Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Molecular evidence for historic long-distance translocations of brown bears in the Balkan region

  • Short Communication
  • Published:
Conservation Genetics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We tested the hypothesis that brown bears were translocated from the Romanian Carpathians to Bulgaria via air transportation during the communist regime in the 1970s and 1980s. Microsatellite analysis was performed on 199 bear samples from Bulgaria and Romania. Assignment and admixture tests revealed the existence of seven genotypes (=2.8 %) in Bulgaria that were assigned with high probabilities to the Romanian population, supporting the translocation and successful establishment of Carpathian bears in Bulgaria. While we cannot rule out the possibility that active long-distance dispersal contributed to the observed pattern, the spatial distribution and sex ratio of the detected Romanian genotypes strongly favor the translocation hypothesis.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

References

  • Bellemain E, Taberlet P (2004) Improved noninvasive genotyping method: application to brown bear (Ursus arctos) faeces. Mol Ecol Notes 4:519–522

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bidon T, Frosch C, Eiken HG, Kutschera VE, Hagen SB, Aarnes SG, Fain SR, Janke A, Hailer F (2013) A sensitive and specific multiplex PCR approach for sex identification of ursine and tremarctine bears suitable for non-invasive samples. Mol Ecol Resour 13:362–368

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Earl DA, vonHoldt BM (2012) Structure Harvester: a website and program for visualizing STRUCTURE output and implementing the Evanno method. Conserv Genet Res 4:359–361

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Evanno G, Regnaut S, Goudet J (2005) Detecting the number of clusters of individuals using the software Structure: a simulation study. Mol Ecol 14:2611–2620

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fischer J, Lindenmayer DB (2000) An assessment of the published results of animal relocations. Biol Conserv 96:1–11

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frosch C, Dutsov A, Georgiev G, Nowak C (2011) Case report of a fatal bear attack documented by forensic wildlife genetics. Forensic Sci Int-Genet 5:342–344

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kaczensky P, Chapron G, von Arx M, Huber D, Andrén H and Linnell (Eds) (2012) Status, management and distribution of large carnivores – bear, lynx, wolf and wolverine—in Europe. A large carnivore initiative for Europe report prepared for the European Commission (contract 070307/2012/629085/SER/B3)

  • Kaphegyi TAM, Dees M, Zlatanova D, Ueffing C, Dutsov A, Kaphegyi U (2013) Rapid assessment of linear transport infrastructure in relation to the impact on landscape continuity for large ranging mammals. Biodivers Conserv 22:153–168

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kitahara E, Isagi Y, Ishibashi Y, Saitoh T (2000) Polymorphic microsatellite DNA markers in the Asiatic black bear Ursus thibetanus. Mol Ecol 9:1661–1662

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Paetkau D, Strobeck C (1994) Microsatellite analysis of genetic variation in black bear populations. Mol Ecol 3:489–495

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Paetkau D, Calvert W, Stirling I, Strobeck C (1995) Microsatellite analysis of population structure in Canadian polar bears. Mol Ecol 4:347–354

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Paetkau D, Shields GF, Strobeck C (1998) Gene flow between insular, coastal and interior populations of brown bears in Alaska. Mol Ecol 7:1283–1292

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Paetkau D, Slade R, Burden M, Estoup A (2004) Genetic assignment methods for the direct, real-time estimation of migration rate: a simulation-based exploration of accuracy and power. Mol Ecol 13:55–65

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Paunovic M, Cirovic D (2006) Viability increase and recovery of brown bear Ursus arctos L. 1758 population in northeastern Serbia. Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade

  • Peakall R, Smouse PE (2006) GENALEX 6: genetic analysis in Excel. Population genetic software for teaching and research. Mol Ecol Notes 6:288–295

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Piry S, Alapetite A, Cornuet JM, Paetkau D, Baudouin L, Estoup A (2004) GENECLASS2: a software for genetic assignment and first-generation migrant detection. J Hered 95:536–539

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pritchard JK, Stephensa M, Donnellya P (2000) Inference of population structure using multilocus genotype data. Genetics 155:945–959

    CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stoen OG, Zedrosser A, Saebo S, Swenson JE (2006) Inversely density-dependent natal dispersal in brown bears Ursus arctos. Oecologia 148:356–364

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Taberlet P, Camarra JJ, Griffin S, Uhres E, Hanotte O, Waits LP, DuboisPaganon C, Burke T, Bouvet J (1997) Noninvasive genetic tracking of the endangered Pyrenean brown bear population. Mol Ecol 6:869–876

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Valière N (2002) GIMLET: a computer program for analysing genetic individual identification data. Mol Ecol Notes 2:377–379

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang J (2011) COANCESTRY: a program for simulating, estimating and analysing relatedness and inbreeding coefficients. Mol Ecol Resour 11:141–145

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The Romanian samples were kindly provided by Árpád Sárkány, the “Târnava Mare” Hunting and Angling Association, Romsilva—Romanian National Forest Administration, Károly Pál, Károly Illyés, Szilárd Bordi-Zima, and Miklós Bálint. Valuable assistance was recieved from Márton Atilla Kelemen. Samples were collected within the frame of Milvus Group’s Brown bear conservation and research program, which is financially supported from EuroNatur (Germany), Alertis, fund for bear and nature conservation (Netherlands), International Association for Bear Research and Management, Nando Peretti Foundation, and the Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS). Sampling in Bulgaria was assisted by Kostadin Valchev, Diana Zlatanova, Elena Tsingarska-Sedefcheva, Lubomir Petrov, Genadi Gavrilov, Yanko Yankov, Venislava Racheva (Balkani Wildlife Society), Georgi Georgiev, Dimitar Pamporo (Regional Environment Inspectorate Smolian Team), Ruslan Serbezov (Ministry of Environment and Water), Rosen Andreev (Chepino Hunting Enterprize) and several more. Wolfgang Fremuth and Michael Brombacher (FZS) provided administrative assistance. Sequencing service was provided by the Biodiversity and Climate Research Institute Frankfurt. CF received funding from the Johanna Samel-Stiftung. Additional funding comes from LIFE EX-TRA project LIFE/NAT/IT/000502 funded by the European Union and from Hesse’s LOEWE excellence initiative.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Conservation Genetics Group, Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Clamecystrasse 12, 63571, Gelnhausen, Germany

    Carsten Nowak & Christiane Frosch

  2. Milvus Group - Bird and Nature Protection Association, 22 Crinului Street, 540343, Târgu Mureş, Romania

    Csaba Domokos

  3. Balkani Wildlife Society, 67 Tsanko Tserkovski str, Entr.3, floor 2, apt.3, 1421, Sofia, Bulgaria

    Aleksandar Dutsov

Authors
  1. Carsten Nowak
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Csaba Domokos
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Aleksandar Dutsov
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Christiane Frosch
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Carsten Nowak.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Nowak, C., Domokos, C., Dutsov, A. et al. Molecular evidence for historic long-distance translocations of brown bears in the Balkan region. Conserv Genet 15, 743–747 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-014-0570-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-014-0570-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation