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Capture location of individual Amur leopards identified by a genetic survey. The study site (Land of the Leopard) is shown in gray. The representative sample GPS locations of 24 individuals are depicted as black dots. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0270217.g001
Source publication
Small populations of the endangered species are more vulnerable to extinction and hence require periodic genetic monitoring to establish and revisit the conservation strategies. The Amur leopard is critically endangered with about 100 individuals in the wild. In this study, we developed a simple and cost-effective noninvasive genetic monitoring pro...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... samples (n = 342) were collected by park rangers and researchers opportunistically from the Land of the Leopard (Fig 1) during six winter tracking surveys conducted from 2014 to 2019. Land of the Leopard is collectively referred to the Land of the Leopard National Park, National Park buffer zone and the Kedrovaya Pad' Biosphere Reserve (totally 3690 km 2 ). ...
Citations
... Nonetheless, the collective impact of habitat loss and unnatural mortality did already lead to local losses of genetic diversity [22] and increased population structure in some populations [23]. Genetic impoverishment has been reported in the critically endangered Amur leopard P. p. orientalis [24] and isolated island populations in South East Asia [25]. As suitable habitat is decreasing at a fast rate, and leopards are facing additional threats such as a lack of natural prey, unsustainable hunting, and poaching [26], a more in-depth understanding of the evolutionary history is needed to elaborate management plans for this species. ...
Revealing phylogeographic structure is important for accurate subspecies delineation and understanding a species’ evolutionary history. In leopards (Panthera pardus), there are currently nine subspecies recognized. On the African continent, only one subspecies occurs (P. p. pardus), although mitochondrial DNA from historical samples suggests the presence of three putative continental clades: (1) West Africa (WA), (2) Central Africa (CA), and (3) Southern Africa (SA). So far, whole genome data did not recover this phylogeographic structure, although leopards in the southern periphery of their distribution range in Africa have not yet been investigated in detail. The Mpumalanga province of South Africa is of particular interest, as here, the CA and the SA clade possibly meet. The aim of this study was to characterize the first mitogenomes of African leopards from Mpumalanga, to help clarifying how South African leopards fit into continental patterns of genetic differentiation. Complete mitogenomes from nine leopards, including a strawberry leopard, were assembled de novo and included in phylogenetic analysis, in combination with 32 publicly available mitogenomes. Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood analyses identified two deeply diverged putative clades within South Africa, which were more genetically distinct than two subspecies in Asia. The clades dated back to 0.76-0.86 million years ago, indicating that they originated during the climatically unstable Mid-Pleistocene, as seen in other large mammals. The Pleistocene refuge theory states that the maintenance of savanna refugia in East and Southern Africa promoted the divergence between populations. As such, leopards may reflect the unique climatic history of southern Africa, which has resulted in eminent and endemic genetic diversity.
... According to a joint survey conducted by Chinese and Russian researchers in 2014-2015, the estimated population of Amur leopards in the two countries was 84 individuals [3]. Recent evidence suggests that the population of Amur leopards is recovering [4,5], but they still face severe conservation challenges such as inbreeding [6] and habitat loss [7]. Without intervention, under varying levels of inbreeding depression, the risk of extinction within 100 years ranges from 10.3% to 99.9% [8]. ...
Simple Summary
The Lower Tumen River basin habitat at the Sino-North Korean border is crucial for reestablishing Amur leopards in the Korean Peninsula, where they once thrived. However, except for the Jingxin–Dapanling (JD) and Mijiang (MJ) corridors, most areas have become impassable due to human activities and urbanization. In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of the MJ corridor by analyzing the species abundance, forest structure, landscape features, and disturbance factors. Our findings indicate that leopard activity is predominantly concentrated in the northern part of the corridor, with little to no presence in the middle and southern regions near the North Korean border. Human disturbances, forest structure, and infrastructural obstacles seem to impede the movement of leopards. To ensure the resurgence of the leopard population in the Korean Peninsula, it is imperative to mitigate or eliminate the impacts of these hindrances. This entails reducing human disturbances, enhancing forest structure, and removing infrastructural barriers. Such efforts are vital to facilitate the revival of the Amur leopards in their former range in the Korean Peninsula.
Abstract
The interconnected forest regions along the lower Tumen River, at the Sino-North Korean border, provide critical habitats and corridors for the critically endangered Amur Leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis). In this region, there are two promising corridors for leopard movement between China and North Korea: the Jingxin–Dapanling (JD) and Mijiang (MJ) corridors. Past studies have confirmed the functionality of the JD corridor, but leopards’ utilization of the MJ corridor has not yet been established or confirmed. In this study, we assessed the functionality of the MJ corridor. The study area was monitored using camera traps between May 2019 and July 2021. We also analyzed 33 environmental and vegetation factors affecting leopard survival and analyzed leopard movement. In the Mijiang area, the Amur leopard was mainly active in the region adjacent to the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park and did not venture into area near the North Korean border. The complex forest structure allowed leopards to move into the Mijiang area. However, the high intensity of human disturbance and manufactured physical barriers restricted further southward movement. Therefore, human-induced disturbances such as grazing, mining, farming, logging, and infrastructure development must be halted and reversed to make the Mijiang region a functional corridor for the Amur leopard to reach the North Korean forest. This necessitates inter-governmental and international cooperation and is essential for the long-term survival of the Amur leopard.
