Preliminary data on the genetic structure of puma (Puma concolor) populations in Argentina.

ORLANDO GALLO; DIEGO F. CASTILLO; GODHINO RAQUEL; GUERISOLI, MARIA DE LAS MERCEDES; LUCHERINI, MAURO; CASANAVE, EMMA

Moscow

Congreso; 97th annual meeting of the american society of Mammalogists; 2017

University of Idaho

Genetic isolation due to habitat fragmentation and the consequent loss of landscape connectivity is considered a major threat to wildlife conservation, especially for wide-ranging carnivores, such as puma. In this work we investigated puma genetic diversity and population structure in Argentina, increasingly affected by habitat loss, using 40 puma samples including scats, dead animals and museum specimens. We analyzed a set of 30 microsatellite loci displaying between 3 and 13 alleles. Across all samples and 29 loci (missing value