Zoological Survey of India, New Alipore, Kolkata, 700053, West Bengal, India.
Amity Institute of Forestry and Wildlife, Amity University, Sector-125, Noida, 201303, India.
Mol Biol Rep. 2022 Jan;49(1):811-816. doi: 10.1007/s11033-021-06845-5. Epub 2021 Oct 19.
The sambar (Rusa unicolor) is one of the largest deer distributed across diverse habitats of India and threatened due to habitat loss, changes in the land-use patterns, illegal poaching, and anthropogenic disturbances. Here, we report the first population genetics account of sambar deer from the Western Himalayas.
We observed relatively compromised genetic diversity (π = 0.0008 ± 0.0006 at mtDNA and Ho = 0.499 ± 0.056 at nDNA). We identified 60 unique individuals using a select panel of seven loci (P sib cum 1.60E-03). Bayesian skyline plot showed a stable demographic history since the past 8 kyr with a decline in recent years. The population lacked genetic structuring, likely due to the contiguous distribution and large dispersal patterns of sambar.
The preliminary findings are valuable in exploring the utility of genetic diversity in monitoring the sambar population, estimating density following capture-recapture analysis, and aid to the conservation planning of sambar in large landscapes.
水鹿（Rusa unicolor）是分布在印度各种生境中的最大鹿种之一，由于栖息地丧失、土地利用方式变化、非法偷猎和人为干扰，它们面临威胁。在这里，我们报告了来自喜马拉雅山西部的水鹿种群的第一个群体遗传学描述。
我们观察到相对较低的遗传多样性（mtDNA 的π=0.0008±0.0006，nDNA 的 Ho=0.499±0.056）。我们使用一个选择的七个基因座的面板（P sib cum 1.60E-03）鉴定了 60 个独特个体。贝叶斯天空线图显示，过去 8000 年来，种群的历史呈现出稳定的人口动态，但近年来有所下降。种群缺乏遗传结构，这可能是由于水鹿的连续分布和广泛的扩散模式。
初步研究结果对于监测水鹿种群的遗传多样性、估计捕获再捕获分析后的密度以及在大面积景观中帮助水鹿的保护规划具有重要价值。
