Search

Spatial capture-recapture (SCR) models have advanced our ability to estimate population density for wide ranging animals by explicitly incorporating individual movement. Though these models are more robust to various spatial sampling designs, few studies have empirically tested different large-scale trap configurations using SCR models. We investigated how extent of trap coverage and trap spacing affects precision and accuracy of SCR parameters, implementing models using the R package secr. We tested two trapping scenarios, one spatially extensive and one intensive, using black bear (Ursus americanus) DNA data from hair snare arrays in south-central Missouri, USA. We also examined the influence that adding a second, lower barbed-wire strand to snares had on quantity and spatial distribution of detections. We simulated trapping data to test bias in density estimates of each configuration under a range of density and detection parameter values. Field data showed that using multiple arrays with intensive snare coverage produced more detections of more individuals than extensive coverage. Consequently, density and detection parameters were more precise for the intensive design. Density was estimated as 1.7 bears per 100 km2 and was 5.5 times greater than that under extensive sampling. Abundance was 279 (95% CI = 193–406) bears in the 16,812 km2 study area. Excluding detections from the lower strand resulted in the loss of 35 detections, 14 unique bears, and the largest recorded movement between snares. All simulations showed low bias for density under both configurations. Results demonstrated that in low density populations with non-uniform distribution of population density, optimizing the tradeoff among snare spacing, coverage, and sample size is of critical importance to estimating parameters with high precision and accuracy. With limited resources, allocating available traps to multiple arrays with intensive trap spacing increased the amount of information needed to inform parameters with high precision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As species evolve, they become adapted to their local environments. Detecting the genetic signature of selection and connecting that to the phenotype of the organism, however, is challenging. Here we report using an integrative approach that combines DNA sequencing with structural biology analyses to assess the effect of selection on residues in the mitochondrial DNA of the two species of African elephants. We detected evidence of positive selection acting on residues in complexes I and V, and we used homology protein structure modeling to assess the effect of the biochemical properties of the selected residues on the enzyme structure. Given the role these enzymes play in oxidative phosphorylation, we propose that the selected residues may contribute to the metabolic adaptation of forest and savanna elephants to their unique habitats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatial patterns of relatedness within animal populations are important in the evolution of mating and social systems, and have the potential to reveal information on species that are difficult to observe in the wild. This study examines the fine-scale genetic structure and connectivity of groups within African forest elephants, Loxodonta cyclotis, which are often difficult to observe due to forest habitat. We tested the hypothesis that genetic similarity will decline with increasing geographic distance, as we expect kin to be in closer proximity, using spatial autocorrelation analyses and Tau Kr tests. Associations between individuals were investigated through a non-invasive genetic capture-recapture approach using network models, and were predicted to be more extensive than the small groups found in observational studies, similar to fission-fusion sociality found in African savanna (Loxodonta africana) and Asian (Elephas maximus) species. Dung samples were collected in Lopé National Park, Gabon in 2008 and 2010 and genotyped at 10 microsatellite loci, genetically sexed, and sequenced at the mitochondrial DNA control region. We conducted analyses on samples collected at three different temporal scales: a day, within six-day sampling sessions, and within each year. Spatial autocorrelation and Tau Kr tests revealed genetic structure, but results were weak and inconsistent between sampling sessions. Positive spatial autocorrelation was found in distance classes of 0–5 km, and was strongest for the single day session. Despite weak genetic structure, individuals within groups were significantly more related to each other than to individuals between groups. Social networks revealed some components to have large, extensive groups of up to 22 individuals, and most groups were composed of individuals of the same matriline. Although fine-scale population genetic structure was weak, forest elephants are typically found in groups consisting of kin and based on matrilines, with some individuals having more associates than observed from group sizes alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although black bears (Ursus americanus) were believed to be extirpated from the Interior Highlands of North America by the early 1900s, populations have recently recovered, aided in part by reintroductions in Arkansas. Today black bears can be found in the Ozark and Ouachita National Forests of northern and western Arkansas, the White River National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Arkansas, and the Ozark region of southern Missouri. Previous genetic studies have investigated the effects of translocating black bears from Minnesota and Manitoba, Canada, into the Ozark and Ouachita