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Petisco JSE, Sánchez-Carrasco P, Fernández-García JL. The wildcat (Felis s. silvestris) in the Mediterranean forest: sighting through photo-trapping and non-invasive hair collection for genetic purposes. Vet Res Commun 2024:10.1007/s11259-024-10402-3. [PMID: 38771445 DOI: 10.1007/s11259-024-10402-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2023] [Accepted: 05/01/2024] [Indexed: 05/22/2024]
Abstract
The European wildcat (Felis silvestris silvestris) is a mesocarnivore species widely distributed in Europe, from Eastern Europe to Portugal and from Scotland to Italy. Recent biogeographical studies of wildcat populations have endeavoured to assess in detail the various issues that pose a threat to this species, including hybridization with domestic cats. The use of non-invasive sampling methods supported by photo-trapping and some attractants has made it possible to gather genetic material for the detection of native wildcats in locally threatened populations, some of which live in the Iberian Peninsula. Testimonies of naturalists, hunters and farm workers led our team to choose specific areas in two large territories of Mediterranean forests where the presence of wildcats has been historically attested: the Almonte River basin and the Sierra de San Pedro Mountains. Between 2014 and 2018, non-invasive hair sampling was performed using valerian (Valeriana officinalis) as an attractant and supported by photo-trapping to guarantee the collection of genuine biological material (hair samples). The hair samples were genetically assessed by sequencing the nuclear gene IRBP (interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein) and the mtDNA gene ND4 (NADH dehydrogenase subunit 4). Despite the low density of wildcats, this combined protocol proved to be an applicable tool for detecting the presence of elusive wildcats and other mesocarnivore species in this remote region of southern Europe. In addition, non-invasive hair trapping contributes to the collection of genetic material from current wildcat populations. This procedure could enhance future management actions focused on collecting quality individualized biological material.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan S-E Petisco
- Animal Production and Food Science Department, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Universidad de Extremadura, Avda. Universidad S/N, 10003, Cáceres, Spain
| | | | - José Luis Fernández-García
- Animal Production and Food Science Department, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Universidad de Extremadura, Avda. Universidad S/N, 10003, Cáceres, Spain.
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2
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Lazzeri L, Fazzi P, Lucchesi M, Mori E, Velli E, Cappai N, Ciuti F, Ferretti F, Fonda F, Paniccia C, Pavanello M, Pecorella S, Sangiuliano A, Sforzi A, Siclari A, Spada A. The rhythm of the night: patterns of activity of the European wildcat in the Italian peninsula. Mamm Biol 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s42991-022-00276-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
AbstractThe European wildcat is a threatened carnivore, whose ecology is still scarcely studied, especially in Mediterranean areas. In this study, we estimated activity rhythm patterns of this felid, by means of camera-trapping at three spatial scales: (i) whole country (Italy); (ii) biogeographical areas; (iii) latitudinal zones. The activity rhythms patterns were also calculated according to temporal scales: (1) warm semester; (2) cold semester and (3) seasonal scales. Lastly, we also tested whether the effect of moon phases affected the wildcat activity. We conducted the analysis on a total of 975 independent events collected in 2009–2021, from 285 locations, in ~ 65,800 camera days. We showed that the wildcat in Italy exhibits a > 70% nocturnal behaviour, with 20% of diurnal activity, at all spatial scales, and throughout the whole year, with peaks at 10.00 p.m. and 04.00 a.m. We observed a high overlap of wildcat activity rhythms between different biogeographical and latitudinal zones. The wildcat was mainly active on the darkest nights, reducing its activity in bright moonlight nights. Diurnal activity was greater in the warm months and decreased with the distance from shrubs and woodlands, most likely according to activity rhythms of its main prey, water presence in summer, the care of offspring and the availability of shelter sites. Conversely, the distance to paved roads seems to have no significant effects on diurnal activity, suggesting that, in presence of natural shelters, the wildcat probably may tolerate these infrastructures. We suggested limited plasticity in activity rhythm patterns of the wildcat, emphasizing the importance of dark hours for this species.
