Content uploaded by Ladislav Paule
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Ladislav Paule on Apr 11, 2017
Content may be subject to copyright.
Odhad veľkosti populácie medveďa hnedého na Slovensku na základe genetických analýz [Estimation of brown bear population size based on genetic analyses]
... In the West-Carpathian population, recent estimates indicate that the population is stable (approx. 1,250 individuals; Kaczensky et al., 2012;Paule et al., 2015), with a majority of bears in Slovakia and approximately a dozen or so in Poland. The East-Carpathian population in the Bieszczady Mountains is much smaller with approximately 83 individuals in Poland (Śmietana et al., 2014) and at least 15 individuals in Slovakia (Straka, Štofík, & Paule, 2013). ...
... However, Paule et al. (2015) identified two males, which migrated from Western Carpathians to the Bieszczady Mountains via straightline (distance about 180-200 km). It is in agreement with the sex-biased dispersal and asymmetric admixture found in our study. ...
The abundance and distribution of large carnivores in Europe have been historically reduced. Their recovery requires multilevel coordination, especially regarding trans-boundary populations. Here, we apply nuclear and mitochondrial genetic markers to test for admixture level and its impact on population genetic structure of contemporary brown bears (Ursus arctos) from the Eastern, Southern, and Western Carpathians. Carpathian Mountains (Europe). Nearly 400 noninvasive brown bear DNA samples from the Western (Poland) and Eastern Carpathians (Bieszczady Mountains in Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine) were collected. Together with DNA isolates from Slovakia and Romania, they were analyzed using the set of eight microsatellite loci and two mtDNA regions (control region and cytochrome b). A set of 113 individuals with complete genotypes was used to investigate genetic differentiation across national boundaries, genetic structuring within and between populations, and movement between populations. Transboundary brown bear subpopulations (Slovakia and Poland) did not show significant internal genetic structure, and thus were treated as cohesive units. All brown bears from the Western Carpathians carried mitochondrial haplotypes from the Eastern lineage, while the Western lineage prevailed in the brown bears from the Bieszczady Mountains. Despite similar levels of microsatellite variability, we documented significant differentiation among the studied populations for nuclear markers and mtDNA. We also detected male-biased and asymmetrical movement into the Bieszczady Mountains population from the Western Carpathians. Our findings suggest initial colonization of the Western Carpathians by brown bears possessing mtDNA from the Eastern lineage. Genetic structuring among populations at microsat-ellite loci could be a result of human-mediated alterations. Detected asymmetric gene flow suggests ongoing expansion from more abundant populations into the Bieszczady Mountains and thus supports a metapopulation model. The knowledge concerning this complex pattern can be implemented in a joint Carpathian brown bear management plan that should allow population mixing by dispersing males.
The genus Baylisascaris (order Ascaridida) includes numerous relatively host-specific nematodes, which are common in intestines of wild mammals. Some of them may have impact on veterinary and public health, as their larvae have the potential to cause visceral, ocular, and/or neural larva migrans in a wide range of mammals, birds, and humans. Baylisascaris transfuga is a parasite occurring in a range of bear species throughout the world. We present the current data on B. transfuga occurrence in brown bears from a relatively restricted territory of the Poľana Protected Landscape Area in Central Slovakia, obtained by traditional methods (faecal examination, morphology). Species affiliation was confirmed by employing molecular markers generating nuclear 28S and mitochondrial cox1 sequences in adult worms. Based on 17 examined samples (15 excrements and two intestines of young bear females), the occurrence of B. transfuga in the surveyed area was assessed as 52.9%. Both bear females were infected with adult and juvenile worms. Due to the high density of bears in the locality, the high infection rate with ascarids, and the huge number of eggs produced by the parasites, it is apparent that the respective environment, including the inhabited areas, might be markedly contaminated by Baylisascaris eggs. The ability of B. transfuga to serve as a zoonotic agent has not been unambiguously proved; however, this attribute should be considered and subjected to further research.
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any references for this publication.