Johnson et al 2009;McEachern et al 2011). If the Gran Canaria blue chaffinch population has previously been affected by other severe bottleneck episodes, this could explain why a strong bottleneck signature was not detected using BOTTLENECK.…”

Section: Bottleneck Signature Detectionsupporting

confidence: 50%

“…However, the life histories and social structures within species can alter the expected genetic consequences of demographic bottlenecks (Berthier et al 2006;Busch et al 2007). For example, immigration is expected to enhance the rapid recovery of genetic diversity after a bottleneck (Keller et al 2001;Vilá et al 2003;McEachern et al 2011). Although the presence of unique alleles in the AF population could suggest the possibility that some immigrants may have contributed to AF gene pools, there is no source population outside the study area which could have contributed to a genetic rescue.…”

Section: Bottleneck Signature Detectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Genetic signature of a severe forest fire on the endangered Gran Canaria blue chaffinch (Fringilla teydea polatzeki)

et al. 2011

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Habitat destruction has been identified as one of the main threats to biodiversity. Among all factors causing habitat disturbance, wildfire is recognized as one of the most important ecological forces that influences not only the physical environment, but also the structure and composition of floral and faunal communities. These processes are often translated in population bottlenecks, which occur frequently in threatened species and result in loss of genetic diversity and evolutionary potential. In this study, we analyzed the genetic consequences of a demographic bottleneck produced by a forest fire that reduced the population of the endangered blue chaffinch (Fringilla teydea polatzeki), which inhabits the island of Gran Canaria, to approximately 122 individuals. Analysis of nine microsatellite loci revealed that, while a decline in census was observed during the bottleneck, there was no observed excess of heterozygosity or evidence of a decline in allelic richness, two characteristic bottleneck signatures. On the contrary, we observed that the Gran Canaria blue chaffinch has retained significant levels of genetic diversity and shows no evidence of an increased level of inbreeding (F IS ) either before or after the bottleneck. The results from this study have important implications for the conservation of this endangered subspecies and provide insights concerning management strategies to prevent its extinction.

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Section: Bottleneck Signature Detectionsupporting

confidence: 50%

Section: Bottleneck Signature Detectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic signature of a severe forest fire on the endangered Gran Canaria blue chaffinch (Fringilla teydea polatzeki)

et al. 2011

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“…Immigration accompanied by gene flow is a key process leading to recovery of genetic diversity after a demographic bottleneck (20,22), allowing populations to maintain genetic diversity despite fluctuating dynamics (5). Although immigration is mediated by patch or landscape connectivity, empirical evidence for a direct effect of connectivity in rescuing genetic diversity has been lacking.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Connectivity rescues genetic diversity after a demographic bottleneck in a butterfly population network

Jangjoo

Matter

Roland

et al. 2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Demographic bottlenecks that occur when populations fluctuate in size erode genetic diversity, but that diversity can be recovered through immigration. Connectivity among populations and habitat patches in the landscape enhances immigration and should in turn facilitate recovery of genetic diversity after a sudden reduction in population size. For the conservation of genetic diversity, it may therefore be particularly important to maintain connectivity in the face of factors that increase demographic instability, such as climate change. However, a direct link between connectivity and recovery of genetic diversity after a demographic bottleneck has not been clearly demonstrated in an empirical system. Here, we show that connectivity of habitat patches in the landscape contributes to the maintenance of genetic diversity after a demographic bottleneck. We were able to monitor genetic diversity in a network of populations of the alpine butterfly, Parnassius smintheus, before, during, and after a severe reduction in population size that lasted two generations. We found that allelic diversity in the network declined after the demographic bottleneck but that less allelic diversity was lost from populations occupying habitat patches with higher connectivity. Furthermore, the effect of connectivity on allelic diversity was important during the demographic recovery phase. Our results demonstrate directly the ability of connectivity to mediate the rescue of genetic diversity in a natural system. alpine butterfly | genetic diversity | demographic bottleneck | recovery | connectivity G enetic diversity represents the most fundamental level of biological diversity. Loss of genetic diversity is a central concern in conservation biology because populations with low genetic diversity may suffer from inbreeding and reduced fitness, lack the potential to adapt to future environmental change, and be more vulnerable to extinction (1, 2). Genetic diversity can be lost from populations through various mechanisms, with random drift in finite populations and demographic bottlenecks (temporary but severe reductions in population size), being of greatest relevance in conservation (3, 4).Immigration into a genetically impoverished population can rescue genetic diversity and can be achieved artificially through translocations or through natural movement of individuals (5, 6). Natural immigration requires connectivity within the landscape, where connectivity measures the extent to which movement and gene flow can occur among populations (7). Connectivity can be defined at the level of the landscape or individual habitat patches and is a function of structural elements of the landscape in combination with the movement behavior of individual species (7,8).There is considerable interest in managing landscapes to improve connectivity among natural populations as this provides a variety of ecological and genetic benefits (9), including the potential for natural genetic rescue. Correlations between connectivity and genetic diversity shown in numer...