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3
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Landscape genetic connectivity in European wildcat (Felis silvestris silvestris): a matter of food, shelters and demographic status of populations. CONSERV GENET 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10592-022-01443-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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4
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Lioy FG, Franculli D, Calandri S, Francescangeli D, Pecorella S, Gaudiano L, Filacorda S, Valvo ML, Nielsen CK, Anile S. Show me your tail, if you have one! Is inbreeding depression occurring in wildcats (Felis silvestris silvestris) from Italy? MAMMAL RES 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s13364-022-00627-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
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5
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Fonda F, Bacaro G, Battistella S, Chiatante G, Pecorella S, Pavanello M. Population density of European wildcats in a pre-alpine area (northeast Italy) and an assessment of estimate robustness. MAMMAL RES 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s13364-021-00609-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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6
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Abundance and use pattern of wildcats of ancient human-modified cattle pastures in northern Iberian Peninsula. EUR J WILDLIFE RES 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s10344-021-01533-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
AbstractThe wildcat is typically found in low densities. Here, we estimated wildcat abundance in cattle pastures interspersed between forests in northern Iberian Peninsula, and their patterns of intra-annual and daily use. We censused wildcats three times daily (morning, afternoon, and night) from a car during 4 years in summer season. We also carried out four monthly tracks (two in the morning and two in the afternoon) for a complete year. Overall, we recorded 191 wildcats in pastures and 5 on the road in forest zones. Thirteen different individual wildcats were identified during the summer censuses, but only 29.9% of the wildcats observed (n = 196) could be assigned to an individual wildcat. The number of wildcats sighted decreased especially during the last year, when sightings were 52–67% lower than in previous years. Wildcats were seen significantly more during the morning and night censuses than during the afternoon ones. Estimated annual summer densities in pasture areas ranged between 0.11 and 0.46 sightings/km2. Throughout the year, wildcats were observed 5.9 times more during summer-autumn than during winter-spring, and they could be observed in any time of the day, but more often close to dusk. It is noteworthy that the ancient human-transformed landscapes for cattle pastures could be an important habitat for wildcats in northern Iberian Peninsula, and conserving these areas should be important to maintaining wildcat populations.
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Howard-McCombe J, Ward D, Kitchener AC, Lawson D, Senn HV, Beaumont M. On the use of genome-wide data to model and date the time of anthropogenic hybridisation: An example from the Scottish wildcat. Mol Ecol 2021; 30:3688-3702. [PMID: 34042240 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2021] [Revised: 05/06/2021] [Accepted: 05/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
While hybridisation has long been recognised as an important natural phenomenon in evolution, the conservation of taxa subject to introgressive hybridisation from domesticated forms is a subject of intense debate. Hybridisation of Scottish wildcats and domestic cats is a good example in this regard. Here, we developed a modelling framework to determine the timescale of introgression using approximate Bayesian computation (ABC). Applying the model to ddRAD-seq data from 129 individuals, genotyped at 6546 loci, we show that a population of wildcats genetically distant from domestic cats is still present in Scotland. These individuals were found almost exclusively within the captive breeding programme. Most wild-living cats sampled were introgressed to some extent. The demographic model predicts high levels of gene-flow between domestic cats and Scottish wildcats (13% migrants per generation) over a short timeframe, the posterior mean for the onset of hybridisation (T1 ) was 3.3 generations (~10 years) before present. Although the model had limited power to detect signals of ancient admixture, we found evidence that significant recent hybridisation may have occurred subsequent to the founding of the captive breeding population (T2 ). The model consistently predicts T1 after T2 , estimated here to be 19.3 generations (~60 years) ago, highlighting the importance of this population as a resource for conservation management. Additionally, we evaluate the effectiveness of current methods to classify hybrids. We show that an optimised 35 SNP panel is a better predictor of the ddRAD-based hybrid score in comparison with a morphological method.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Daniel Ward
