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50,000 years of genetic uniformity in the critically endangered Iberian lynx
Author(s) -
RODRÍGUEZ RICARDO,
RAMÍREZ OSCAR,
VALDIOSERA CRISTINA E.,
GARCÍA NURIA,
ALDA FERNANDO,
MADURELLMALAPEIRA JOAN,
MARMI JOSEP,
DOADRIO IGNACIO,
WILLERSLEV ESKE,
GÖTHERSTRÖM ANDERS,
ARSUAGA JUAN LUIS,
THOMAS MARK G.,
LALUEZAFOX CARLES,
DALÉN LOVE
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
molecular ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.619
H-Index - 225
eISSN - 1365-294X
pISSN - 0962-1083
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-294x.2011.05231.x
Subject(s) - critically endangered , biology , endangered species , genetic diversity , mtdna control region , peninsula , population , pleistocene , effective population size , small population size , population size , genetic variability , genetic variation , ecology , evolutionary biology , habitat , demography , genetics , allele , paleontology , genotype , sociology , gene , haplotype
Low genetic diversity in the endangered Iberian lynx, including lack of mitochondrial control region variation, is thought to result from historical or Pleistocene/Holocene population bottlenecks, and to indicate poor long‐term viability. We find no variability in control region sequences from 19 Iberian lynx remains from across the Iberian Peninsula and spanning the last 50 000 years. This is best explained by continuously small female effective population size through time. We conclude that low genetic variability in the Iberian lynx is not in itself a threat to long‐term viability, and so should not preclude conservation efforts.