APPLICATIONS AND IMPLICATIONS OF PHYLOGEOGRAPHY FOR CANID CONSERVATION

MARTINEZ PABLO A. ; ZURANO JUAN P.; MOLINA WAGNER F. ; BIDAU CLAUDIO J.

MASTOZOOLOGÍA NEOTROPICAL

UNIDAD DE ZOOLOGÍA Y ECOLOGÍA ANIMAL, INSTITUTO ARGENTINO DE INVESTIGACIÓN DE LAS ZONAS ARIDAS, CRICYT, CONICET

Lugar: Mendoza; Año: 2013 vol. 20 p. 61 - 74

Phylogeographic studies are currently used to infer historical demographic processes such as gene flow, determination of effective population sizes, colonisation dynamics, and population bottlenecks, as well as for the determination of species boundaries and the identification of possible conservation units. We present a review of the main contributions of this approach, and its applications and implications for canid conservation. Studies performed in canids have shown that the number of named subspecies is often larger than that of phylogeographicunits. In recent times, the fragmentation of habitats has increased and one of the major concerns of conservation biologists is the occurrence of inbreeding. Large-sized canids have demonstrated to have enough physiological and behavioural plasticity to survive in open habitats, while smaller species that depend on closedhabitats are more susceptible to fragmentation. Another process that strongly affects canids is hybridisation because contacts between wild and domestic populations have increased, leading to gene introgression into natural populations. Canids are a key element in food chains; thus, a precise knowledge of intraspecific subdivision is of the utmost relevance for their management before these carnivores disappear, with unknown social, economic, and ecological consequences. In this sense, phylogeographic studies constitute a fundamental tool.