TY - JOUR
T1 - Non-invasive sampling reveals fine-scale genetic structure in black bear Ursus americanus populations from northeastern Mexico
AU - Montiel-Reyes, Fernando
AU - Maldonado, Jesús E.
AU - Del Real-Monroy, Melina
AU - Martínez-Méndez, Norberto
AU - Ortega, Jorge
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The authors 2014.
PY - 2014
Y1 - 2014
N2 - The black bear Ursus americanus is one of the largest terrestrial carnivores that has a wide distribution in northeastern Mexico, the only country in which black bears are listed as endangered. We used 10 nuclear microsatellite loci to evaluate black bear genetic variability in 6 disjointed populations from northeastern Mexico. Non-invasive genetic techniques were applied to fecal and hair samples. Using a panel of 10 polymorphic microsatellites we identified 64 individuals. Black bears showed low to moderate levels of genetic diversity in all sampled populations (mean ± SD expected heterozygosity, He = 0.63 ± 0.628). Pairwise comparisons between all 6 populations (ΦST = 0.315, p < 0.05) detected significant genetic differentiation between the western Coahuila and the northeastern Nuevo León regions, suggesting that black bears have low levels of gene flow between these 2 regions. Microsatellites revealed significant structure within the complex of disjoint areas in the region. The inbreeding coefficient was also significant (ΦIS = 0.143). The largest proportion of genetic variation (82.7%) was found between individuals within populations. Distance and anthropogenic activities may serve to limit gene exchange among populations which form at least 3 distinct genetic clusters; these may respond differently to environmental changes and should be considered distinct management units.
AB - The black bear Ursus americanus is one of the largest terrestrial carnivores that has a wide distribution in northeastern Mexico, the only country in which black bears are listed as endangered. We used 10 nuclear microsatellite loci to evaluate black bear genetic variability in 6 disjointed populations from northeastern Mexico. Non-invasive genetic techniques were applied to fecal and hair samples. Using a panel of 10 polymorphic microsatellites we identified 64 individuals. Black bears showed low to moderate levels of genetic diversity in all sampled populations (mean ± SD expected heterozygosity, He = 0.63 ± 0.628). Pairwise comparisons between all 6 populations (ΦST = 0.315, p < 0.05) detected significant genetic differentiation between the western Coahuila and the northeastern Nuevo León regions, suggesting that black bears have low levels of gene flow between these 2 regions. Microsatellites revealed significant structure within the complex of disjoint areas in the region. The inbreeding coefficient was also significant (ΦIS = 0.143). The largest proportion of genetic variation (82.7%) was found between individuals within populations. Distance and anthropogenic activities may serve to limit gene exchange among populations which form at least 3 distinct genetic clusters; these may respond differently to environmental changes and should be considered distinct management units.
KW - Black bears
KW - Genetic structure
KW - Mexico
KW - Microsatellite
KW - Non-invasive sampling
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84920188330&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3354/esr00626
DO - 10.3354/esr00626
M3 - Artículo
SN - 1863-5407
VL - 26
SP - 179
EP - 188
JO - Endangered Species Research
JF - Endangered Species Research
IS - 2
ER -