- School of Mathematics, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Andrew C Kitchener
- Department of Natural Sciences, National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Daniel Lawson
- School of Mathematics, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Helen V Senn
- RZSS WildGenes Laboratory, Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Mark Beaumont
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
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Kim J, Edge MD, Goldberg A, Rosenberg NA. Skin deep: The decoupling of genetic admixture levels from phenotypes that differed between source populations. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2021; 175:406-421. [PMID: 33772750 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24261] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2020] [Revised: 02/07/2021] [Accepted: 02/10/2021] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES In genetic admixture processes, source groups for an admixed population possess distinct patterns of genotype and phenotype at the onset of admixture. Particularly in the context of recent and ongoing admixture, such differences are sometimes taken to serve as markers of ancestry for individuals-that is, phenotypes initially associated with the ancestral background in one source population are assumed to continue to reflect ancestry in that population. Such phenotypes might possess ongoing significance in social categorizations of individuals, owing in part to perceived continuing correlations with ancestry. However, genotypes or phenotypes initially associated with ancestry in one specific source population have been seen to decouple from overall admixture levels, so that they no longer serve as proxies for genetic ancestry. Here, we aim to develop an understanding of the joint dynamics of admixture levels and phenotype distributions in an admixed population. METHODS We devise a mechanistic model, consisting of an admixture model, a quantitative trait model, and a mating model. We analyze the behavior of the mechanistic model in relation to the model parameters. RESULTS We find that it is possible for the decoupling of genetic ancestry and phenotype to proceed quickly, and that it occurs faster if the phenotype is driven by fewer loci. Positive assortative mating attenuates the process of dissociation relative to a scenario in which mating is random with respect to genetic admixture and with respect to phenotype. CONCLUSIONS The mechanistic framework suggests that in an admixed population, a trait that initially differed between source populations might serve as a reliable proxy for ancestry for only a short time, especially if the trait is determined by few loci. It follows that a social categorization based on such a trait is increasingly uninformative about genetic ancestry and about other traits that differed between source populations at the onset of admixture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaehee Kim
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Michael D Edge
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Amy Goldberg
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Noah A Rosenberg
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
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9
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Ruiz-Villar H, Jubete F, Revilla E, Román J, Urra F, López-Bao JV, Palomares F. Like cat and fox: diurnal interactions between two sympatric carnivores in pastoral landscapes of NW Spain. EUR J WILDLIFE RES 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s10344-021-01469-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
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10
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Gil-Sánchez JM, Barea-Azcón JM, Jaramillo J, Herrera-Sánchez FJ, Jiménez J, Virgós E. Fragmentation and low density as major conservation challenges for the southernmost populations of the European wildcat. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0227708. [PMID: 31990935 PMCID: PMC6986748 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0227708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2019] [Accepted: 12/26/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Knowledge of population dynamics of threatened species in the wild is key to effective conservation actions. However, at present, there are many examples of endangered animals for which their current situation is unknown, and not just in remote areas and less developed countries. We have explored this topic by studying the paradigmatic case of the European wildcat (Felis silvestris silvestris), an endangered small carnivore whose status has been subjectively established on the basis of non-systematic approaches and opportunistic