Genetic variability and differentiation in the Polish common hamster (Cricetus cricetus L.): Genetic consequences of agricultural habitat fragmentation

Abstract

a b s t r a c tThe common hamster is endangered in Europe due to changes in agricultural practice, industrialization, and direct persecution. In Poland, two main areas of the current species distribution have become separated. Moreover, theoretical possibilities of the gene flow have been further complicated by the presence of two ancient phylogeographic lineages. To describe the differentiation of the populations and levels of gene flow in this complex pattern, we examined the current genetic variability using a set of 17 nuclear DNA microsatellites in 195 hamsters representing 12 sampling sites. The levels of genetic diversity are fairly high within phylogeographic lineages, but most of the variation is partitioned between populations. The common hamster populations probably function in a metapopulation structure and the connectivity of habitats is crucial for diversity preservation. Presently the possibilities of the gene flow are low or absent, which already becomes evident in lowered diversity measures of one lineage. Although the common hamster populations are genetically resilient to fluctuations in numbers, the fragmentation of agricultural habitats and isolation of suitable patches directly endangers the species.

Genetic structure in the wood mouse and the bank vole: contrasting patterns in a human-modified and highly fragmented landscape

“…Habitat fragmentation did not produce a detectable loss of genetic variation in two species. Levels of diversity in different populations are comparable to those reported for other rodent species 40, 71–73 . When the global genetic divergence between populations is analyzed, the wood mouse shows much weaker population structure than the bank vole.…”

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

“…Therefore, SSRs were only used as an additional source of information about genetics of examined taxa since simultaneous use of both types of markers is common practice that allows for comprehensive phylogeographic and population genetic analyses (especially when a study has conservation implications). As mtDNA data are available for all animals examined, and either AFLPs and/or plastid data are available for all plants, it was possible to analyse and compare data within animals and within plants in a similar way ( Galarza et al 2015; Cricetus cricetus (Cricetidae): Neumann et al 2004Neumann et al , 2005Banaszek et al 2010Banaszek et al , 2011Banaszek et al , 2012Schroeder et al 2014. (Color figure online) We examined all of these data to identify the following characters of the selected steppic taxa:…”

“…The phylogeography of continental species was partly included in the reviews of Stewart et al (2010) and Varga (2010), but mostly on the basis of chorological data, making the steppededicated parts of the above papers more thought-provoking than reviewing. The general disregard for continental elements in reviews about the phylogeography of European species could be explained by the relatively recent arrival of studies on this group (with the Table 1 Steppic species examined in the meta-analysis with their systematic affiliation, references of papers reviewed, molecular markers used and range covered in these Gvozdik et al (2012), Zinenko et al (2015) seq ( Neumann et al (2004Neumann et al ( , 2005, Banaszek et al (2010Banaszek et al ( , 2011Banaszek et al ( , 2012, Schroeder et al (2014) seq (mtDNA), msats AT,CZ,DE,HU,PL,RO,RU,SK,UA…”

Morphometric Differences Between the Phylogeographic Lineages of the Common Hamster Cricetus Cricetus in Poland

“…The phylogeographic lineages of the common hamster in Poland meet the requirements of ESU, as they show significant differences in their mtDNA sequences between the lineages and monophyly within them (BANASZEK et al, 2010a). Moreover, the allele frequencies in microsatellite loci show small, however statistically significant differentiation between lineages (BANASZEK et al, 2010b). However, the concept of ESU has been criticized on the grounds that it does not take into account the ecological differences (CRANDALL et al, 2000).…”

“…The reduced genetic diversity of the common hamster in Poland is evident in the mtDNA control region variation, with seven haplotypes only found in the present species range . The decreasing variability is also apparent in the number of alleles in microsatellite loci (BANASZEK et al, 2010b). The urgent conservation actions are therefore necessary with separate management of the phylogeographic lineages.…”