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Salado I, Preick M, Lupiáñez-Corpas N, Fernández-Gil A, Vilà C, Hofreiter M, Leonard JA. Large variance in inbreeding within the Iberian wolf population. J Hered 2024; 115:349-359. [PMID: 37955431 PMCID: PMC11235127 DOI: 10.1093/jhered/esad071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2023] [Revised: 11/06/2023] [Accepted: 11/09/2023] [Indexed: 11/14/2023] Open
Abstract
The gray wolf (Canis lupus) population on the Iberian Peninsula was the largest in western and central Europe during most of the 20th century, with its size apparently never under a few hundred individuals. After partial legal protection in the 1970s in Spain, the northwest Iberian population increased to about 300 to 350 packs and then stabilized. In contrast to many current European wolf populations, which have been connected through gene flow, the Iberian wolf population has been isolated for decades. Here, we measured changes in genomic diversity and inbreeding through the last decades in a geographic context. We find that the level of genomic diversity in Iberian wolves is low compared with other Eurasian wolf populations. Despite population expansion in the last 50 years, some modern wolves had very high inbreeding, especially in the recently recolonized and historical edge areas. These individuals contrast with others with low inbreeding within the same population. The high variance in inbreeding despite population expansion seems associated with small-scale fragmentation of the range that is revealed by the genetic similarity between modern and historical samples from close localities despite being separated by decades, remaining differentiated from other individuals that are just over 100 km away, a small distance for a species with great dispersal capacity inhabiting a continuous range. This illustrates that, despite its demographically stable condition, the population would probably benefit from favoring connectivity within the population as well as genetic exchange with other European wolf populations to avoid excessive fragmentation and local inbreeding depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabel Salado
- Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics Group, Department of Ecology and Evolution, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), Seville, Spain
| | - Michaela Preick
- Evolutionary Adaptive Genomics Group, Faculty of Science, Institute for Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Natividad Lupiáñez-Corpas
- Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics Group, Department of Ecology and Evolution, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), Seville, Spain
| | - Alberto Fernández-Gil
- Department of Conservation Biology, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), Seville, Spain
| | - Carles Vilà
- Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics Group, Department of Ecology and Evolution, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), Seville, Spain
| | - Michael Hofreiter
- Evolutionary Adaptive Genomics Group, Faculty of Science, Institute for Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Jennifer A Leonard
- Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics Group, Department of Ecology and Evolution, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), Seville, Spain
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Carpio AJ, Laguna E, Pascual-Rico R, Martínez-Jauregui M, Guerrero-Casado J, Vicente J, Soriguer RC, Acevedo P. The prohibition of recreational hunting of wild ungulates in Spanish National Parks: Challenges and opportunities. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 926:171363. [PMID: 38432372 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171363] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2023] [Revised: 12/05/2023] [Accepted: 02/27/2024] [Indexed: 03/05/2024]
Abstract
A new regulation has led to the prohibition of recreational hunting on estates located within Spanish National Parks (NPs). Before the ban, eleven NPs in Spain had already reported negative ecological consequences associated with high densities of wild ungulates. The new situation that has occurred after the ban signifies that policies with which to control populations of wild ungulates in NPs, most of which do not have a sufficient natural capacity to regulate populations, depend exclusively on the parks' authorities. The banning of recreational hunting implies a series of social, ecological, economic and logistic challenges. The control of wild ungulate populations in NPs requires: i) the legal basis for culling; ii) social acceptance as regards removing animals and the extractive procedures employed in NPs; iii) the long-term monitoring of wild ungulates and the damages that they cause, and iv) sufficient financial and human resources. A more integrated management and policy plan is, therefore, required, which should be supported by two pillars: i) the sustainability of natural resources and the conservation of functional environments, and ii) providing society with explanations regarding the need to manage wild ungulates. In order to bridge the potential gap between these key pillars, it is important to involve stakeholders in the decision-making processes concerning wild ungulate management. The forthcoming changes in Spanish NPs provide a promising opportunity to make a substantial improvement to wild ungulate management in these protected areas. This management approach could, moreover, serve as an example and be transferred to other protected spaces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio J Carpio
- Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos, IREC (UCLM-CSIC-JCCM), Ronda Toledo 12, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain.
| | - Eduardo Laguna
- Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos, IREC (UCLM-CSIC-JCCM), Ronda Toledo 12, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain.
| | - Roberto Pascual-Rico
- Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos, IREC (UCLM-CSIC-JCCM), Ronda Toledo 12, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain.
| | - María Martínez-Jauregui
- National Institute for Agriculture and Food Research and Technology (INIA), Forest Research Centre (CIFOR), Ctra. de La Coruña km. 7.5, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
| | - José Guerrero-Casado
- Departamento de Zoología, Universidad de Córdoba, Edificio Charles Darwin, Campus de Rabanales, 14071, Spain.
| | - Joaquín Vicente
- Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos, IREC (UCLM-CSIC-JCCM), Ronda Toledo 12, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain.
| | - Ramón C Soriguer
- Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC), Av. Américo Vespucio, s.n, E-41092 Sevilla,Spain.
| | - Pelayo Acevedo
- Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos, IREC (UCLM-CSIC-JCCM), Ronda Toledo 12, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain.
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Fedriani JM, Garrote PJ, Burgos T, Escribano-Ávila G, Morera B, Virgós E. The seed dispersal syndrome hypothesis in ungulate-dominated landscapes. Sci Rep 2024; 14:5436. [PMID: 38443407 PMCID: PMC10914747 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-55820-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2023] [Accepted: 02/28/2024] [Indexed: 03/07/2024] Open
Abstract
The Seed Dispersal Syndrome Hypothesis (SDSH) posits that fruit traits predict the main dispersers interacting with plant species. Mammalian dispersers, relying heavily on olfactory cues, are expected to select dull-colored, scented, and larger fruits compared to birds. However, challenges like overabundant seed predators and context-dependency of frugivore-plant interactions complicate SDSH expectations. We studied the Iberian pear, Pyrus bourgaeana, an expected mammal-dispersed tree based on its fruit traits. Extensive camera-trapping data (over 35,000 records) from several tree populations and years revealed visits from seven frugivore groups, with ungulate fruit predators (59-97%) and carnivore seed dispersers (1-20%) most frequent, while birds, lagomorphs, and rodents were infrequent (0-10%). Red deer and wild boar were also the main fruit removers in all sites and years but acted as fruit and seed predators, and thus likely exert conflicting selection pressures to those exerted by seed dispersers. Although, as predicted by the SDSH, most Iberian pear fruits were consumed by large and medium-sized mammals, the traits of Iberian pear fruits likely reflect selection pressures from dispersal vectors in past times. Our results do not challenge the SDHS but do reveal the importance of considering frugivore functional roles for its adequate evaluation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jose M Fedriani
- Centro de Investigaciones Sobre Desertificación CIDE, CSIC-UVEG-GV, Carretera de Moncada a Náquera, km 4.5, 46113, Moncada (Valencia), Spain.
- Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD - CSIC), c/Americo Vespucio 26, 41092, Seville, Spain.
| | - Pedro J Garrote
- Centro de Investigaciones Sobre Desertificación CIDE, CSIC-UVEG-GV, Carretera de Moncada a Náquera, km 4.5, 46113, Moncada (Valencia), Spain
| | - Tamara Burgos
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departamento de Biología, Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain
| | - Gema Escribano-Ávila
- Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution Department, Biological Science Faculty, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria, C/ José Antonio Novais 12, Madrid, Spain
| | - Brayan Morera
- Centro de Investigaciones Sobre Desertificación CIDE, CSIC-UVEG-GV, Carretera de Moncada a Náquera, km 4.5, 46113, Moncada (Valencia), Spain
| | - Emilio Virgós
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Departamento de Biología, Geología, Física y Química Inorgánica, Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, Spain
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4
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Munteanu C, Kraemer BM, Hansen HH, Miguel S, Milner-Gulland EJ, Nita M, Ogashawara I, Radeloff VC, Roverelli S, Shumilova OO, Storch I, Kuemmerle T. The potential of historical spy-satellite imagery to support research in ecology and conservation. Bioscience 2024; 74:159-168. [PMID: 38560619 PMCID: PMC10977866 DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biae002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2023] [Revised: 11/14/2023] [Accepted: 01/11/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Remote sensing data are important for assessing ecological change, but their value is often restricted by their limited temporal coverage. Major historical events that affected the environment, such as those associated with colonial history, World War II, or the Green Revolution are not captured by modern remote sensing. In the present article, we highlight the potential of globally available black-and-white satellite photographs to expand ecological and conservation assessments back to the 1960s and to illuminate ecological concepts such as shifting baselines, time-lag responses, and legacy effects. This historical satellite photography can be used to monitor ecosystem extent and structure, species' populations and habitats, and human pressures on the environment. Even though the data were declassified decades ago, their use in ecology and conservation remains limited. But recent advances in image processing and analysis can now unlock this research resource. We encourage the use of this opportunity to address important ecological and conservation questions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catalina Munteanu
- Wildlife Ecology and Management, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Geography Department at Humboldt University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Benjamin M Kraemer
- Environmental Hydrological Systems at the University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Henry H Hansen
- Technology Department of Environmental and Life Sciences Biology at Karlstad University, Karlstad, Sweden
| | - Sofia Miguel
- Departamento de Geología, Geografía, y Medio Ambiente, Environmental Remote Sensing Research Group, Universidad de Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
| | - E J Milner-Gulland
- Department of Biology at the University of Oxford, Oxford, England, United Kingdom
| | - Mihai Nita
- Department of Forest Engineering, in the Faculty of Silviculture and Forest Engineering, Transilvania University of Brasov, Brasov, Romania
| | - Igor Ogashawara
- Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany
| | - Volker C Radeloff
- SILVIS Lab, in the Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States
| | - Simone Roverelli
- Wildlife Ecology and Management, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | | | - Ilse Storch
- Wildlife Ecology and Managementm University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Tobias Kuemmerle
- Geography Department and the Integrative Research Institute on Transformations of Human–Environment Systems, Humboldt University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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Lobo D, López-Bao JV, Godinho R. The population bottleneck of the Iberian wolf impacted genetic diversity but not admixture with domestic dogs: A temporal genomic approach. Mol Ecol 2023; 32:5986-5999. [PMID: 37855673 DOI: 10.1111/mec.17171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2023] [Revised: 09/25/2023] [Accepted: 10/06/2023] [Indexed: 10/20/2023]
Abstract
After decades of intense persecution, the Iberian wolf subspecies faced a severe bottleneck in the 1970s that considerably reduced its range and population size, nearly leading to its extinction in central and southern Iberian Peninsula. Such population decline could have impacted the genetic diversity of Iberian wolves through different processes, namely genetic drift and dynamics of hybridization with domestic dogs. By contrasting the genomes of 68 contemporary with 54 historical samples spanning the periods before and immediately after the 1970s bottleneck, we found evidence of its impact on genetic diversity and dynamics of wolf-dog hybridization. Our genome-wide assessment revealed that wolves and dogs form two well-differentiated genetic groups in Iberia and that hybridization rates did not increase during the bottleneck. However, an increased number of hybrid individuals was found over time during the population re-expansion, particularly at the edge of the wolf range. We estimated a low percentage of dog ancestry (~1.4%) in historical samples, suggesting that dog introgression was not a key driver for wolf extinction in central and southern Iberia. Our findings also unveil a significant decline in genetic diversity in contemporary samples, with the highest proportion of homozygous segments in the genome being recently inherited. Overall, our study provides unprecedented insight into the impact of a sharp decline on the Iberian wolf genome and refines our understanding of the ecological and evolutionary drivers of wolf-dog hybridization in the wild.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diana Lobo
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Campus de Vairão, Universidade do Porto, Vairão, Portugal
- Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
- BIOPOLIS, Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Vairão, Portugal
| | - José Vicente López-Bao
- Biodiversity Research Institute (CSIC - Oviedo University - Principality of Asturias) Oviedo University, Mieres, Spain
| | - Raquel Godinho
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Campus de Vairão, Universidade do Porto, Vairão, Portugal
- Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
- BIOPOLIS, Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Vairão, Portugal
- Centre for Ecological Genomics and Wildlife Conservation, Department of Zoology, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
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Loss of Mitochondrial Genetic Diversity despite Population Growth: The Legacy of Past Wolf Population Declines. Genes (Basel) 2022; 14:genes14010075. [PMID: 36672816 PMCID: PMC9858670 DOI: 10.3390/genes14010075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2022] [Revised: 12/14/2022] [Accepted: 12/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Gray wolves (Canis lupus) in the Iberian Peninsula declined substantially in both range and population size in the last few centuries due to human persecution and habitat fragmentation. However, unlike many other western European populations, gray wolves never went extinct in Iberia. Since the minimum number was recorded around 1970, their numbers have significantly increased and then stabilized in recent decades. We analyzed mitochondrial genomes from 54 historical specimens of Iberian wolves from across their historical range using ancient DNA methods. We compared historical and current mitochondrial diversity in Iberian wolves at the 5' end of the control region (n = 17 and 27) and the whole mitochondrial genome excluding the control region (n = 19 and 29). Despite an increase in population size since the 1970s, genetic diversity declined. We identified 10 whole mitochondrial DNA haplotypes in 19 historical specimens, whereas only six of them were observed in 29 modern Iberian wolves. Moreover, a haplotype that was restricted to the southern part of the distribution has gone extinct. Our results illustrate a lag between demographic and genetic diversity changes, and show that after severe population declines, genetic diversity can continue to be lost in stable or even expanding populations. This suggests that such populations may be of conservation concern even after their demographic trajectory has been reversed.
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