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“…In 2008 the population of common vole (Microtus arvalis) also crashed in the Netherlands, which resulted in an increased predation rate of hamsters by all kind of predators normally relying on common voles . Such a population crash is a real threat for the highly endangered hamster populations in Belgium and the Netherlands, as all hamster populations already have an impoverished genetic diversity (La Haye et al 2012a) and a crash may result in a further loss of genetic variation and a reduction of the effective population size (Allendorf et al 2013;Keller et al 2012;Luikart et al 2010;McEachern et al 2011). Effective population sizes (Table 1) of established hamster populations in the Netherlands and Belgium are already small compared with other threatened hamster populations like in France, in the Netherlands and Belgium N e ranged from 25 till 147, while the French population had an N e of 427 , showing the absolute need to prevent declines in N e .…”

Section: Genetic Diversity and Effective Population Size In The Futurementioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic monitoring to evaluate reintroduction attempts of a highly endangered rodent

Haye

Reiners

Raedts³

et al. 2017

Conserv Genet

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a systematic reintroduction scheme including consecutive supplementations made it possible to infer success of reintroduction, supplementation and following admixture of populations. An initial loss of genetic diversity could be detected in some of the reintroduced populations, but it could be shown that due to following supplementation of populations, genetic diversity and also effective population size in the wild stabilized or even increased. Multivariate (DAPC) and Bayesian inference (STRUCTURE) revealed admixture of supplemented individuals with wild-born individuals. Although population size estimates differed strongly between populations, a link between census size, breeding lines, effective population size and genetic diversity could not be proven. This study highlights that genetic monitoring is not only descriptive but also reveals detailed information on reintroduction success, admixture and population development. We recommend that genetic monitoring should be a basic element of reintroductions and should be used to optimize reintroduction attempts.Keywords Captive breeding · Common hamster · Founder effect · Admixture · Genetic variation · Effective and census population size IntroductionThe current global biodiversity crisis affects many groups of species, including a wide range of mammalian species (Di Marco et al. 2014). A global conservation strategy for mammalian species is therefore urgently needed (Rondinini et al. 2011), but the success of conservation strategies is uncertain as many factors influence the result of conservation projects (Crees et al. 2016). The ultimate strategy to prevent extinction or to increase population Abstract The ultimate strategy to prevent species extinction is captive breeding followed by reintroduction of individuals into the wild. Unfortunately, overall success of reintroductions is poor and in most cases conservation breeding is applied for species where individual numbers, population numbers and genetic diversity is strongly reduced. In addition, reintroductions inevitably result in small populations with poor genetic status. Systematic demographic and genetic monitoring is needed to optimize conservation actions. Here we show how genetic monitoring was useful and informative in a reintroduction project for the highly endangered Common hamster (Cricetus cricetus) in the Netherlands and Belgium. Using well defined breeding lines of original relict populations combined with M. J. J. La Haye and T. E. Reiners have contributed equally to this work. numbers of mammalian species is captive breeding followed by reintroduction of captive-bred individuals into the wild (IUCN 2013). However, captive breeding and reintroduction have severe disadvantages. Reintroductions can be difficult and expensive (Tenhumberg et al. 2004), and the release of captive-bred individuals is often accompanied by high initial losses of released individuals (Villemey et al. 2013;McCleery et al. 2014). Moreover, captive breeding is mostly started in species with already highly threatened popu...

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Bottlenecks and rescue effects in a fluctuating population of golden-mantled ground squirrels (Spermophilus lateralis)

Cited by 50 publications

References 46 publications

Genetic signature of a severe forest fire on the endangered Gran Canaria blue chaffinch (Fringilla teydea polatzeki)

Genetic signature of a severe forest fire on the endangered Gran Canaria blue chaffinch (Fringilla teydea polatzeki)

Connectivity rescues genetic diversity after a demographic bottleneck in a butterfly population network

Genetic monitoring to evaluate reintroduction attempts of a highly endangered rodent

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