records. Little is known about its demographic situation, prompting the need for information to improve conservation measures. However, the secretive behaviour of felines along with its low density in natural conditions have prevented the gathering of sufficient data. We developed a field sampling strategy for one of the largest populations (Andalusia, South Spain, 87,268 km2), based on a logistically viable systematic non-intrusive survey by camera-trapping. This study offers the first large-scale estimation for any European wildcat population, based on analytical approaches applied on Species Distribution Models. A hierarchical approach based on a Maxent model for distribution estimation was used, along with Generalised Linear Models for density estimation from explicit spatial capture-recapture data. Our results show that the distribution range is smaller and more highly fragmented than previously assumed. The overall estimated density was very low (0.069 ±0.0019 wildcats/km2) and the protected areas network seems to be insufficient to cover a significant part of the population or a viable nucleus in demographic terms. Indeed, the most important areas remain unprotected. Our main recommendations are to improve the protected area network and/or vigilance programs in hunting estates, in addition to studying and improving connectivity between the main population patches.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jose Miguel Barea-Azcón
- Agencia de Medio Ambiente y Agua (Consejería de Agricultura, Ganadería, Pesca y Desarrollo Sostenible, Junta de Andalucía), Gerencia de Granada, Edificio Zeus III, Granada, Spain
| | - Javier Jaramillo
- Agencia de Medio Ambiente y Agua (Consejería de Agricultura, Ganadería, Pesca y Desarrollo Sostenible, Junta de Andalucía), Gerencia de Granada, Edificio Zeus III, Granada, Spain
| | | | - José Jiménez
- Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos (IREC, CSIC-UCLM-JCCM), Ciudad Real, Spain
| | - Emilio Virgós
- Department of Biology, Geology, Physics and Inorganic Chemistry, ESCET, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/Tulipán, Móstoles, Madrid, Spain
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11
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Occurrence and extent of hybridisation between the invasive Mallard Duck and native Yellow-billed Duck in South Africa. Biol Invasions 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s10530-019-02122-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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12
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Anile S, Devillard S, Ragni B, Rovero F, Mattucci F, Valvo ML. Habitat fragmentation and anthropogenic factors affect wildcat Felis silvestris silvestris occupancy and detectability on Mt Etna. WILDLIFE BIOLOGY 2019. [DOI: 10.2981/wlb.00561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Stefano Anile
- S. Anile, (https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8871-9615) ✉ , Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory, Southern Illinois Univ., Carbondale, IL 62901, USA
| | - Sebastien Devillard
- S. Devillard, Univ Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon, CNRS, Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Bernardino Ragni
- B. Ragni, Dipto di Chimica, Biologia e Biotecnologie, Univ. degli Studi di Perugia, Perugia, Italy
| | - Francesco Rovero
- F. Rovero, Dept of Biology, Univ. of Florence, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy, and: Sezione di Biodiversità Tropicale, MUSE – Museo delle Scienze di Trento, Trento, Italy
| | - Federica Mattucci
- F. Mattucci, Laboratorio di Genetica, Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale (ISPRA), Bologna, Italy
| | - Mario Lo Valvo
- M. Lo Valvo, Dipto STEBICEF, Univ. di Palermo, Palermo, Italy
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Mousavi M, Rezaei HR, Naderi S. Phylogeographic analysis of Iranian wildcats (Felis lybica / Felis silvestris) as revealed by mitochondrial cytochromebgene. ZOOLOGY IN THE MIDDLE EAST 2019. [DOI: 10.1080/09397140.2019.1663875] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Marzieh Mousavi
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Natural Resources and Environment, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Hamid Reza Rezaei
- Department of Environment, Faculty of Fisheries and Environmental Sciences, Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Gorgan, Iran
| | - Saeid Naderi
- Department of Environment, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran
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14
