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Linking habitat characteristics with genetic diversity of the European pine marten (Martes martes) in France

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Abstract

Although typically considered as a forest specialist species, the European pine marten (Martes martes) is an example of a number of species that have recently been found to also live in fragmented landscapes. Considering that habitat fragmentation and loss is a major threat to the persistence of mammal species in such landscapes, we investigated the association between habitat characteristics and genetic diversity across four pine marten populations occupying contrasting landscapes in France with different degrees of forest availability and fragmentation. Bayesian and multivariate clustering methods evidenced the presence of three genetic clusters and isolation by distance between populations was found at the national scale. We found an overall moderate level of genetic variability, but no evidence of a bottleneck or deficit in heterozygosity in any of the populations. No pattern of isolation by distance was found within the populations, except in the one located in the Pyrenean Mountains which appeared partly isolated from other continental populations and also showed a lower level of genetic diversity. No obvious association between the pattern of genetic variability and the pattern of forested habitat characteristics was found. We discuss the possibility that pine martens show greater behavioural plasticity than typically expected allowing them to adapt to different habitat types.

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Acknowledgments

We are very grateful to all the hunters and trappers of Ain, Saône-et-Loire, Ardennes and Ariège who helped us in field work, especially Willy Genton, Léon Boully and Daniel Vivant. We also thank the Ariège Association of Hunters, the students and technicians of the URCA-CERFE and Jean-François Noblet (Conseil Général Isère) for collecting samples. Many thanks to Ludovic Say for his very helpful comments and to John O’Brien who kindly edited the English. This study was supported by the French Hunting and Wildlife Agency (ONCFS), the Biometry and Evolutionary Laboratory (LBBE) of the university of Lyon, the Conseil Général de l’Isère, the Conseil Général des Ardennes, the Conseil Régional de Champagne-Ardennes, and the Communauté de communes de l’Argonne Ardennaise.

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  1. Centre de Recherche et de Formation en Eco-Ethologie, 2C2A, 5 rue de la Héronnière, F-08240, Boult-aux-Bois, France

    Marina Mergey & Rémi Helder

  2. Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage, CNERA-PAD, Montfort, F-01330, Birieux, France

    Jérémy Larroque, Sandrine Ruette & Jean-Michel Vandel

  3. Université Lyon 1; CNRS, UMR5558, Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, F-69622, Villeurbanne, France

    Jérémy Larroque & Sébastien Devillard

  4. Antagene, Immeuble le Meltem, 2, allée des Séquoias, F-69578, Limonest Cedex, France

    Guillaume Queney

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  1. Marina Mergey
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Correspondence to Sébastien Devillard.

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Mergey, M., Larroque, J., Ruette, S. et al. Linking habitat characteristics with genetic diversity of the European pine marten (Martes martes) in France. Eur J Wildl Res 58, 909–922 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-012-0634-2

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