National Forests between 1958 and 1968, with differing results. We used nuclear microsatellite loci to infer the genetic structure of black bears across the Interior Highlands and to investigate the sources of bears found today in southern Missouri. Our results suggest that the Ozark population was strongly influenced by the reintroductions, whereas the Ouachita population was influenced to a lesser degree. Although the majority of bears in the Ozark region of Arkansas and Missouri represent a single genetic unit, bears in Webster County, Missouri, may represent a remnant of the historical population of the region. Our results confirm that the bear population in the White River National Wildlife Refuge is strongly differentiated genetically from other Arkansas populations and support previous reports that the Ouachita bear population may have resulted from an admixture of a remnant population and reintroduced bears. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hellbender ( Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) is an obligately aquatic salamander that is in decline due to habitat loss and disease. Two subspecies of hellbender have been described based on morphological characteristics: C. a. alleganiensis (eastern subspecies) and C. a. bishopi (Ozark hellbender). Current conservation strategies include captive propagation for restorative releases even though information regarding the current levels of genetic variability and structure within populations is not sufficient to effectively plan for conservation of the genetic diversity of the species. To investigate patterns of population structure in the hellbender, we genotyped 276 hellbenders from eight Missouri River drainages, representing both subspecies. Our results showed low levels of within-drainage diversity but strong population structure among rivers, and three distinct genetic clusters. F values ranged from 0.00 to 0.61 and averaged 0.40. Our results confirmed previous reports that C. a. bishopi and C. a. alleganiensis are genetically distinct, but also revealed an equidistant relationship between two groups within C. a. bishopi and all populations of C. a. alleganiensis. Current subspecies delineations do not accurately incorporate genetic structure, and for conservation purposes, these three groups should be considered evolutionarily significant units. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The loggerhead shrike ( Lanius ludovicianus), a songbird that hunts like a small raptor, maintains breeding populations on seven of the eight California Channel Islands. One of the two subspecies, L. l. anthonyi, was described as having breeding populations on six of the islands while a second subspecies, L. l. mearnsi, was described as being endemic to San Clemente Island. Previous genetic studies have demonstrated that the San Clemente Island loggerhead shrike is well differentiated genetically from both L. l. anthonyi and mainland populations, despite the fact that birds from outside the population are regular visitors to the island. Those studies, however, did not include a comparison between San Clemente Island shrikes and the breeding population on Santa Catalina Island, the closest island to San Clemente. Here we use mitochondrial control region sequences and nuclear microsatellites to investigate the population structure of loggerhead shrikes in the Channel Islands. We confirm the genetic distinctiveness of the San Clemente Island loggerhead shrike and, using Bayesian clustering analysis, demonstrate the presence and infer the source of the nonbreeding visitors. Our results indicate that Channel Island loggerhead shrikes comprise three distinct genetic clusters that inhabit: (i) San Clemente Island, (ii) Santa Catalina Island and (iii) the Northern Channel Islands and nearby mainland; they do not support a recent suggestion that all Channel Island loggerhead shrikes should be managed as a single entity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Peripheral populations of wide-ranging species are often of special conservation concern, and knowledge of genetic diversity, gene flow, and historical population dynamics are critical to informed management of these populations. In this study we evaluate patterns of genetic diversity and gene flow among a series of wood frog populations in east-central Missouri where it is a species of conservation concern. Because these populations are on the periphery of the species’ range and are isolated from one another by fragmented landscapes, we expected to see population subdivision with signatures of range-edge effects and isolation by resistance. Our analyses reveal significant interpopulation differentiation and a distinct gradient in diversity where levels of allelic richness and heterozygosity decline as the species boundary is approached. These patterns likely stem from factors characteristic of peripheral populations, including reduced population size, reduced gene flow, and more frequent extinction–recolonization events. Population structure was evident, but isolation by resistance (i.e. fragmentation) was not a significant factor in our focal landscape. Isolation by distance was significant, but the level of population differentiation suggests that gene flow among populations is limited. We hypothesize that the lack of gene flow is due to the absence of available fishless breeding habitats outside of protected, managed lands, and recommend that future management efforts of the wood frog include increasing population connectivity at the landscape scale via the creation and maintenance of fishless aquatic breeding habitat. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]