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Analyses of historical and current populations of black grouse in Central Europe reveal strong effects of genetic drift and loss of genetic diversity

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Abstract

Black grouse (Tetrao tetrix) in Central Europe have undergone a severe contraction of their range in recent decades with only a few small isolated remaining populations. Here we compare genetic diversity of two contemporary isolated populations (Sallandse Heuvelrug, Netherlands and Lüneburger Heide, Germany) with historical samples from the same region collected within the last one hundred years. We use markers with both putatively neutral and functional variation to test whether the present small and highly fragmented populations hold lower genetic diversity compared to the former larger population. For this we applied three different types of genetic markers: nine microsatellites and 21 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), both sets which have been found to be neutral, and two functional major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes for which there is evidence they are under selection. The contemporary small isolated populations displayed lower neutral genetic diversity compared to the corresponding historical samples. Furthermore, samples from Denmark showed that this now extinct population displayed lower genetic variation in the period immediately prior to the local extinction. Population structure was more pronounced among contemporary populations compared to historical populations for microsatellites and SNPs. This effect was not as distinct for MHC which is consistent with the possibility that MHC has been subjected to balancing selection in the past, a process which maintains genetic variation and may minimize population structure for such markers. Genetic differentiation among the present populations highlights the strong effects of population decline on the genetic structure of natural populations, which can be ultimately attributed to habitat loss following anthropogenic land use changes.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Lungyun Xiao who assisted with the laborator work. Thanks to Robin Strand for calculating MHC APD. We thank Verein Naturschutzpark Lüneburger Heide, Hunting Association Niedersachsen and Schleswig–Holstein, the Copenhagen Natural History Museum, the Museum of the University Hamburg, the Museum of Naturkunde Berlin and the Museum of Halberstadt and the Dutch Natural History Museum—Naturalis for providing samples. This work was funded through Deutsche Wildtier Stiftung (to GS) and by the Swedish Research Council (VR to JH).

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Author notes

  1. Tanja M. Strand

    Present address: Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala University, Box 582, 751 23, Uppsala, Sweden

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Population Biology and Conservation Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen18D, 752 36, Uppsala, Sweden

    Gernot Segelbacher, Tanja M. Strand, María Quintela & Jacob Höglund

  2. Wildlife Ecology and Management, University Freiburg, Tennenbacher Str. 4, 79106, Freiburg, Germany

    Gernot Segelbacher

  3. Department of Animal Biology, Plant Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Science, University of A Coruña, Campus da Zapateira, 15171 A, Coruña, Spain

    María Quintela

  4. Department of Medical Sciences, Molecular Medicine, Uppsala University, 751 85, Uppsala, Sweden

    Tomas Axelsson

  5. Alterra – Wageningen UR, PO Box 47, 6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    Hugh A. H. Jansman

  6. Nunhems BV, PO Box 4005, 6080 AA, Haelen, The Netherlands

    Hans-Peter Koelewijn

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  1. Gernot Segelbacher
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Correspondence to Gernot Segelbacher.

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Segelbacher, G., Strand, T.M., Quintela, M. et al. Analyses of historical and current populations of black grouse in Central Europe reveal strong effects of genetic drift and loss of genetic diversity. Conserv Genet 15, 1183–1195 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-014-0610-3

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