Isolation and characterization of fifteen microsatellite loci in the Tibetan fox (Vulpes ferrilata)

Abstract

Assessing changes in local populations of wildlife species is essential to understand the dynamics of animal populations and therefore is crucial in animal ecology and wildlife conservation (Gibbs 2000). The Tibetan fox (Vulpes ferrilata) is an endemic plateau species distributed only in the steppes and semideserts of the Tibetan plateau in China, Nepal, and north India, at elevations between 3500 and 5300 m (Feng et al. 1986; Nowak 1999). To our knowledge, only a few systematic studies on the biology and ecology of this species have been published (Wang et al. 2007, 2008; Harris et al. 2008; Liu et al. 2009, 2010). Recently, the eastern Tibetan plateau, China, has been recognized a new endemic region for Echinococcus spp. with the highest prevalence of alveolar echinococcosis (AE) in the world (Li et al. 2005). AE, a lethal chronic parasitological zoonosis in north hemisphere, is caused by a canid tapeworm, Echinococcus multilocularis (Wang et al. 2008). The transmission of AE needs a stable wildlife reservoir and the Tibetan fox has been found to be the main wildlife definitive host (Qiu et al. 1999). To understand the epidemiology of AE in this region, the local population size of the Tibetan fox must be evaluated. The only reports about the Tibetan fox population monitoring are from Piao (1989) and Schaller (1998). However, these early data based on observations along roadsides cannot provide much information to the present Tibetan fox population status. Therefore, IUCN stated that the population trend of Tibetan foxes is still unknown (IUCN 2010). The microsatellite genotype analysis based on the copro-DNA is a new method used increasingly in wildlife population studies (Harrison et al. 2002; Dallas et al. 2003; Zhan et al.