The Balkans and the colonization of Europe: the post‐glacial range expansion of the wild boar, Sus scrofa

Abstract

Aim We focus on the biogeographical role of the Balkan Peninsula as a glacial refugium and source of northward post‐glacial dispersal for many European taxa. Specifically, we analysed the genetic structure and variation of wild boar (Sus scrofa) samples primarily from Greece, a region that has repeatedly served as a glacial refugium within the Balkan Peninsula. Location Continental Greece, the Aegean island of Samos and Bulgaria. Methods We analysed wild boar samples from 18 localities. Samples from common domestic breeds were also examined to take into account interactions between wild and domesticated animals. Phylogenetic analyses were carried out on a 637‐bp fragment of the mitochondrial DNA control region in 200 wild boar and 27 domestic pigs. The sequences were also compared with 791 Eurasian wild boar and domestic pig D‐loop sequences obtained from GenBank. Results Ninety‐four haplotypes were identified in the European wild boar data set, of which 68 were found in the Balkan samples and assigned to two previously described clades: the E1 European and Near Eastern clades. All of the continental samples clustered in the E1 clade and the samples from Samos fell into the Near Eastern clade, consistent with the island’s proximity to Asia Minor. Intriguingly, 62 novel haplotypes were identified and are found exclusively in the Balkans. Only six haplotypes were shared between wild boar and domestic pigs. Main conclusions Our data reveal numerous novel and geographically restricted haplotypes in wild boar populations, suggesting the presence of separate refugia in the Balkans. Our analyses support the hypothesis of a post‐glacial wild boar expansion consistent with the leading edge model, north and west from modern day Greece, and suggest little maternal introgression of Near Eastern and domestic haplotypes into wild Balkan populations.

Like a pig out of water: seaborne spread of domestic pigs in Southern Italy and Sardinia during the Bronze and Iron Ages

“…The presence of the two haplotypes in Southern Italy (E1 A-side and C-side) together with previously published Mesolithic data (the Italian E2 haplotype reported in Larson et al, 2007) further points to the high variability of mtDNA of this geographical region before the domestication and the human manipulation. This bolsters the idea that southernmost Europe acted as a genetic reservoir for the species during the last glaciation (Hewitt, 2004;Alexandri et al, 2012;Vilaça et al, 2014).…”

“…The endemic Italian clade has been previously found only in ancient Italian and Croatian specimens (Larson et al, 2007, Vai et al, 2015. Currently, the E2 clade is observed only in Central/Southern Italian wild boar and Sardinian feral populations, but never in domestic pigs (Scandura et al, 2008;Alexandri et al, 2012;Vilac¸a et al, 2014). The presence of endemic Italian clade in Southern Italy (Poggiomarino, Campania) in more recent domestic contexts support the hypothesis that the indigenous Italian wild boar was effectively domesticated, or that female Italian wild boar were incorporated into domestic stocks in this region during the Bronze Age.…”

Studies on the Glacial Refugia of Forest Trees on Balkan Peninsula

“…The structuring within the refugia has been reported for different species in different geographic regions [19][20][21][22][23].…”

Geographical variation in morphometry, craniometry, and diet of amammalian species (Stone marten, Martes foina) using data mining

“…Additionally, analysis of ecological data can be used to describe geographical variation of a species to subspecies, mainly by studying morphologic and genetic characters as well as diet patterns (Benton, 1980;Powell and King, 1997;Virgos et al, 1999;Monteiro et al, 2003;Yom-Tov and Geffen, 2006;Alexandri et al, 2012;Papakosta et al, 2012Papakosta et al, , 2014.…”