Hypoderma actaeon: an emerging myiasis in roe deer (Capreolus capreolus)

Subcutaneous larvae of Hypoderma spp. (Diptera: Oestridae) were detected in the dorsal region in 10 roe deer, Capreolus capreolus (Artiodactyla: Cervidae), hunted in central Spain between January and March 2016. All larvae were found in the inner side of the hide during the skinning of the animals. The study of the morphological features of eight larvae of different stages collected from two animals allowed the identification of Hypoderma actaeon Brauer. The small size (4–5 mm) of some of the first instars suggests that the internal lifecycle of H. actaeon may be exclusively subcutaneous. This is the first confirmation of H. actaeon in roe deer; however, further studies to assess the spread of the parasite and to follow the evolution of this myiasis in roe deer are needed.     

Temporal shifts of DNA‐microsatellite allele profiles in roe deer (Capreolus capreolus L.) within three decades

DNA‐microsatellite polymorphism (four loci) was studied in 56 male roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) from a 900‐ha hunting territory in the Vosges du Nord Mountains (France), culled over 34 years (1956–1990). Changed allele frequencies at two loci within this period, and increased allelic diversity, were traced to a phase of reduced population density and subsequent immigration. Decadic population samples collected within 900‐ha were distinguished by higher genetic variability measures than were certain geographical samples across Central Europe (4–900 km). On average, the decadic cohorts were distinguished by a gene diversity index of G_ST = 0.0286, and a genetic distance of D = 0.0938, which reflect 54% (G_ST) and 69% (D) of the respective geographic (350 km) differentiation indices of roe deer in Central Europe. The importance of demography and population ecology effects for microevolution in a large mammal is demonstrated, as is the risk of artefact by composing population samples of deer over several years. Population genetic screening should cover various demes of roe deer from the same general region, and be based on many unlinked polymorphic loci, to minimize the distorting effects of genetic dynamics at the small spatial scale.     

Phylogeography of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) populations: the effects of historical genetic subdivisions and recent nonequilibrium dynamics

We sequenced 704 mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control-region nucleotides and genotyped 11 autosomal microsatellites (STR) in 617 European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) samples, aiming to infer the species' phylogeographical structure. The mtDNA sequences were split in three distinct haplogroups, respectively, named: Clade West, sampled mainly in Iberia; Clade East, sampled mainly in Greece and in the Balkans; and Clade Central, which was widespread throughout Europe, including the eastern countries and Iberia, but not Greece. These clades might have originated in distinct Iberian and Balkanic refuges during the penultimate or the last glaciations. Clades East and West contributed little to the current postglacial mtDNA diversity in central Europe, which apparently was recolonized mainly by haplotypes belonging to Clade Central. A unique subclade within Clade Central grouped all the haplotypes sampled from populations of the Italian subspecies C. c. italicus. In contrast, haplotypes sampled in central and southern Spain joined both Clade Central and Clade West, suggesting that subspecies C. c. garganta has admixed origin. STR data support a genetic distinction of peripheral populations in north Iberia and southern Italy, and show the effects of anthropogenic disturbance in fragmented populations, which were recently reintroduced or restocked and not may be in mutation-drift equilibrium. Roe deer in central Europe are mainly admixed, while peripheral populations in north Portugal, the southern Italian Apennines and Greece represent the remains of refugial populations and should be managed accordingly.     

匈牙利平原环境中狍的集群行为

20 0 2年 4月至 2 0 0 3年 4月利用直接观察法对匈牙利平原农田环境中狍的集群行为进行了研究 ,结果显示平均群体数量在寒冷的秋冬季节较大 ,最大群体数量也具有类似的变动趋势 ,2 0 0 3年 2月最大群体有 92 - 94只 ,并保持集群长达 2 0d ,在冷季以大于 5只的群体所占百分比较高。 2 0 0 2年 4月和 2 0 0 3年 3月集群开始解散 ,雄性个体在 2 0 0 2年 6、 7月的交配期独居或保持家庭小群 ,雌性主要与幼体构成家庭群。生活在小片林地的群体数量小于农田群体 ,作者认为农田平原环境的开阔性结构和繁殖生理状态是导致狍群体较大和集群行为变化的近因     