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Mattucci F, Galaverni M, Lyons LA, Alves PC, Randi E, Velli E, Pagani L, Caniglia R. Genomic approaches to identify hybrids and estimate admixture times in European wildcat populations. Sci Rep 2019; 9:11612. [PMID: 31406125 PMCID: PMC6691104 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-48002-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2018] [Accepted: 07/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The survival of indigenous European wildcat (Felis silvestris silvestris) populations can be locally threatened by introgressive hybridization with free-ranging domestic cats. Identifying pure wildcats and investigating the ancestry of admixed individuals becomes thus a conservation priority. We analyzed 63k cat Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) with multivariate, Bayesian and gene-search tools to better evaluate admixture levels between domestic and wild cats collected in Europe, timing and ancestry proportions of their hybrids and backcrosses, and track the origin (wild or domestic) of the genomic blocks carried by admixed cats, also looking for possible deviations from neutrality in their inheritance patterns. Small domestic ancestry blocks were detected in the genomes of most admixed cats, which likely originated from hybridization events occurring from 6 to 22 generations in the past. We identified about 1,900 outlier coding genes with excess of wild or domestic ancestry compared to random expectations in the admixed individuals. More than 600 outlier genes were significantly enriched for Gene Ontology (GO) categories mainly related to social behavior, functional and metabolic adaptive processes (wild-like genes), involved in cognition and neural crest development (domestic-like genes), or associated with immune system functions and lipid metabolism (parental-like genes). These kinds of genomic ancestry analyses could be reliably applied to unravel the admixture dynamics in European wildcats, as well as in other hybridizing populations, in order to design more efficient conservation plans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federica Mattucci
- Area per la Genetica della Conservazione (BIO-CGE), Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale (ISPRA), Ozzano dell'Emilia, Italy.
| | | | - Leslie A Lyons
- Department of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, USA
| | - Paulo C Alves
- Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos (CIBIO), InBio - Laboratório Associado, Campus Agrário de Vairão, Vairão, Portugal
- Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
- Wildlife Biology Program, Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, USA
| | - Ettore Randi
- Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Faculty of Engineering and Science, University of Aalborg, Aalborg, Denmark
| | - Edoardo Velli
- Area per la Genetica della Conservazione (BIO-CGE), Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale (ISPRA), Ozzano dell'Emilia, Italy
| | - Luca Pagani
- Dipartimento di Biologia, Università degli Studi di Padova, Padua, Italy
- Estonian Biocentre, Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Romolo Caniglia
- Area per la Genetica della Conservazione (BIO-CGE), Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale (ISPRA), Ozzano dell'Emilia, Italy
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15
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Large-scale genetic census of an elusive carnivore, the European wildcat (Felis s. silvestris). CONSERV GENET 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s10592-016-0853-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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16
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Kasprowicz AE, Statham MJ, Sacks BN. Fate of the other redcoat: remnants of colonial British foxes in the eastern United States. J Mammal 2015. [DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyv179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Red foxes were absent or rare in the southeastern United States until the late 1800s. Their origins potentially include natural population increase/expansion, translocations from Europe, and, eventually, 20th century fur farming. Previous studies have found no European haplotypes in North America, but few samples were sourced from the Atlantic coastal plain, closer to the source of putative introductions. Through analysis of mitochondrial DNA in 584 red foxes from this region, we identified indigenous haplotypes in ≥ 35% of foxes, 1 of 2 European haplotypes in 17% of foxes and fur farm haplotypes in ≥ 13% of foxes; another 35% of foxes had haplotypes potentially indigenous or native. In contrast, only 3 of 135 (2%) male foxes carried a single European Y chromosome haplotype. Most European and fur farm haplotypes were found near the densely human-populated coastal plain and Hudson River lowlands; most red foxes of the Appalachians and Piedmont had native eastern haplotypes. Our findings suggest that the more remote, upland populations primarily reflect indigenous red fox matrilines, whereas urban-associated populations in and around the mid-Atlantic coastal plain and Hudson lowlands reflect an admixture of native and nonnative maternal sources. Autosomal markers are needed to further elucidate the extent of European and fur farm introgression in the Appalachians and further west.
