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Reintroductions as a Management tool for European Ungulates
... One of the main project activities was the collection and analysis of data on previous reintroductions of red deer in Serbia and throughout Europe (e.g. Bojović, 1968;Tomić et al., 2010;Apollonio et al., 2014), with emphasis on errors and factors of the greatest significance for their success or failure. Thanks to that, measures were proposed to improve the ongoing reintroductions in Serbia, not only to improve the survival and reproduction of red deer, but also to make the reintroduction process as economical as possible. ...
... Habitat quality at the release site has a high impact on the success of reintroduction, if the number and origin of the inhabited breeding stock are favourable, which includes the degree to which the animals are dispersed from the release site (Griffith et al., 1989;Yott et al., 2011;Apollonio et al., 2014). The location of the acclimatisation enclosure Jezerine in the Tara area was determined with the participation of numerous experts (from Serbia, Slovenia and Italy) using landscape structure analyses and the common phytocoenological methodology (Gačić et al., 2018). ...
... One of the main project activities was the collection and analysis of data on previous reintroductions of red deer in Serbia and throughout Europe (e.g. Bojović, 1968;Tomić et al., 2010;Apollonio et al., 2014), with emphasis on errors and factors of the greatest significance for their success or failure. Thanks to that, measures were proposed to improve the ongoing reintroductions in Serbia, not only to improve the survival and reproduction of red deer, but also to make the reintroduction process as economical as possible. ...
... Habitat quality at the release site has a high impact on the success of reintroduction, if the number and origin of the inhabited breeding stock are favourable, which includes the degree to which the animals are dispersed from the release site (Griffith et al., 1989;Yott et al., 2011;Apollonio et al., 2014). The location of the acclimatisation enclosure Jezerine in the Tara area was determined with the participation of numerous experts (from Serbia, Slovenia and Italy) using landscape structure analyses and the common phytocoenological methodology (Gačić et al., 2018). ...
The modern approach in the development of programs for the reintroduction of red deer was applied for the first time in Serbia. We compared the most important planned and implemented activities in the period 2018-2021, and assessed the results achieved in the Mt. Tara area. The plan was to hold the red deer (5♂ + 15♀) in the acclimatisation enclosure for several months and release them into the selected favourable area (150 km<sup>2</sup>) during three consecutive years. Bark stripping occurred mainly on thinner common hazel stems of coppice origin (≤ 9.9 cm). Total mortality among the 72 red deer that were transported to the acclimatisation enclosure was 8.3%. The longest movement of a 4-year-old female (held for 15 weeks) was 24 km. During the study period, no bark stripping was observed outside the acclimatization enclosure, nor were any deaths of the released red deer registered. In the period 2019-2021, 74 red deer were released from the acclimatization enclosure into the Mt. Tara area, which is about 60% of the estimated capacity of the selected favourable area.
... The reintroduction and translocation of wild species for various purposes became a common practice worldwide and was used as a conservation tool for rescuing and reestablishing extirpated populations (Cullingham and Moehrenschlager 2013). Northern chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra L.) is one of the examples of successfully translocated species (Apollonio et al. 2014) in many areas of Europe (Crestanello et al. 2009;Martínková et al. 2012;Šprem and Buzan 2016), but also on other continents such as South America (Corlatti et al. 2011) and New Zealand (Christie 1964). Past translocations of chamois left a genetic signature in recent populations which can be now used for reconstructing undocumented events (Crestanello et al. 2009). ...
... Today's populations of the Northern chamois in northern Dinaric Mountains in Croatia are descendants of successfully translocated individuals captured on mountain areas in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Rupicapra rupicapra balcanica) and Slovenia (Rupicapra rupicapra rupicapra) (Apollonio et al. 2014;Šprem and Buzan 2016). Since different subspecies were involved in past reintroduction efforts, a contact zone was formed on the northern Velebit Mountains where these subspecies hybridise (Šprem and Buzan 2016). ...
