Zoological Survey of India, New Alipore, Kolkata, 700053, West Bengal, India.
Department of Zoology, University of Calcutta, Kolkata, 700019, West Bengal, India.
Sci Rep. 2023 Oct 24;13(1):18152. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-44823-y.
The trans-Himalayan region of India, although have xeric features, still supports a unique assemblage of biodiversity, including some of the charismatic and endemic species. In the present study, we studied blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur) across the distribution range in the Western trans Himalayas of India and found about 18,775 km area suitable for blue sheep. The explicit Bayesian based spatial and non-spatial population structure analysis assigned blue sheep into two genetic populations, i.e., Ladakh and Lahaul-Spiti. We found relatively high genetic divergence in blue sheep which is also supported by the low current flow in Circuitscape model. With the multiple evidences, we explain landscape resistance facilitated by the landscape heterogeneity, and large patches of unsuitable habitats forced population divergence and poor functional connectivity. We found that blue sheep population has been demographically stable in the past, but showed a slight decline within the last few decades. This study is the first range-wide attempt to exhibit landscape features in shaping the spatial distribution, genetic structure and demography patterns of blue sheep in Western Himalayas, and will be of use in the conservation and management planning of blue sheep.
印度横断山区虽然具有干旱特征，但仍支持着独特的生物多样性组合，包括一些有魅力和特有的物种。在本研究中，我们对分布在印度西部横断山区的蓝羊（Pseudois nayaur）进行了研究，发现约 18775 平方公里的区域适合蓝羊生存。基于明确贝叶斯的空间和非空间种群结构分析，将蓝羊分为两个遗传种群，即拉达克和拉胡尔-斯皮蒂。我们发现蓝羊存在相对较高的遗传分化，这也得到了 Circuitscape 模型中低当前流动的支持。基于多种证据，我们解释了景观异质性所带来的景观阻力，以及大面积不适宜栖息地对种群分化和功能连通性的不利影响。我们发现，蓝羊种群在过去一直保持着人口统计学上的稳定，但在过去几十年里略有下降。这项研究首次在广泛的范围内尝试展示景观特征对蓝羊在西喜马拉雅地区的空间分布、遗传结构和种群动态模式的影响，这将有助于蓝羊的保护和管理规划。
