Saini Deepesh, Sonker Gaurav, Parab Tushar, Kolipakam Vishnupriya, Sathyakumar Sambandam, Lyngdoh Salvador, Gupta Sandeep Kumar
Wildlife Institute of India, Chandrabani, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, 248001, India.
Biochem Genet. 2025 Jan 11. doi: 10.1007/s10528-024-11014-x.
Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) supports a plethora of biodiversity with a unique assemblage of many charismatic and endemic species. We assessed the genetic diversity, demographic history, and habitat suitability of blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur) in the IHR through the analysis of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region (CR) and Cytochrome b gene, and 14 ecological predictor variables. We observed high genetic divergence and designated them into two genetic lineage groups, i.e., the Himalayan blue sheep (P. n. nayaur) in the western part, and the Chinese blue sheep (P. n. szechuanensis) in the eastern part. They exhibited poor connectivity due to landscape resistance. The genetic distance value suggested substantial genetic differentiation between them. The habitat selection by blue sheep indicated the disparity between the residence preferences in the western and eastern Himalayas. In both the regions, the habitat suitability was mostly influenced by the minimum temperature of the coldest month. However, in the eastern Himalayas, precipitation seasonality emerged as a significant variable influencing habitat suitability. These findings provided strong support for the presumption that the habitats preferred by blue sheep in the western Himalayas are dryer, compared with the preferred habitats in the eastern region, which were moister. The identification of two separate lineages of P. nayaur in the IHR has significant conservation implications as it underlines the necessity for a unique management approach for each lineage. In order to preserve genetic integrity, conservation efforts must make sure that each population is maintained and monitored separately, as genetic divergence across the lineages that might indicate reproductive isolation. This study has potential conservation implications as it provides insights on the crucial ecological information of a relatively lesser-known ungulates species of Himalaya essential for effective conservation planning.
印度喜马拉雅地区（IHR）拥有丰富的生物多样性，有许多具有独特魅力的特有物种。我们通过分析线粒体DNA（mtDNA）控制区（CR）和细胞色素b基因以及14个生态预测变量，评估了IHR地区岩羊（Pseudois nayaur）的遗传多样性、种群历史和栖息地适宜性。我们观察到高度的遗传分化，并将它们分为两个遗传谱系组，即西部的喜马拉雅岩羊（P. n. nayaur）和东部的中华岩羊（P. n. szechuanensis）。由于景观阻力，它们之间的连通性较差。遗传距离值表明它们之间存在显著的遗传分化。岩羊的栖息地选择表明了喜马拉雅山脉西部和东部在居住偏好上的差异。在这两个地区，栖息地适宜性主要受最冷月最低温度的影响。然而，在喜马拉雅山脉东部，降水季节性成为影响栖息地适宜性的一个重要变量。这些发现有力地支持了这样一种推测，即与东部较为湿润的首选栖息地相比，喜马拉雅山脉西部岩羊更喜欢干燥的栖息地。在IHR地区识别出两个独立的岩羊谱系具有重要的保护意义，因为它强调了对每个谱系采取独特管理方法的必要性。为了保持遗传完整性，保护工作必须确保每个种群分别得到维持和监测，因为不同谱系之间的遗传分化可能表明存在生殖隔离。这项研究具有潜在的保护意义，因为它提供了关于喜马拉雅地区一种相对鲜为人知的有蹄类动物关键生态信息的见解，这对有效的保护规划至关重要。