The translocation of wild animal species became a common practice worldwide to re-establish local populations threatened with extinction. Archaeological data confirm that chamois once lived in the Biokovo Mountain but, prior to their reintroduction in the 1960s, there was no written evidence of their recent existence in the area. The population was reintroduced in the period 1964–1969, when 48 individuals of Balkan chamois from the neighbouring mountains in Bosnia and Herzegovina were released. The main objective of this study was to determine the accuracy of the existing historical data on the origin of the Balkan chamois population from the Biokovo Mountain and to assess the genetic diversity and population structure of the source and translocated populations 56 years after reintroduction. Sixteen microsatellite loci were used to analyse the genetic structure of three source chamois populations from Prenj, Čvrsnica and Čabulja Mountains and from Biokovo Mountain. Both STRUCTURE and GENELAND analyses showed a clear separation of the reintroduced population on Biokovo from Prenj’s chamois and considerable genetic similarity between the Biokovo population and the Čvrsnica-Čabulja population. This suggests that the current genetic composition of the Biokovo population does not derive exclusively from Prenj, as suggested by the available literature and personal interviews, but also from Čvrsnica and Čabulja. GENELAND analysis recognised the Balkan chamois from Prenj as a separate cluster, distinct from the populations of Čvrsnica and Čabulja. Our results thus highlight the need to implement genetic monitoring of both reintroduced and source populations of endangered Balkan chamois to inform sustainable management and conservation strategies in order to maximise the chances of population persistence.
... In order to describe and properly manage the remaining genetic diversity in sun bears molecular data are needed. For example, a phylogeographic approach can reveal management and evolutionary units (Avise, 1992;Moritz, 1994), help to identify conservation priorities (Goossens et al., 2013), and pinpoint suitable reintroduction locations (Apollonio et al., 2014). ...
The sun bear Helarctos malayanus is one of the most endangered ursids, and to date classification of sun bear populations has been based almost exclusively on geographic distribution and morphology. The very few molecular studies focussing on this species were limited in geographic scope. Using archival and non-invasively collected sample material, we have added a substantial number of complete or near-complete mitochondrial genome sequences from sun bears of several range countries of the species' distribution. We here report 32 new mitogenome sequences representing sun bears from Cambodia, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, and Borneo. Reconstruction of phylogenetic relationships revealed two matrilines that diverged ~295 thousand years ago: one restricted to portions of mainland Indochina (China, Cambodia, Thailand; "Mainland clade"), and one comprising bears from Borneo, Sumatra, Peninsular Malaysia but also Thailand ("Sunda clade"). Generally recent coalescence times in the mitochondrial phylogeny suggest that recent or historical demographic processes have resulted in a loss of mtDNA variation. Additionally, analysis of our data in conjunction with shorter mtDNA sequences revealed that the Bornean sun bear, classified as a distinct subspecies (H. m. euryspilus), does not harbor a distinctive matriline. Further molecular studies of H. malayanus are needed, which should ideally include data from nuclear loci.
... Species reintroductions, i.e., human-mediated attempts to re-establish extirpated species within parts of their former range, have become a common practice in conservation efforts (Armstrong and Seddon, 2008;Ottewell et al., 2014;Scandura et al., 2014;Boitani and Linnell, 2015). As the primary purpose of any reintroduction is to establish a self-sustaining population (IUCN/SSC, 2013), not only the establishment but also the long-term persistence of reintroduced population should be assessed to evaluate the success of such effort (Armstrong and Seddon, 2008). ...
Where reintroduced wildlife populations are considered as vulnerable this is generally due to limited founder size and isolation. While many of these populations show low levels of genetic diversity, little is known about the temporal patterns of genetic diversity loss and the role of initial founder effects vs. ongoing genetic drift. Here we analysed genotype data from 582 Eurasian lynx samples from the reintroduced Bohemian-Bavarian-Austrian population (BBA) over a time span of 35 years, representing approximately 13 generations. Two-wave reintroduction of lynx from at least two distinct West-Carpathian areas resulted in relatively high start-up of genetic diversity. After the initial decline when the population lost about a quarter of its genetic diversity compared to the Carpathian source population, the genetic diversity and effective population size remained almost unchanged over the next 20 years. Despite confirmed isolation of BBA and thus absence of gene flow, we detected relatively low inbreeding during the two recent decades within the slightly increasing population size, which may have prevented ongoing loss of genetic diversity. Given the current status of BBA, we do not support genetic reinforcement to maintain its long-term viability; but urge the importance of facilitating gene flow with neighbouring lynx populations through an improvement of landscape connectivity and by strengthening law enforcement as well as the prevention of illegal killings. A sound genetic monitoring alongside regular camera trap-based monitoring of population size, health status and reproduction is pivotal to decide on future conservation interventions.
... In historical times, when the populations were locally exterminated or their numbers were low, there were attempts to strengthen them with introduced animals (Apollonio et al., 2014;Baker & Hoelzel, 2013). ...
