Phylogeography, population structure, and landscape genetics of snow leopards across High Asia
Date
2023
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
Snow leopards (Panthera uncia) inhabit the mountainous regions of High Asia, which is known to have experienced glacial contractions and expansions during climatic cycles of the Pleistocene. The corresponding forces of glacial vicariance promoted or constrained genetic differentiation to shape historic distributions of genetic lineages and population structure. We used mitochondrial and nuclear DNA to study the range-wide phylogeography of snow leopards across High Asia. We examined range-wide historical and contemporary genetic structure using mitochondrial DNA sequences from the control region and cytochrome-b genes and 12 autosomal microsatellites. Our analyses revealed signatures of a glacial refugium on the Tibetan Plateau, and at least one refugium within the Tian Shan-Pamir-Hindu Kush-Karakoram mountain ranges. A lack of spatial structure amongst two of three distinct haplogroups suggests historical genetic divergence during isolation followed by expansions and lineage admixture. Concordant assessments of contemporary genetic variation indicated two global populations, though we detected geographic differences between historical and contemporary population structure and connectivity. Using the largest sample size and geographic coverage to date, we demonstrate novel information on the phylogeographic history of snow leopards, and corroborate existing data on snow leopard connectivity and genetic structure. We recommend that conservation efforts focus on conserving unique genetic diversity and establishing population-specific conservation units.
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Keywords
Conservation, Conservation genetics, Landscape genetics, Phylogeography, Snow leopard