A Near-extinction Event in Lynx: Do Microsatellite Data Tell the Tale?

Fluctuations in population size can have a profound impact on effective population size and the maintenance of genetic variation within a population. A number of tests based on microsatellite data have been developed for the detection of bottleneck events in a population's past. In this paper,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Conservation ecology 2002-06, Vol.6 (1), p.15-15, Article art15
Main Authors: Spong, Goran, Hellborg, Linda
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alleles
bottleneck
conservation
Conservation biology
extinction
Genetic loci
Genetic mutation
genetic testing
Genetic variation
Genetics
Insight
Lions
Lynx
Mass extinctions
microsatellite data
Microsatellites
Population genetics
population history
Population size
Scandinavia
Statistical methods
Wildcats
Wildlife conservation
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Summary:Fluctuations in population size can have a profound impact on effective population size and the maintenance of genetic variation within a population. A number of tests based on microsatellite data have been developed for the detection of bottleneck events in a population's past. In this paper, we search for signs of a bottleneck in microsatellite data on the Scandinavian lynx (Lynx lynx) population. This population was hunted to the brink of extinction, with fewer than 100 animals (one estimate was as low as 30 individuals) remaining in the late 1920s. Protection allowed recovery of the population, which currently numbers about 2000 adults. Despite this pronounced demographic bottleneck (more than 95% of the population was killed), we could find no conclusive genetic evidence of a bottleneck using four of the recently developed tests for detecting such events.
ISSN:1195-5449
1708-3087
1195-5449
1708-3087
DOI:10.5751/es-00358-060115