To provide the most comprehensive picture of species phylogeny and phylogeography of European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), we analyzed mtDNA control region (610 bp) of 1469 samples of roe deer from Central and Eastern Europe and included into the analyses additional 1541 mtDNA sequences from GenBank from other regions
of the continent. We detected two mtDNA lineages of the species: European and Siberian (an introgression of C. pygargus mtDNA into C. capreolus). The Siberian lineage was most frequent in the eastern part of the continent and declined toward Central Europe. The European lineage contained three clades (Central, Eastern, and Western) composed of several haplogroups, many of which were separated in space. The Western clade appeared to have a discontinuous range from Portugal to Russia. Most of the haplogroups in the Central and the Eastern clades were under expansion during the Weichselian glacial period before the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), while the expansion time of the Western clade overlapped with the Eemian interglacial. The high genetic diversity of extant roe deer is the result of their survival during the LGM probably in a large, contiguous range spanning from the Iberian Peninsula to the Caucasus Mts and in two northern refugia.
... In historical times, when the populations were locally exterminated or their numbers were low, there were attempts to strengthen them with introduced animals (Apollonio et al., 2014;Baker & Hoelzel, 2013). ...
To provide the most comprehensive picture of species phylogeny and phylogeography of European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), we analyzed mtDNA control region (610 bp) of 1469 samples of roe deer from Central and Eastern Europe and included into the analyses additional 1541 mtDNA sequences from GenBank from other regions of the continent. We detected two mtDNA lineages of the species: European and Siberian (an introgression of C. pygargus mtDNA into C. capreolus). The Siberian lineage was most frequent in the eastern part of the continent and declined toward Central Europe. The European lineage contained three clades (Central, Eastern, and Western) composed of several haplogroups, many of which were separated in space. The Western clade appeared to have a discontinuous range from Portugal to Russia. Most of the haplogroups in the Central and the Eastern clades were under expansion during the Weichselian glacial period before the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), while the expansion time of the Western clade overlapped with the Eemian interglacial. The high genetic diversity of extant roe deer is the result of their survival during the LGM probably in a large, contiguous range spanning from the Iberian Peninsula to the Caucasus Mts and in two northern refugia.
In mainland Europe, mouflon were first introduced in the 18th and 19th centuries, mainly in Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary. In the early 20th century, mouflon were introduced in Croatia, while all introductions in Slovenia occurred in the 1950s and 1960s. Since the introduction, populations in both countries have remained largely stable, with occasional declines and increases in some areas. Due to several up-following introduction events, also using individuals with unknown origin, the genetic pool of the species might be very admixed; however, no genetic study has been made to date. Therefore, our aim was to: i) determine the origin of introduced mouflon in Slovenia and Croatia, ii) compare the neutral and adaptive genetic make-up of introduced populations. In genetic analyses, which were performed at neutral loci (partial fragment of mitochondrial control region, mtDNA CR) and adaptive major histocompatibility complex (MHC; DRB exon 2) using the next generation sequencing approach, we also included individuals from Germany, France (Corsica), Italy (Sardinia), and the Czech Republic. The haplotype network based on mtDNA CR showed that most analysed mouflon from Slovenia shared the same haplotypes or were closely related to mouflon from Germany and Sardinia, and a few shared the same haplotypes as most mouflon from Croatia. Croatian mouflon from all studied populations shared the same or close haplotypes with individuals from the first Croatian population established in Brijuni Island National Park (northern Adriatic Sea) in the early 20th century. Similar results for populations in both countries were revealed by MHC genes. According to the genetic data, the population origins are generally in agreement with the written historical records, although there are indications of the introduction or release of extra individuals into certain colonies where historical data is lacking. Furthermore, our findings validate that both mitochondrial and MHC genetic diversity are useful tools for investigating the paths of translocation.
This comprehensive species-specific chapter covers all aspects of the mammalian biology, including paleontology, physiology, genetics, reproduction and development, ecology, habitat, diet, mortality, and behavior. The economic significance and management of mammals and future challenges for research and conservation are addressed as well. The chapter includes a distribution map, a photograph of the animal, and a list of key literature.
This comprehensive species-specific chapter covers all aspects of the mammalian biology, including paleontology, physiology, genetics, reproduction and development, ecology, habitat, diet, mortality, and behavior. The economic significance and management of mammals and future challenges for research and conservation are addressed as well. The chapter includes a distribution map, a photograph of the animal, and a list of key literature.
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