Genetic Differentiation of the Western Capercaillie Highlights the Importance of South-Eastern Europe for Understanding the Species Phylogeography

Abstract

The Western Capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus L.) is a grouse species of open boreal or high altitude forests of Eurasia. It is endangered throughout most mountain range habitat areas in Europe. Two major genetically identifiable lineages of Western Capercaillie have been described to date: the southern lineage at the species' southernmost range of distribution in Europe, and the boreal lineage. We address the question of genetic differentiation of capercaillie populations from the Rhodope and Rila Mountains in Bulgaria, across the Dinaric Mountains to the Slovenian Alps. The two lineages' contact zone and resulting conservation strategies in this so-far understudied area of distribution have not been previously determined. The results of analysis of mitochondrial DNA control region sequences of 319 samples from the studied populations show that Alpine populations were composed exclusively of boreal lineage; Dinaric populations of both, but predominantly (96%) of boreal lineage; and Rhodope-Rila populations predominantly (>90%) of southern lineage individuals. The Bulgarian mountains were identified as the core area of the southern lineage, and the Dinaric Mountains as the western contact zone between both lineages in the Balkans. Bulgarian populations appeared genetically distinct from Alpine and Dinaric populations and exhibited characteristics of a long-term stationary population, suggesting that they should be considered as a glacial relict and probably a distinct subspecies. Although all of the studied populations suffered a decline in the past, the significantly lower level of genetic diversity when compared with the neighbouring Alpine and Bulgarian populations suggests that the isolated Dinaric capercaillie is particularly vulnerable to continuing population decline. The results are discussed in the context of conservation of the species in the Balkans, its principal threats and legal protection status. Potential conservation strategies should consider the existence of the two lineages and their vulnerable Dinaric contact zone and support the specificities of the populations.

Phylogeographic patterns of steppe species in Eastern Central Europe: a review and the implications for conservation

“…Other studies showed that the populations of boreo-montane species are either phylogeographically unstructured or only show a rather shallow differentiation between the zonal (taiga-associated) and montane populations (Taberlet et al 1998;Schmitt 2007; exceptions: Schmitt and Haubrich 2008;Bajc et al 2011). On the other hand, populations of arctic-alpine taxa must have been much more widely distributed during glaciations than in interglacials, including the Holocene (e.g.…”

Tetrao urogallus: BirdLife International

“…The need for the active protection and management of existing populations has stimulated several genetic studies of these birds, applying molecular techniques (Rutkowski et al 2007). The characterisation of species-specific microsatellite markers and the development of laboratory methods allowing for the use of non-invasive samples as a source of genetic material (Segelbacher et al 2000, Segelbacher 2002, Regnaut et al 2006b) provided insight into the ecology of the species (Mäki-Petäys et al 2007, Regnaut et al 2006a, Segelbacher et al 2007, 2008 as well as large body of research work focused on its population genetics (e. g. Segelbacher et al 2003, Liukkonen-Anttila et al 2004, Bajc et al 2011, Rutkowski et al 2005, 2017. Indeed, molecular techniques and non-invasive sampling were used to estimate the population size of some populations (Jacob et al 2010, Mollet et al 2015, Rutkowski et al 2015.…”

The Changes in Rural and Forest Landscape and Their Use in the Slovenian Alps in the Last Centuries - A "Back to Nature" Tourism with Impacts, a Case of Western Capercaillie

“…The combined findings of studies presented in this chapter have the potential to serve as important guidelines for future planning of forest and rural landscape, hunting and tourism management strategies and sustainable use of natural resources ensuring the persistence of autochthonous wildlife species, including the endangered Western capercaillie (Bajc et al 2011;Čas & Adamič 1998;Čas 2001a, 2006, 2010Golob & Polanšek 2009;Kutnar et al 2005) and other grouse species.…”

“…(Čas 2011, unpublished). Some Western capercaillie populations in SE Europe remain poorly studied and call for an investigation into their demographic and genetic status and a review of potential threats (Čas 2001a, 2010Bajc et al 2011).…”

“…Several different habitat disturbances were recognised as causes of Western capercaillie decline in temperate Europe (Adamič 1987;Čas 2001a, 2010Eiberle 1984;Klaus et al 1997;Saniga 2002Saniga , 2004Storch 1999Storch , 2007Thiel et al 2007). The populations at the southern edge of the species' distribution range have suffered the most severe population reduction (Adamič 1987;Bajc et al 2011;Blanco-Fontao et al 2009;Čas 1999, 2010Cattadori & Hudson 2000;Gonzales & Ena 2011;Poolo et al 2005;Radović et al 2003;Quedo et al 2006;Storch 2007;Zeiler 2001;Zubić 2009), and shrinkage of habitat in the last decades due to forest and climate change (Anič et al 2009;Čas 2006;Kutnar & Kobler 2011).…”