Genetic diversity and phylogeography of Siberian roe deer,Caproulus pygargus,in central and peripheral populations

Current understanding of phylogeographical structure and genetic diversity of Siberian roe deer remains limited mainly due to small sample size and/or low geographical coverage in previous studies. Published data suggest at least two phylogroups: western (Ural Mountains and Western Siberia) and eastern (east from lake Baikal, including the Korean peninsula), but their phylogenetic relationship remains unclear. Combined sequences of cytochrome b (1140 bp) and the mtDNA control region (963 bp) were analyzed from 219 Siberian roe deer from 12 locations in Russia, Mongolia, and South Korea, which cover a large part of its range, to assess genetic diversity and phylogeographical status. Special emphasis was placed on the demographic history and genetic features of central, peripheral, and isolated populations. Results of median‐joining network and phylogenetic tree analyses indicate that Siberian roe deer from the Urals to the Pacific Ocean are genetically diverse and that geographical distribution and composition of haplogroups coincide with previously described ranges of the subspecies Capreolus pygargus pygargus and Capreolus pygargus tianschanicus. We found that peripheral populations in the northwestern parts of the species range (Urals), as well as the isolated population from Jeju Island, are genetically distinct from those in the core part of the range, both in terms of genetic diversity and quantitative composition of haplogroups. We also found that northwestern (Urals) and northern (Yakutia) peripheral populations share the same haplogroup and fall into the same phylogenetic clade with the isolated population from Jeju Island. This finding sheds light on the taxonomic status of the Jeju Island population and leads to hypotheses about the discordance of morphological and genetic evolution in isolated populations and specific genetic features of peripheral populations.     

Quaternary history of the European roe deer Capreolus capreolus

• 1 The European roe deer Capreolus capreolus is a typical faunal element of the Holocene. It was already present in Europe at least 600 000 years ago and it has been known from both glacial and interglacial phases since then. With nearly 3000 fossil and subfossil records, it is one of the most frequent mammals in the Late Quaternary.
• 2 During the Middle and Late Weichselian Pleniglacial, the distribution of the roe deer was not restricted to the Mediterranean peninsulas but repeatedly reached regions of central Europe. In contrast to that, roe deer records from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, 21.0–14.5 ka ¹⁴C BP) are largely confined to the Mediterranean peninsulas – with the exception of south‐western France and the surroundings of the Carpathians where several records attest to its occurrence during the LGM.
• 3 During the Greenland Interstadial 1 (12.5–10.8 ka ¹⁴C BP), the species' distribution extended further north and the roe deer appeared north of the Alps and reached regions of central Germany. This seems to be correlated with the abrupt change to more favourable environmental conditions during this period. It is very likely that the roe deer disappeared north of the Alps during the Younger Dryas cooling (10.8–10.0 ka¹⁴C BP). The northern regions of the central European lowlands were recolonized by roe deer during the late Preboreal 9.7–9.5 ka ¹⁴C BP for the first time since the Weichselian Glacial.
• 4 The combined pattern of genetic data and fossil records of European roe deer suggests several regions in the Iberian peninsula, southern France, Italy and the Balkans as well as in the Carpathians and/or eastern Europe as glacial refugia. It further suggests that C. capreolus might have recolonized most parts of central‐northern Europe out of one or more eastern European (not Balkan) and/or Carpathian refugia. This recolonization wave might have blocked immigration from the traditional Mediterranean areas.

     

Genetic diversity and phylogeography of the European roe deer: the refuge area theory revisited

