Genetic signatures of population bottlenecks, relatedness, and inbreeding highlight recent and novel conservation concerns in the Egyptian vulture.

Guillermo Blanco,Francisco Morinha

doi:10.7717/peerj.11139

Abstract

The assessment of temporal variation in genetic features can be particularly informative on the factors behind demography and viability of wildlife populations and species. We used molecular methods to evaluate neutral genetic variation, relatedness, bottlenecks, and inbreeding in a declining population of Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus) in central Spain. The results show that the genetic diversity remained relatively stable over a period of twelve years despite the decline in census and effective population sizes in the last decades. A relatively high proportion of nestlings from different and distant territories showed high relatedness in each study year. We also found support for an increasing impact of severe recent (contemporary) rather than distant (historical) past demographic bottlenecks, and the first evidence of inbred mating between full siblings coinciding with lethal malformations in offspring. The inbred nestling with feather malformations was positive to beak and feather disease virus recorded for the first time in this species. These results alert on recent and novel threats potentially affecting health and reducing the adaptive potential of individuals in this threatened species.

Highlights

The assessment of genetic diversity is crucial to understanding trends of wildlife populations and to implementing adequate strategies for conservation of endangered species (Willi, Van Buskirk & Hoffmann, 2006; Frankham, 2010)
The evaluation of temporal variation in genetic diversity, bottlenecks, and relatedness can be informative on the factors behind demography and viability of wild populations (Frankham, Ballou & Briscoe, 2002; Wootton & Pfister, 2013)
Highly philopatric, and territorial during the breeding season (Donázar, 1993; Sanz-Aguilar et al, 2017). This species shows a slow pace of life, with long generation time (14 years according to BirdLife International, 2019), average age of first breeding in the 7th year of age, low fecundity and reproductive rate, and long lifespan (Sanz-Aguilar et al, 2017)

Summary

Introduction

The assessment of genetic diversity is crucial to understanding trends of wildlife populations and to implementing adequate strategies for conservation of endangered species (Willi, Van Buskirk & Hoffmann, 2006; Frankham, 2010). The evaluation of temporal variation in genetic diversity, bottlenecks, and relatedness can be informative on the factors behind demography and viability of wild populations (Frankham, Ballou & Briscoe, 2002; Wootton & Pfister, 2013). This variation is often correlated with census size and population fragmentation depending on natural and anthropogenic threats (Frankham, Ballou & Briscoe, 2002; O’Grady et al, 2004).

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Conclusion