engleski

Genetic structure of Balkan chamois (R. r. balcanica), conservation implications

Balkan chamois (R. r. balcanica) is distributed across mountain chains in the Balkan Peninsula. Knowledge of the population genetic structure of Balkan chamois is limited and confined to regional studies. Therefore, the aim of this study was to use nuclear (20 microsatellites) markers to investigate the genetic structure of the subspecies across its distribution range and provide information on the connectivity levels of the different (meta)populations. We obtained muscle samples (preserved in 96% ethanol) from countries where hunting is allowed or from natural deaths and bone samples from hunters private collections. We extracted DNA and successfully genotyped 79 individual samples of the Balkan chamois from six geographical populations and more are currently under study. Significant deviations from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium were observed for three loci. In total, 115 alleles were detected across the 17 loci and the 6 study areas. The number of alleles ranged from 2 to 11 with a mean of 6.65. Observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.649 to 0.316 in Croatia and North Macedonia, respectively, while expected heterozygosity ranged between 0.592 in Montenegro and 0.303 in North Macedonia. The analysis of the genetic structure of the populations based on differences in the allele size (RST statistic) had the highest value of 0.316 between North Macedonia and Bulgaria and the lowest between Montenegro and Croatia (0, 085). The STRUCTURE analysis indicated four clusters, one widespread across the Peninsula, indicating similarity in the genetic structure of these populations, and three geographically confined (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria and Serbia) ones. This knowledge about the population genetics of Balkan chamois will constitute the necessary starting point to assess the conservation status of the subspecies and design the necessary conservation strategies.

Balkan chamois, microsatellite, genetic structure, genetic diversity

nije evidentirano