The extant taxa of central and northern Europe are commonly believed to derive from Pleistocene ancestors, who moved to the north from three separate glacial refugia: the Iberian and Italian peninsulae, as well as the southern Balkans. The issue of postglacial dispersal patterns was addressed through the investigation of population structure and phylogeography of the European roe deer, Capreolus capreolus . The genetic diversity in 376 individuals representing 14 allegedly native populations across their European range was assessed, using ten autosomal microsatellite loci and restriction fragment length polymorphisms of the mitochondrial D-loop and NADH dehydrogenase 1 gene segments. Our results suggest the existence of three major genetic lineages of roe deer in Europe. One comprises populations in the south-western limit of the species' distribution (i.e. Iberia), where an internal substructure splits a northern from a southern sublineage. A second lineage includes populations of southern and eastern Europe, as well as a separate sublineage sampled in central-southern Italy, where the existence of the subspecies Capreolus c. italicus was supported. In central-northern Europe, a third lineage is present, which appeared genetically rather homogeneous, although admixed, and equally divergent from both the eastern and western lineages. Current patterns of intraspecific genetic variation suggest that postglacial recolonization routes of this cervid to northern Europe could be due to range expansion from one or more refugia in central-eastern Europe, rather than proceeding from the Mediterranean areas.  © 2006 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2006, 88 , 85–100.     

Environmental constraints in the colonization sequence of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus Linnaeus, 1758) across the Iberian Mountains, Spain

Aim This paper describes the dispersal process of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus Linnaeus, 1758) with respect to climatic factors, landscape characteristics and human activity. We hypothesized that environmental characteristics constrain the relative abundance and dispersal process of roe deer. Location The study was conducted in the Iberian Mountains, north‐eastern Spain, during 1986–2000. Methods Roe deer colonization dates in the study area were obtained from a survey for large mammals and from direct interviews with the employees of the Fish and Game Agency. We used a 10 × 10 km UTM grid as the sampling unit (n = 91). The relative abundance of roe deer was estimated by counting the number of pellet groups in line transects, which were representative of the habitat availability in the 10 × 10 km UTM grid. Climatic factors were obtained from meteorological stations placed near to the plot. Landscape structure indices, topography and human activity factors were obtained from digital maps using fragstats 3.3 and idrisi 32. We discarded a number of variables with no statistical significance and avoided multicollinearity by using Spearman rank correlation. Then, we used GLMz (with a multinomial error distribution and a logit link function) to analyse the influence of each variable considered in the dispersal process. Finally, GLMz (with a binomial error distribution and a logit link function) were used a posteriori to differentiate between the effects of the explanatory factors on a particular phase of the dispersal process. Results Our results indicate that proximity to a previously colonized grid significantly affected the global process of roe deer colonization. Independently of the proximity of the nearest population in the previous phase of colonization, our results also indicated that the dispersal process was influenced by precipitation and landscape structure, leading the species to colonize even apparently hostile places. Original nuclei of these populations occurred in territories with high and constant precipitation, and a landscape formed by mosaics of agricultural land with a high proportion of forests. During the expansion process, roe deer colonized territories with summer droughts, dominated by large agricultural patches and with few forest patches. Main conclusions These data support the working hypothesis that environmental characteristics constrain roe deer relative abundance and dispersal process through the Iberian Mountains. The location of the original nuclei of these populations probably had environmental conditions that were more favourable for the roe deer. Areas settled in the final phases of the dispersal process had low relative abundances of roe deer, and are likely to act mainly as dispersal corridors rather than being able to sustain viable populations themselves.     

Unexpected population genetic structure of European roe deer in Poland: an invasion of the mtDNA genome from Siberian roe deer

Introgressive hybridization is a widespread evolutionary phenomenon which may lead to increased allelic variation at selective neutral loci and to transfer of fitness‐related traits to introgressed lineages. We inferred the population genetic structure of the European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) in Poland from mitochondrial (CR and cyt b) and sex‐linked markers (ZFX, SRY, DBY4 and DBY8). Analyses of CR mtDNA sequences from 452 individuals indicated widespread introgression of Siberian roe deer (C. pygargus) mtDNA in the European roe deer genome, 2000 km from the current distribution range of C. pygargus. Introgressed individuals constituted 16.6% of the deer studied. Nearly 75% of them possessed haplotypes belonging to the group which arose 23 kyr ago and have not been detected within the natural range of Siberian roe deer, indicating that majority of present introgression has ancient origin. Unlike the mtDNA results, sex‐specific markers did not show signs of introgression. Species distribution modelling analyses suggested that C. pygargus could have extended its range as far west as Central Europe after last glacial maximum. The main hybridization event was probably associated with range expansion of the most abundant European roe deer lineage from western refugia and took place in Central Europe after the Younger Dryas (10.8–10.0 ka BP). Initially, introgressed mtDNA variants could have spread out on the wave of expansion through the mechanism of gene surfing, reaching high frequencies in European roe deer populations and leading to observed asymmetrical gene flow. Human‐mediated introductions of C. pygargus had minimal effect on the extent of mtDNA introgression.     

