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The former royal forests of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania present a unique example of centuries-old protection. Based on archival documents and published literature, we analyzed the evolution of the management and protection system of Białowieża Forest in the fourteenth-eighteenth century. The timeframe of our analysis (1386-1795) covers the period of the union of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The Białowieża Forest (BF, now on the borderland of Poland and Belarus) has been the most prominent example of successful long-term protection efforts. The results present: (1) the evolution of the legal status of BF in 1386-1795, (2) the role this woodland played for the monarchs, (3) the goals of protecting BF's resources, (4) types of threats to the forest environment and methods of counteracting risks and enforcing protection, and (5) the development of the hunting and forest personnel of BF and their duties. The egalitarian character and horizontal structure of that personnel, which existed since the fourteenth century (beaters), by the years 1765-1795 developed into a five-level, hierarchical structure (beaters, rangers, guards, subordinate foresters, and a forester), with differentiated tasks and a high complexity of responsibilities and duties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The historical biogeography of the terrestrial mammals in Europe has been widely studied on the basis of fossil records and molecular makers. However, to date, only one model of species' responses to glacial–interglacial cycles during the glacial episodes of the Quaternary, especially during the Last Glacial Maximum, has been proposed: the 'expansion‐contraction model'.The 'expansion‐contraction model' is more appropriate for thermophilous and temperate species than for Arctic species. We hypothesise that the responses of cold‐adapted species to the temperature fluctuations during glacial cycles cannot be explained by this model.In this review, we synthesise and describe, for the first time, the historical biogeography of various cold‐adapted terrestrial mammalian taxa (small mammals, herbivores, and carnivores) in Eurasia during the last glaciation (especially during the Last Glacial Maximum), and identify mechanisms underlying their response to glacier pulsation and severe climate fluctuations.We formulate the paradigm for the biogeography of cold‐adapted mammalian taxa in Europe, and identified three response models to glacial–interglacial cycles: 1) 'extinction and genetic diminution' for Lasiopodomys gregalis, Dicrostonyx spp. and Lemmus lemmus, 2) 'extinction and replacement' for Alopex lagopus, Gulo gulo and Rangifer tarandus, and 3) 'contraction and gene transfer' for Lepus timidus and Martes zibellina.Knowledge of past biogeography is essential for understanding how cold‐adapted taxa are responding to anthropogenic climate warming, and for on‐going biodiversity and habitat conservation in the Anthropocene. There is no doubt that cold‐adapted, Arctic species are suffering the most from global warming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Population dynamics of large herbivores are affected by density dependent and density independent processes. Changing population size causes variation in age- and sex-specific demographic parameters such as reproduction, survival and dispersal. With our study, based on meta-analyses of literature data, we aimed at (1) describing age-specific fertility rates of red deer ( Cervus elaphus ) throughout Europe, and (2) tracking negative density feedback in reproduction of female red deer. Across the species range, in most European populations (84%) females began breeding as yearlings. We observed age-specific variation in female fertility, which was the lowest and most diverse in yearling females. Increasing population density had a negative effect on female fertility in all age groups. There was no difference in the strength of the relationship between different age classes of females. In 1.5-year old females, at low and moderate densities, fertility exhibited a high variation, which could indicate strong susceptibility of youngest females to detrimental external factors. Our study showed that meta-analysis of Europe-wide data was able to detect biologically relevant relationships which may be difficult to observe when applying locally-based and time-scale approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecological and environmental heterogeneity can produce genetic differentiation in highly mobile species. Accordingly, local adaptation may be expected across comparatively short distances in the presence of marked environmental gradients. Within the European continent, wolves ( Canis lupus) exhibit distinct north-south population differentiation. We investigated more than 67-K single nucleotide polymorphism ( SNP) loci for signatures of local adaptation in 59 unrelated wolves from four previously identified population clusters (northcentral Europe n = 32, Carpathian Mountains n = 7, Dinaric-Balkan n = 9, Ukrainian Steppe n = 11). Our analyses combined identification of outlier loci with findings from genome-wide association study of individual genomic profiles and 12 environmental variables. We identified 353 candidate SNP loci. We examined the SNP position and neighboring megabase (1 Mb, one million bases) regions in the dog ( C. lupus familiaris) genome for genes potentially under selection, including homologue genes in other vertebrates. These regions included functional genes for, for example, temperature regulation that may indicate local adaptation and genes controlling for functions universally important for wolves, including olfaction, hearing, vision, and cognitive functions. We also observed strong outliers not associated with any of the investigated variables, which could suggest selective pressures associated with other unmeasured environmental variables and/or demographic factors. These patterns are further supported by the examination of spatial distributions of the SNPs associated with universally important traits, which typically show marked differences in allele frequencies among population clusters. Accordingly, parallel