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Reliable assessment of wildlife population parameters is essential to ensure conservation and management. Data on spatio-temporal variations in population density are needed to understand habitat requirements and anthropogenic impacts. We investigated the impact of forest loss and fragmentation on the population density of a forest specialist mammal like the pine marten. We assessed it in two contrasted landscapes, a continuous forest and an agricultural land where forests are fragmented into small woodlots and hedgerows. A non-invasive genetic sampling was carried out over two consecutive years to assess population density using capture-mark-recapture models implemented in CAPWIRE and CAPTURE. Across the different sampling sessions, 86 distinct pine martens could be identified, 59 in the hedged farmland and 27 in the forest site. Contrary to our expectations, the hedged farmland carried a similar level of pine marten density (around 0.85 (95%CI 0.44–1.30) individual/km2) to that estimated in forest (0.64 (95%CI 0.41–1.09) individual/km2) but experienced a high rate of turnover. Consistently with other studies in Europe, we showed that at between 20 and 35% of forest cover, landscapes can carry high-density levels for pine marten populations. This study underlines the need to keep forest patches in agricultural landscapes safe from trapping and hunting to maintain sustainable pine marten populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genomic tools are now commonly used to assess the genetic diversity and genetic structure of species and populations, and they provide the ability to describe and address the negative effects of population declines and fragmentation. However, such studies are lacking for arboreal mammals despite their contribution to various ecosystem services, especially in uncommon and critically endangered ecosystems such as cloud forests. The aim of this work was to evaluate and compare the genetic diversity and population structure of two endemic arboreal mice from Mexican cloud forests that are associated with areas with different levels of impacts from human activities. We performed genotyping-by-sequencing in 47 Habromys schmidlyi and 17 Reithrodontomys wagneri individuals to evaluate genetic diversity and differentiation. In both species, the genetic diversity was low compared to other cricetid species, and we observed different population structure patterns, potentially linked to the different ecological associations. We detected two genetic groups in H. schmidlyi, that is a territorial species present in areas of low incline, while a single genetic group was found in R. wagneri, which forms family groups in areas with steep slopes. Overall, these results highlight how species' genetic diversity can be differentially impacted depending on differential ecological associations within the same ecosystem. This information is essential for the development of the adequate conservation and management of these species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lengths, widths, and size proportions (length to width) of the lower carnassial were measured in 45 teeth of the arctic fox and 35 teeth of the red fox from Belgium radiocarbon dated to 46 640–14 120 ka BP. Data the Late Pleistocene foxes from Belgium were compared to 20 ancient and extant populations form Europe, Asia, and North America. The Pleistocene arctic fox from Belgium showed larger carnassial than in all recent samples of this species, whereas the Belgian fossil red foxes were characterized by the carnassial size comparable to that of the recent Siberian red foxes. Both fox species from the Pleistocene of Belgium showed the highest index of the carnassials length to width, which means increase in carnivorous adaptation. We conclude that the higher level of carnivorous specialization reached by the Belgian arctic and red foxes at the end of the Late Pleistocene reflected their scavenging on kills of large carnivores and human hunters (remains of megafauna). Harsh environmental conditions of that period and specific composition of ecosystems led to adapting to a more carnivorous food niche in both foxes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Present-day species distribution and patterns of genetic diversity in Europe are a result of post-glacial re-colonization from glacial refugia after the Last Glacial Maximum. This process led to the formation of secondary contact zones (suture zones) between the haplogroups of different species, and were induced by several factors, including climate and evolutionary processes like selection and adaptation. One such suture zone has been found in Poland, where a complex network of different phylogenetic lineages of predators, ungulates, and rodents is present. The phylogeography of mammals in western Europe has been widely studied, but central and eastern Europe have been treated cursorily. Only a few samples from these areas were analyzed in previous studies, resulting in a simplified and false description of local genetic structure. In this review, results of previous phylogeographic studies on carnivore, ungulate, and rodent species from central and eastern Europe were collected and synthesized to verify the Polish suture zone hypothesis and examine how it is affected by different variables (geomorphological features like the Carpathian Mountains and Vistula River, climate, or anthropogenic factors). Our data reflects the importance of precise studies in this region and the value they contribute to further studies of large-scale European phylogeography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Eurasian red squirrel’s (Sciurus vulgaris) history in Ireland is largely unknown, but the original population is thought to have been driven to extinction by humans in the seventeenth century, and multiple records exist for its subsequent reintroduction in the nineteenth century. However, it is currently unknown how these reintroductions affect the red squirrel population today, or may do so in the future. In this study, we report on the development of a DNA toolkit for the non-invasive genetic study of the red squirrel. Non-invasively collected red squirrel samples were combined with other samples collected throughout Ireland and previously published mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) data from Ireland, Great Britain and Continental Europe to give an insight into population genetics and historical introductions of the red squirrel in Ireland. Our findings demonstrate that the Irish red squirrel population is on a national scale quite genetically diverse, but at a local level contains relatively low levels of genetic diversity, and there is also evidence of genetic structure. This is likely an artefact of the introduction of a small number of genetically similar animals to specific sites. A lack of continuous woodland cover in Ireland has prevented further mixing with animals of different origins that may have been introduced even to neighbouring sites. Consequently, some of these genetically isolated populations are or may in the future be at risk of extinction. The Irish red squirrel population contains mtDNA haplotypes of both a British and Continental European origin, the former of which are now extinct or simply not recorded in contemporary Great Britain. The Irish population is therefore important in terms of red squirrel conservation not only in Ireland, but also for Great Britain, and should be appropriately managed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The range of the golden jackal ( Canis aureus) in Europe has been expanding in recent decades. We describe the first three records of golden jackal from Poland and attribute them to the natural range expansion of the species. A young male jackal was found dead on a road in western Poland, close to the German border, on 13th April 2015. Morphological examination and genetic analysis confirmed the species identification. This individual had the same mitochondrial DNA haplotype as a comparative individual from the wild population in southern Ukraine. The two other observations of jackals, confirmed from photographs, were reported in May and June 2015 from the Biebrza river valley and the Polesie region, both in eastern Poland. The records suggest a natural expansion of the species into Poland, probably from different source populations, and indicate the urgent need to determine the status of the golden jackal in this part of Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]