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Chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) is a mountain-dwelling ungulate inhabiting predominantly rocky habitat with steep slopes. Since it mostly inhabits boreal habitats at high altitudes, low valleys tend to separate populations, thereby limiting gene flow. In the present study, we genotyped 54 georeferenced chamois using 20 SSR loci to test the influence of the Kupa River on the spatial genetic structure of the population in the bordering area between Croatia and Slovenia in the northern Dinaric Mountains. Both GENELAND and STRUCTURE assigned all individuals to one spatial cluster, indicating that the Kupa River does not represent a barrier to gene flow for chamois. Unfortunately, in 2015, a razor wire fence was constructed along the Croatian-Slovenian border at the Kupa River. This fence represents a major threat to the chamois population as it may cause mortality, obstruct seasonal dispersal, and reduce the effective population size. If the fence remains as it is, changes in the genetic structure and genetic diversity of the population due to the effect of drift and reduced effective population size can be predicted over the next generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

Habitat fragmentation and loss have contributed significantly to the demographic decline of European wildcat populations and hybridization with domestic cats poses a threat to the loss of genetic purity of the species. In this study we used microsatellite markers to analyse genetic variation and structure of the wildcat populations from the area between the Dinaric Alps and the Scardo-Pindic mountains in Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and North Macedonia. We also investigated hybridisation between populations of wildcats and domestic cats in the area. One hundred and thirteen samples from free-leaving European wildcats and thirty-two samples from domestic cats were analysed. Allelic richness across populations ranged from 3.61 to 3.98. The observed Ho values ranged between 0.57 and 0.71. The global F ST value for the four populations was 0.080 (95% CI 0.056-0.109) and differed significantly from zero (P < 0.001). The highest F ST value was observed between the populations North Macedonia and Slovenia and the lowest between Slovenia and Croatia. We also found a signal for the existence of isolation by distance between populations. Our results showed that wildcats are divided in two genetic clusters largely consistent with a geographic division into a genetically diverse northern group (Slovenia, Croatia) and genetically eroded south-eastern group (Serbia, N. Macedonia). Hybridisation rate between wildcats and domestic cats varied between 13% and 52% across the regions., (© 2021. The Author(s).) more...

To assess the prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in native and commensal rodents as indicators of environmental pollution, we analyzed brain tissue from small mammals collected on legal and illegal waste sites in the Slovenian and Croatian parts of Istria. A total of 136 animals and five species of the family Muridae were analyzed: black rat (Rattus rattus), domestic mouse (Mus musculus), wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus), striped field mouse (Apodemus agrarius), and yellow-necked mouse (Apodemus flavicollis). Using quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR), T. gondii DNA was detected in four homogenized brain tissue samples (2.94%), from all of the analyzed species, except black rat. Out of these, two samples, domestic mouse (Mus musculus) and wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus) had sufficient DNA for genotyping of T. gondii isolates in which we demonstrated the presence of clonal type II using RFLP PCR with four markers (SAG1, SAG2, GRA6 and GRA7). Three of four infected animals (75%) were collected on dumpsites., (© V. Ivovic et al., published by EDP Sciences, 2019.) more...