Wen Xinyue, Dou Hailong
College of Life Science Qufu Normal University Qufu China.
School of Life Sciences Fudan University Shanghai China.
Ecol Evol. 2025 Mar 19;15(3):e71150. doi: 10.1002/ece3.71150. eCollection 2025 Mar.
The North China leopard population in the eastern Loess Plateau, China, is highly fragmented and faces an increased risk of extinction due to habitat loss and environmental change. Therefore, timely research on leopard conservation in the Loess Plateau region can provide scientific guidance for its management and population recovery. To investigate the impacts of habitat fragmentation on genetic diversity, we analyzed 129 fecal samples from the eastern foot of the Loess Plateau, China. Using eight pairs of microsatellite loci and mitochondrial gene sequences, we genetically identified 41 individual leopards. Analysis of microsatellite data showed an intermediate level of genetic diversity ( = 0.60). Based on the gene sequence, five haplotypes were identified, with a moderate level of genetic diversity ( = 0.23, = 0.00048). Inbreeding analyses documented significant population inbreeding pressure. Using VORTEX, we also explored the future development of the population by analyzing the population viability. The results indicated no extinction risk for the leopard population in the next 100 years under current genetic conditions. However, a loss of 22% genetic diversity is expected. These results emphasize the need to strengthen leopard monitoring, mitigate inbreeding, and restore habitat connectivity to preserve genetic diversity.
中国黄土高原东部的华北豹种群高度碎片化，由于栖息地丧失和环境变化，面临着更高的灭绝风险。因此，及时开展黄土高原地区豹的保护研究可为其管理和种群恢复提供科学指导。为了调查栖息地碎片化对遗传多样性的影响，我们分析了来自中国黄土高原东麓的129份粪便样本。利用八对微卫星位点和线粒体基因序列，我们从基因层面鉴定出了41只个体豹。微卫星数据分析显示遗传多样性处于中等水平（ = 0.60）。基于基因序列，鉴定出了五种单倍型，遗传多样性处于中等水平（ = 0.23， = 0.00048）。近亲繁殖分析记录了显著的种群近亲繁殖压力。我们还使用VORTEX软件，通过分析种群生存力来探索该种群的未来发展。结果表明，在当前遗传条件下，未来100年内豹种群不存在灭绝风险。然而，预计遗传多样性将损失22%。这些结果强调了加强豹监测、减轻近亲繁殖以及恢复栖息地连通性以保护遗传多样性的必要性。
