Abstract
Population dispersal and migration often indicate an expanded habitat and reduced inbreeding probability, and to some extend reflects improvement in the condition of the population. The Amur tiger population in the northern region of the Changbai mountain in China mostly distributes along the Sino–Russian border, next to the population in southwest Primorye in Russia. The successful dispersal westward and transboundary movement are crucial for the persistence of the Amur tiger in this area. This study explored the spatial dispersal of the population, transboundary migration, and the genetic condition of the Amur tiger population within the northern Changbai mountain in China, using occurrence data and fecal samples. Our results from 2003 to 2016 showed that the Amur tiger population in this area was spreading westward at a speed of 12.83 ± 4.41 km every three years. Genetic diversity of the Amur tiger populations in southwest Primorye was slightly different than the population in our study area, and the potential individual migration rate between these two populations was shown to be about 13.04%. Furthermore, the relationships between genetic distances and spatial distances indicated the existence of serious limitations to the dispersal of the Amur tiger in China. This study provided important information about spatial dispersal, transboundary migration, and the genetic diversity of Amur tigers in China, showed the urgent need for Amur tiger habitat restoration, and suggested some important conservation measures, such as corridor construction to eliminate dispersal barriers and joint international conservation to promote trans‐boundary movement.
Highlights
Dispersal is the movement of an individual from its birth site or group to its mating site(s) or group(s) (Coulon et al, 2004)
The Amur tiger habitat in Changbai mountain in China was linked with southwest Primorye in Russia where 1 of the 2 Amur tiger pop‐ ulations lives in Russia
Our study found that the difference in genetic diversity was slight (p > 0.05) and there was no distinct cluster between populations in China and Russia, as the all individuals identified had Q values between 0.4 and 0.5
Summary
Dispersal is the movement of an individual from its birth site or group to its mating site(s) or group(s) (Coulon et al, 2004). As the Amur tiger population recovered in China, many researchers began focusing on population dynamics but dispersal and habitat expansion were neglected. In China, there were more than 26 individuals distributed in 3 main Amur tiger habitat patches, called the Laoyeling mountain, Zhangguangcai mountain, and Wandashan mountain (Wang, Feng, et al, ). Promoting transboundary movement of Amur tiger from Russia to China and dispersal from the Laoyeling and Wandashan patches into Zhangguangcai to extend the Amur tiger habitat and promote individual migration between different populations. This would in support Amur tiger population recovery in China; it would benefit this subspecies.
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