Habitat fragmentation and population genetic structure in the endangered Cantabrian capercaillie

FAMELI, A; MORÁN, M; RODRÍGUEZ-MUÑOZ, R; FERNÁNDEZ-GIL, A; BAÑUELOS, MJ; MIROL, P

Glasgow

Congreso; 3rd European Congress of Conservation Biology ? ECCB; 2012

The Cantabrian capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus cantabricus) inhabits northern Spain, and is considered as an Evolutionary Significant Unit at high extinction risk due to a rapid demographic decline over the past 30 years. This decline takes place in a fragmented landscape that may contribute to isolation between groups, which in turn might increase their local extinction risk. Using DNA from faeces collected in 2009 from five areas at the Western margin of its distribution, we characterized genetic variability using microsatellites and evaluated the existence of population structure. A mantel test showed no correlation between genetic and geographic distances, while a Bayesian analysis indicated the presence of 4 groups not strictly related to geography. However, one of these groups only included individuals from one particular area, a wildlife reserve, which would suggest that birds living at high quality habitat do not disperse as much as others. Despite the fact that the remaining three groups were constituted by birds from all sampling localities, only a minority of individuals showed mixed ancestry. These results suggest that capercaillies are able to move throughout the sampling area, although reproduction might take place preferentially among a few local individuals, with migrants having low reproductive success.