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Gil-Sánchez JM, Jaramillo J, Barea-Azcón JM. Strong spatial segregation between wildcats and domestic cats may explain low hybridization rates on the Iberian Peninsula. ZOOLOGY 2015; 118:377-85. [PMID: 26358989 DOI: 10.1016/j.zool.2015.08.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2015] [Revised: 05/18/2015] [Accepted: 08/06/2015] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The European wildcat (Felis silvestris silvestris) is an endangered felid impacted by genetic introgression with the domestic cat (Felis silvestris catus). The problem of hybridization has had different effects in different areas. In non-Mediterranean regions pure forms of wildcats became almost extinct, while in Mediterranean regions genetic introgression is a rare phenomenon. The study of the potential factors that prevent the gene flow in areas of lower hybridization may be key to wildcat conservation. We studied the population size and spatial segregation of wildcats and domestic cats in a typical Mediterranean area of ancient sympatry, where no evidence of hybridization had been detected by genetic studies. Camera trapping of wild-living cats and walking surveys of stray cats in villages were used for capture-recapture estimations of abundance and spatial segregation. Results showed (i) a low density of wildcats and no apparent presence of putative hybrids; (ii) a very low abundance of feral cats in spite of the widespread and large population sources of domestic cats inhabiting villages; (iii) strong spatial segregation between wildcats and domestic/feral cats; and (iv) no relationship between the size of the potential population sources and the abundance of feral cats. Hence, domestic cats were limited in their ability to become integrated into the local habitat of wildcats. Ecological barriers (habitat preferences, food limitations, intra-specific and intra-guild competition, predation) may explain the severe divergences of hybridization impact observed at a biogeographic level. This has a direct effect on key conservation strategies for wildcats (i.e., control of domestic cats).
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Affiliation(s)
- J M Gil-Sánchez
- Harmusch, Asociación de Estudio y Conservación de Fauna, Plaza Dr. Prados Picazo 10, 4°B, E-18230 Atarfe, Spain.
| | - J Jaramillo
- Agencia de Medio Ambiente y Agua, Consejería de Medio Ambiente y Ordenación del Territorio (Junta de Andalucía), Calle Joaquina Egüaras, 10, E-18003 Granada, Spain
| | - J M Barea-Azcón
- Agencia de Medio Ambiente y Agua, Consejería de Medio Ambiente y Ordenación del Territorio (Junta de Andalucía), Calle Joaquina Egüaras, 10, E-18003 Granada, Spain
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18
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Graham CF, Glenn TC, McArthur AG, Boreham DR, Kieran T, Lance S, Manzon RG, Martino JA, Pierson T, Rogers SM, Wilson JY, Somers CM. Impacts of degraded
DNA
on restriction enzyme associated
DNA
sequencing (
RADS
eq). Mol Ecol Resour 2015; 15:1304-15. [DOI: 10.1111/1755-0998.12404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2014] [Revised: 03/04/2015] [Accepted: 03/06/2015] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Carly F. Graham
- Department of Biology University of Regina Regina Saskatchewan S4S 0A2 Canada
| | - Travis C. Glenn
- College of Public Health University of Georgia Athens GA 30602 USA
| | - Andrew G. McArthur
- M.G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences DeGroote School of Medicine McMaster University 1280 Main Street West Hamilton Ontario L8S 4K1 Canada
| | - Douglas R. Boreham
- Medical Sciences Northern Ontario School of Medicine Greater Sudbury Ontario P0M Canada
| | - Troy Kieran
- College of Public Health University of Georgia Athens GA 30602 USA
| | - Stacey Lance
- Savannah River Ecology Laboratory University of Georgia Athens GA 30602 USA
| | - Richard G. Manzon
- Department of Biology University of Regina Regina Saskatchewan S4S 0A2 Canada
| | - Jessica A. Martino
- Department of Biology University of Regina Regina Saskatchewan S4S 0A2 Canada
| | - Todd Pierson
- College of Public Health University of Georgia Athens GA 30602 USA
| | - Sean M. Rogers
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Calgary Calgary Alberta T2N 1N4 Canada
| | - Joanna Y. Wilson
- Department of Biology McMaster University Hamilton Ontario L8S 4M1 Canada
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