... Archival and non-invasively collected sample material is increasingly utilized in molecular studies of wildlife species, particularly if these are rare, elusive, protected, or inhabit areas that are difficult to access (e.g., Cho et al., 2022;Hessels et al., 2021;Mengüllüoğlu et al., 2021;Paijmans et al., 2020;Sacks et al., 2021;von Thaden et al., 2021). ...
The sun bear Helarctos malayanus is one of the most endangered ursids, and to date classification of sun bear populations has been based almost exclusively on geographic distribution and morphology. The very few molecular studies focussing on this species were limited in geographic scope. Using archival and non-invasively collected sample material, we have added a substantial number of complete or near-complete mitochondrial genome sequences from sun bears of several range countries of the species' distribution. We here report 32 new mitogenome sequences representing sun bears from Cambodia, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, and Borneo. Reconstruction of phylogenetic relationships revealed two matrilines that diverged ~295 thousand years ago: one restricted to portions of mainland Indochina (China, Cambodia, Thailand; "Mainland clade"), and one comprising bears from Borneo, Sumatra, Peninsular Malaysia but also Thailand ("Sunda clade"). Generally recent coalescence times in the mitochondrial phylogeny suggest that recent or historical demographic processes have resulted in a loss of mtDNA variation. Additionally, analysis of our data in conjunction with shorter mtDNA sequences revealed that the Bornean sun bear, classified as a distinct subspecies (H. m. euryspilus), does not harbor a distinctive matriline. Further molecular studies of H. malayanus are needed, which should ideally include data from nuclear loci.
... = 0.32). Population habitat range and habitat quality are often considered to be an important factor affecting the genetic diversity of leopard populations (Cho et al., 2022;Dutta et al., 2013). Wang et al. (2022c) found that livestock grazing in the TNR and its surrounding areas were very intense, with 195 incidents of leopard predation on domestic cattle recorded in the region between 2015 and 2019. ...
Leopard (Panthera pardus) populations on the Chinese Loess Plateau have experienced severe declines and were once on the verge of extinction. Currently, leopards in the Loess Plateau region are mainly scattered in human-dominated fragmented habitats in Shanxi, Shaanxi and Ningxia. The lack of information on the genetic diversity and genetic structure makes difficult to assess the resistance and persistence of this metapopulation to various factors. In this study, we used mitochondrial ND-5 gene sequences and eight microsatellite loci to genetically analyze 97 faecal samples collected from three leopard ranges on the Loess Plateau of China. Among these samples, 62 feces were successfully identified from 22 individuals (6 females, 16 males). Mitochondrial haplotypes showed four different haplotypes and the genetic diversity was moderate (Hd = 0.331, Pi = 0.0036), while SSR showed high diversity (PIC = 0.673). STRUCTURE and TESS analyses revealed that leopard populations on the Loess Plateau appeared to have a distinct population boundary (K = 2) associated with a spatial-geographic barrier (the Yellow River). We estimate that the time of population divergence occurred between 8700 and 8300 years BP. Based on this research, we suggest that the leopard population on both sides of the Yellow River should be divided into two conservation management units to improve the efficiency of conservation management and contribute to the better recovery of the North Chinese leopard population.
Revealing phylogeographic structure is important for accurate subspecies delineation and understanding a species’ evolutionary history. In leopards ( Panthera pardus ), there are currently nine subspecies recognized. On the African continent, only one subspecies occurs ( P. p. pardus ), although historic mitochondrial DNA suggests the presence of three putative continental lineages: (1) West Africa (WA), (2) Central Africa (CA), and (3) Southern Africa (SA). So far, genome-wide data did not recover this phylogeographic structure, although leopards in the southern periphery of their distribution range in Africa have not yet been investigated in detail. The Mpumalanga province of South Africa is of particular interest, as here the CA and the SA clade possibly meet. The aim of this study was to characterize the first mitogenomes of African leopards from Mpumalanga, to help clarifying how South African leopards fit into continental patterns of genetic differentiation. Complete mitogenomes from six leopards were assembled de novo and included in phylogenetic analysis, in combination with other publicly available mitogenomes. Bayesian inference and Maximum Likelihood analyses identified two deeply diverged putative lineages within South Africa, which are more genetically distinct than two subspecies in Asia. The lineages dated back to 0.73–0.87 million years ago, indicating that they originated during the climatically unstable Mid-Pleistocene, as seen in other large mammals. The Pleistocene refuge theory states that the maintenance of savanna refugia in South Africa promoted the divergence between populations. As such, leopards may reflect the unique climatic history of South Africa, which has resulted in eminent and endemic genetic diversity.
