Population structure and genetic diversity of non-native aoudad populations

Sunčica Stipoljev,Toni Safner,Nikica Šprem,Pavao Gančević,Jorge Cassinello,Ana Galov,Ida Svetličić,Tina Stuhne,Stefano Grignolio

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-91678-2

Abstract

The aoudad (Ammotragus lervia Pallas 1777) is an ungulate species, native to the mountain ranges of North Africa. In the second half of the twentieth century, it was successfully introduced in some European countries, mainly for hunting purposes, i.e. in Croatia, the Czech Republic, Italy, and Spain. We used neutral genetic markers, the mitochondrial DNA control region sequence and microsatellite loci, to characterize and compare genetic diversity and spatial pattern of genetic structure on different timeframes among all European aoudad populations. Four distinct control region haplotypes found in European aoudad populations indicate that the aoudad has been introduced in Europe from multiple genetic sources, with the population in the Sierra Espuña as the only population in which more than one haplotype was detected. The number of detected microsatellite alleles within all populations (< 3.61) and mean proportion of shared alleles within all analysed populations (< 0.55) indicates relatively low genetic variability, as expected for new populations funded by a small number of individuals. In STRUCTURE results with K = 2–4, Croatian and Czech populations cluster in the same genetic cluster, indicating joined origin. Among three populations from Spain, Almeria population shows as genetically distinct from others in results, while other Spanish populations diverge at K = 4. Maintenance of genetic diversity should be included in the management of populations to sustain their viability, specially for small Czech population with high proportion of shared alleles (0.85) and Croatian population that had the smallest estimated effective population size (Ne = 5.4).

Highlights

The aoudad (Ammotragus lervia Pallas 1777) is an ungulate species, native to the mountain ranges of North Africa
Among ungulates introduced into Europe, the aoudad (Ammotragus lervia Pallas 1777) is one of the species that was successfully established in the wild beyond its natural r ange[8], with established populations in Croatia, Czech Republic, Italy, and S pain[9]
Based on samples collected from all known locations in Europe, the objectives of this study were to characterize the patterns of neutral genetic structure of recently established non native populations of aoudad and gain insights into the number of maternal lineages of these populations

Summary

Introduction

The aoudad (Ammotragus lervia Pallas 1777) is an ungulate species, native to the mountain ranges of North Africa. Created populations are often established with relatively few individuals of unknown genetic background and may be susceptible to loss of genetic variation due to inbreeding and genetic drift[3,4] Within such recently established populations the genetic diversity might decrease, whereas population differentiation might increase over time[5]. Among all introduced groups of mammal species in Europe, ungulates stand out from the others with 73.5%, since this is one of the most important game groups in all European c ountries[7] Both distribution and genetics of ungulate populations across Europe have been profoundly influenced by such introductions[8]. Among ungulates introduced into Europe, the aoudad (Ammotragus lervia Pallas 1777) is one of the species that was successfully established in the wild beyond its natural r ange[8], with established populations in Croatia, Czech Republic, Italy, and S pain[9]. Large and strong individuals have high fitness and reproductive success[15], increasing their potential to colonise different localities whenever conditions are a ppropriate[11]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion