Demography, genetics, and decline of a spatially structured population of lekking bird.

Details

Serval ID
serval:BIB_34E7079CA7E5
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
Demography, genetics, and decline of a spatially structured population of lekking bird.
Journal
Oecologia
Author(s)
Cayuela H., Prunier J.G., Laporte M., Gippet JMW, Boualit L., Guérold F., Laurent A., Foletti F., Jacob G.
ISSN
1432-1939 (Electronic)
ISSN-L
0029-8549
Publication state
Published
Issued date
01/2021
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
195
Number
1
Pages
117-129
Language
english
Notes
Publication types: Journal Article
Publication Status: ppublish
Abstract
Understanding the mechanisms underlying population decline is a critical challenge for conservation biologists. Both deterministic (e.g. habitat loss, fragmentation, and Allee effect) and stochastic (i.e. demographic and environmental stochasticity) demographic processes are involved in population decline. Simultaneously, a decrease of population size has far-reaching consequences for genetics of populations by increasing the risk of inbreeding and the strength of genetic drift, which together inevitably results in a loss of genetic diversity and a reduced effective population size ([Formula: see text]). These genetic factors may retroactively affect vital rates (a phenomenon coined 'inbreeding depression'), reduce population growth, and accelerate demographic decline. To date, most studies that have examined the demographic and genetic processes driving the decline of wild populations have neglected their spatial structure. In this study, we examined demographic and genetic factors involved in the decline of a spatially structured population of a lekking bird, the western capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus). To address this issue, we collected capture-recapture and genetic data over a 6-years period in the Vosges Mountains (France). Our study showed that the population of T. urogallus experienced a severe decline between 2010 and 2015. We did not detect any Allee effect on survival and recruitment. By contrast, individuals of both sexes dispersed to avoid small subpopulations, thus suggesting a potential behavioral response to a mate finding Allee effect. In parallel to this demographic decline, the population showed low levels of genetic diversity, high inbreeding and low effective population sizes at both subpopulation and population levels. Despite this, we did not detect evidence of inbreeding depression: neither adult survival nor recruitment were affected by individual inbreeding level. Our study underlines the benefit from combining demographic and genetic approaches to investigate processes that are involved in population decline.
Keywords
Animals, Birds/genetics, Ecosystem, Female, France, Genetic Drift, Genetic Variation, Genetics, Population, Humans, Inbreeding, Male, Population Density, Population Dynamics, Dispersal, Effective population size, Gene flow, Inbreeding depression, Population decline
Pubmed
Web of science
Create date
19/01/2021 20:24
Last modification date
23/03/2023 7:52
Usage data