Abstract
The Western Capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus L.) is a grouse species of open boreal or high altitude forests of Eurasia. It is endangered throughout most mountain range habitat areas in Europe. Two major genetically identifiable lineages of Western Capercaillie have been described to date: the southern lineage at the species' southernmost range of distribution in Europe, and the boreal lineage. We address the question of genetic differentiation of capercaillie populations from the Rhodope and Rila Mountains in Bulgaria, across the Dinaric Mountains to the Slovenian Alps. The two lineages' contact zone and resulting conservation strategies in this so-far understudied area of distribution have not been previously determined. The results of analysis of mitochondrial DNA control region sequences of 319 samples from the studied populations show that Alpine populations were composed exclusively of boreal lineage; Dinaric populations of both, but predominantly (96%) of boreal lineage; and Rhodope-Rila populations predominantly (>90%) of southern lineage individuals. The Bulgarian mountains were identified as the core area of the southern lineage, and the Dinaric Mountains as the western contact zone between both lineages in the Balkans. Bulgarian populations appeared genetically distinct from Alpine and Dinaric populations and exhibited characteristics of a long-term stationary population, suggesting that they should be considered as a glacial relict and probably a distinct subspecies. Although all of the studied populations suffered a decline in the past, the significantly lower level of genetic diversity when compared with the neighbouring Alpine and Bulgarian populations suggests that the isolated Dinaric capercaillie is particularly vulnerable to continuing population decline. The results are discussed in the context of conservation of the species in the Balkans, its principal threats and legal protection status. Potential conservation strategies should consider the existence of the two lineages and their vulnerable Dinaric contact zone and support the specificities of the populations.
Highlights
The Western Capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus L.) is a grouse species of open boreal or high altitude forests of Eurasia and is endangered throughout most mountain range habitat areas in Europe [1,2]
In a total of 319 successfully sequenced Western Capercaillie mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region I (CRI) samples collected in Central and South-Eastern Europe (Table 2), we identified 30 unique haplotypes, 21 of which were novel haplotypes, not previously described (Table 3)
All sampled individuals from the Slovenian Alpine populations belong to the boreal lineage, with the highest haplotype diversity (15 different haplotypes) of the sampled populations
Summary
The Western Capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus L.) is a grouse species of open boreal or high altitude forests of Eurasia and is endangered throughout most mountain range habitat areas in Europe [1,2]. Western Capercaillie habitats have changed significantly in recent centuries due to human impacts, through land use and forest management practices [8,9,10] and possibly due to recent global climate change resulting in habitat shrinkage and fragmentation, reduced connectivity and population decline [1,11,12]. The effects of anthropogenic habitat disturbance and destruction are pronounced in capercaillie populations in Central Europe, at the southern edge of the species habitat range and, to a lesser extent, in the Alps [11,13]. Similar negative effects of human activities on Western Capercaillie habitat and populations have been reported for the Slovenian Alps and mountain ranges of the Balkan Peninsula [14,15,16,17,18]. In South-Eastern Europe only populations in the Bulgarian Rhodope, Rila and Pirin Mountains are reportedly stable today [19]
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