Phylogeography and conservation of the rarest felid of the Americas: the Andean cat (Leopardus jacobita)

COSSÍOS D.; RUIZ-GARCÍA M.; LUCHERINI M.; ANGERS B.

Mendoza

Congreso; 10th International Mammalogical Congress; 2009

The Andean cat is considered as one of the rarest felids of the world. In order to maintain the genetic integrity of the species, conservation units were assessed from genetic variability, population structure and evolutionary history. Due to the extreme scarcity of this species, most of the DNA samples were obtained from faeces collected during habitat surveys. Results confirmed that Andean cat populations harbour extremely low mitochondrial and nuclear genetic diversity. Comparison with pampas cat indicates historical bottleneck and low effective population size as responsible of the low diversity of Andean cat. The geographic repartition of the genetic diversity is very strong, but contrast with the one of other Andean species. Discrepancies may be explained by populations isolated in high-altitude islands, as well as the use of high-altitude corridors unavailable to other species. The particular structure lead to the recognition of two evolutionarily significant units (ESUs), with a latitudinal separation between 26°S and 35°S. In addition, two genetically distinct groups within the northern ESU could be considered separated management units (MUs).