Predation has a greater impact in less productive environments: variation in roe deer, Capreolus capreolus, population density across Europe

Aim We aimed to describe the large‐scale patterns in population density of roe deer Caprelous capreolus in Europe and to determine the factors shaping variation in their abundance. Location Europe. Methods We collated data on roe deer population density from 72 localities spanning 25° latitude and 48° longitude and analysed them in relation to a range of environmental factors: vegetation productivity (approximated by the fraction of photosynthetically active radiation) and forest cover as proxies for food supply, winter severity, summer drought and presence or absence of large predators (wolf, Canis lupus, and Eurasian lynx, Lynx lynx), hunter harvest and a competitor (red deer, Cervus elaphus). Results Roe deer abundance increased with the overall productivity of vegetation cover and with lower forest cover (sparser forest cover means that a higher proportion of overall plant productivity is allocated to ground vegetation and thus is available to roe deer). The effect of large predators was relatively weak in highly productive environments and in regions with mild climate, but increased markedly in regions with low vegetation productivity and harsh winters. Other potentially limiting factors (hunting, summer drought and competition with red deer) had no significant impact on roe deer abundance. Main conclusions The analyses revealed the combined effect of bottom‐up and top‐down control on roe deer: on a biogeographical scale, population abundance of roe deer has been shaped by food‐related factors and large predators, with additive effects of the two species of predators. The results have implications for management of roe deer populations in Europe. First, an increase in roe deer abundance can be expected as environmental productivity increases due to climate change. Secondly, recovery plans for large carnivores should take environmental productivity and winter severity into account when predicting their impact on prey.     

Cross‐amplification tests of ungulate primers in roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) to develop a multiplex panel of 12 microsatellite loci

Cross‐amplification permits transposition of microsatellite markers to closely related species. Multiplexing reduces time and cost further, exploiting simultaneous amplification of several primers. In cross‐amplification tests of 55 ungulate primers in roe deer, 39 gave specific amplification products and 20 were polymorphic. Twelve primers were retained to form a multiplex kit. In 30 roe deer, average allelic diversity was 5.67 (range: 2–15), expected heterozygosity was 0.664 and mean polymorphic information content (PIC) value was 0.605. Probability of identity was P_ID= 5 × 10^?11 and probability of exclusion for parentage studies was P_E1 = 0.98856 and P_E2 = 0.99952.     

Mating system, sexual dimorphism, and the opportunity for sexual selection in a territorial ungulate

In mammals, species with high sexual size dimorphism tend tohave highly polygynous mating systems associated with high variancein male lifetime reproductive success (LRS), leading to a highopportunity for sexual selection. However, little informationis available for species with weak sexual size dimorphism. Ina long-term study population, we used parentage analysis basedon 21 microsatellite markers to describe, for the first time,variance in male lifetime breeding success (LBS) of roe deer,a territorial ungulate where males weigh less than 10% morethan females. LBS ranged from 0 to 14 (mean = 4.54, variance= 15.5), and its distribution was highly skewed, with only afew males obtaining high LBS and many males failing to breedor siring only one fawn. As predicted for polygynous specieswith low sexual size dimorphism, the standardized variance inmale LBS was low (I_m = 0.75) and was only slightly higher thanthe standardized variance in female LRS (I_f = 0.53), suggestinga low opportunity for sexual selection. The I_m value reportedhere for roe deer is much lower than values reported for highlydimorphic ungulates such as red deer (I_m > 3). We suggestthat, along a continuum of opportunity for sexual selection,roe deer occupy a position closer to monogamous and monomorphicterritorial ungulates than to highly polygynous, sexually dimorphicungulates with dominance rank–based mating systems suchas harems or roving mating systems.