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Five-year study of the genetic structure and demography of two subpopulations of the Japanese squirrel (Sciurus lis) in a continuous forest and an isolated woodlot

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Ecological Research

Abstract

The Japanese squirrel (Sciurus lis) is endemic to Honshu and Shikoku, Japan. In suburban environments this squirrel has tended to disappear from smaller and/or more isolated woodlots. In this study, genetic structure was compared from 1999 to 2004 for two subpopulations, one in a continuous mountain forest of western Tokyo and the other in a neighbouring woodlot isolated by a busy road. By sequencing 434 bp of the mitochondrial DNA control region of all 69 squirrels living in the two habitats, nine haplotypes were detected. Both the number of haplotypes and their genetic diversity were lower in the isolated woodlot (5 and 0.62, respectively) than in the continuous forest (8 and 0.79). Yearly comparisons revealed that only two to three haplotypes occurred simultaneously in the isolated woodlot whereas four to six were always found in the continuous forest, although the number of resident squirrels per year did not differ between the two sites. Haplotype dynamics revealed that the female population in the isolated woodlot was in a monotypic state for over two years before immigration of females with different haplotypes occurred. In the isolated woodlot immigration was thus restricted and turnover was lower, particularly among females. Such demographic factors seem to maintain the lower genetic diversity of the isolated subpopulation.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the staff of the Bureau of Industrial and Labor Affairs, Agriculture, Forestry Section of Tokyo, for granting permission to capture squirrels. We also thank Tomomi Kataoka for providing tissue samples of S. vulgaris from Hokkaido, Japan. This study was funded by the Environmental Agency of Japan (Global Environment Research Program, F-1-4-2).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tama Forest Science Garden, Todori 1833, Hachioji, Tokyo, 193-0843, Japan

    Noriko Tamura

  2. Department of Biology, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Minamiosawa 1-1, Hachioji, Tokyo, 192-0397, Japan

    Fumio Hayashi

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  1. Noriko Tamura
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  2. Fumio Hayashi
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Correspondence to Noriko Tamura.

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Tamura, N., Hayashi, F. Five-year study of the genetic structure and demography of two subpopulations of the Japanese squirrel (Sciurus lis) in a continuous forest and an isolated woodlot. Ecol Res 22, 261–267 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-006-0019-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-006-0019-7

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