Abstract
The burying beetle, Nicrophorus quadripunctatus Kraatz, is a common species in Japan, and its biparental care has been well studied. It exploits small vertebrate carrion as food for its young. Therefore, its reproductive success is restricted to large habitats in which carrion is abundant and available. Hence, the abundance of Nicrophorus species can be used as an indicator of forest fragmentation. Forests have recently become fragmented due to anthropogenic activities, and thus the population sizes of Nicrophorus species have decreased. To investigate the population genetic structure of N. quadripunctatus, we developed polymorphic microsatellite markers using magnetic particles. Nine microsatellites were polymorphic, with two to 12 alleles observed in the samples collected from our study sites, Matsunoyama and Nagaoka A and B. Deviation from the Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium was detected at five to seven loci in each population examined, which is indicative of significant heterozygous deficiencies. Higher genetic diversity was found in the Matsunoyama and Nagaoka B populations, the collection plots of which were covered by continuous woodlands, compared to Nagaoka A. The isolated microsatellite markers will be used to determine the genetic structures of the fragmented populations of N. quadripunctatus.
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