Genetic Structure and Demographic History Should Inform Conservation: Chinese Cobras Currently Treated as Homogenous Show Population Divergence

An understanding of population structure and genetic diversity is crucial for wildlife conservation and for determining the integrity of wildlife populations. The vulnerable Chinese cobra (Naja atra) has a distribution from the mouth of the Yangtze River down to northern Vietnam and Laos, within which several large mountain ranges and water bodies may influence population structure. We combined 12 microsatellite loci and 1117 bp of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene to explore genetic structure and demographic history in this species, using 269 individuals from various localities in Mainland China and Vietnam. High levels of genetic variation were identified for both mtDNA and microsatellites. mtDNA data revealed two main (Vietnam + southern China + southwestern China; eastern + southeastern China) and one minor (comprising only two individuals from the westernmost site) clades. Microsatellite data divided the eastern + southeastern China clade further into two genetic clusters, which include individuals from the eastern and southeastern regions, respectively. The Luoxiao and Nanling Mountains may be important barriers affecting the diversification of lineages. In the haplotype network of cytchrome b, many haplotypes were represented within a “star” cluster and this and other tests suggest recent expansion. However, microsatellite analyses did not yield strong evidence for a recent bottleneck for any population or genetic cluster. The three main clusters identified here should be considered as independent management units for conservation purposes. The release of Chinese cobras into the wild should cease unless their origin can be determined, and this will avoid problems arising from unnatural homogenization

Late-Quaternary biogeographic scenarios for the brown bear (Ursus arctos), a wild mammal model species

This review provides an up-to-date synthesis of the matrilineal phylogeography of a uniquely well-studied Holarctic mammal, the brown bear. We extend current knowledge by presenting a DNA sequence derived from one of the earliest known fossils of a polar bear (dated to 115 000 years before present), a species that shares a paraphyletic mitochondrial association with brown bears. A molecular clock analysis of 140 mitochondrial DNA sequences, including our new polar bear sequence, provides novel insights into the times of origin for different brown bear clades. We propose a number of regional biogeographic scenarios based on genetic data, divergence time estimates and paleontological records. The case of the brown bear provides an example for researchers working with less well-studied taxa: it shows clearly that phylogeographic models based on patterns of modern genetic variation alone can be substantially improved by including data on historical patterns of genetic diversity in the form of ancient DNA sequences derived from accurately dated samples and by using an approach to divergence-time estimation that suits the data under analysis. Using such approaches it has been possible to (i) establish that the processes shaping modern genetic diversity in brown bears acted recently, within the last three glacial cycles; (ii) distinguish among hypotheses concerning species’ responses to climatic oscillations in accordance with the lack of phylogeographic structure that existed in brown bears prior to the last glacial maximum (LGM); (iii) reassess theories linking monophyletic brown bear populations to particular LGM refuge areas; and (iv) identify vicariance events and track analogous patterns of migration by brown bears out of Eurasia to North America and Japan.John Davison, Simon Y.W. Ho, Sarah C. Bray, Marju Korsten, Egle Tammeleht, Maris Hindrikson, Kjartan Østbye, Eivind Østbye, Stein-Erik Lauritzen, Jeremy Austin, Alan Cooper, and Urmas Saarm

Large‐scale migrations of brown bears in Eurasia and to North America during the Late Pleistocene

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