selection for features important to all wolves may eclipse local environmental selection and implies long-term separation among population clusters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glacial and interglacial periods throughout the Pleistocene have been substantial drivers of change in species distributions. Earlier analyses suggested that modern grey wolves (Canis lupus) trace their origin to a single Late Pleistocene Beringian population that expanded east and westwards, starting c. 25,000 years ago (ya). Here, we examined the demographic and phylogeographic histories of extant populations around the Bering Strait with wolves from two inland regions of the Russian Far East (RFE) and one coastal and two inland regions of North‐western North America (NNA), genotyped for 91,327 single nucleotide polymorphisms. Our results indicated that RFE and NNA wolves had a common ancestry until c. 34,400 ya, suggesting that these populations started to diverge before the previously proposed expansion out of Beringia. Coastal and inland NNA populations diverged c. 16,000 ya, concordant with the minimum proposed date for the ecological viability of the migration route along the Pacific Northwest coast. Demographic reconstructions for inland RFE and NNA populations reveal spatial and temporal synchrony, with large historical effective population sizes that declined throughout the Pleistocene, possibly reflecting the influence of broadscale climatic changes across continents. In contrast, coastal NNA wolves displayed a consistently lower effective population size than the inland populations. Differences between the demographic history of inland and coastal wolves may have been driven by multiple ecological factors, including historical gene flow patterns, natural landscape fragmentation, and more recent anthropogenic disturbance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The genetic structure of rodent populations may reflect their glacial and postglacial history. We studied the genetic structure of bank vole Myodes glareolus populations in north-eastern Poland, where two divergent mtDNA lineages met in the secondary contact zone. We investigated 441 specimens from 24 local populations using 10 microsatellite loci. We detected two clusters according to STRUCTURE and three genetic clusters in Geneland analysis. The observed spatial pattern of those groups was concordant with previously described distribution of mtDNA lineages in the area. The width of the transition zone between the genetic groups varied from 2.3 to 180.2 km in various parts of the study area. The observed genetic structure and the localization of range borders between the detected genetic clusters in the western part of study area were correlated with open, deforested habitats, which may have suppressed gene flow between the clusters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mountain regions have long been important for maintaining populations and genetic diversity of wild species, especially those species that require large areas to sustain viable populations. We examined wolves (Canis lupus) in the Caucasus, Carpathian, and Dinaric–Balkan regions, expecting these persistent populations to contain high genetic diversity and an overlap of the major haplogroups detected in earlier broad-scale investigations. We analyzed 926 mitochondrial DNA control region sequences, including 533 new samples whose geographic distribution allowed us to reduce sampling gaps observed in previous broad-scale studies. We estimated genetic variability, population structure, and phylogeographic relationships to evaluate the diversity and connectivity of populations throughout the study regions. We detected haplogroups H1 and H2 that overlapped across the study regions. Haplogroup H1 can be divided into three subgroups: H1A and H1B that partially overlap throughout the study regions, and H1C that was found only in wolves from Armenia. Haplogroup H2 was largely confined to the Carpathian and Dinaric–Balkan regions. Our analyses of population structure partly concurred with the haplogroup distribution and produced four major genetic clusters. Our results demonstrated high genetic diversity within the study regions, supporting their role in maintaining intraspecific variability in wolves and other species that require large areas to sustain viable populations. The unique diversity and north–south structure observed within the Caucasus emphasize the need for further research and conservation efforts in this highly biodiverse region. Our findings highlight the role of broad-scale planning in conserving evolutionary processes in this and other transboundary areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Question: Functional plant traits often express consistent changes along ecological gradients and, hence, are often used as indicators of environmental change (e.g. nutrient availability, temperature changes). Besides being driven by edaphic conditions, functional plant composition is filtered by herbivory, and traits responsive to nutrient availability often coincide with those related to palatability or resistance to browsing. We hypothesized that herbivory may distort the ways in which traits are expressed along environmental gradients. Location: Białowieża National Park, Poland. Methods: We used a long‐term controlled, exclosure experiment in the Białowieża National Park to study tree functional trait expression and plant indicator values, with and without large ungulate browsing, along a natural soil fertility gradient. Results: Browsing largely reduced the functional diversity of regenerating trees, indicated by multivariate analysis and Rao's Quadratic Entropy (RQE), and altered how several traits change with increasing fertility. Browsing led to an increase in specific leaf area (SLA) on poorer sites. RQE showed a hump‐backed trend along the fertility gradient, indicating the largest functional diversity at intermediate fertility. However, this pattern was not affected by browsing. Unlike the morphological tree traits, trends of light and N plant indicator values along the gradient were unaffected by browsing. Conclusions: These results highlight how the expression of plant traits resulting from one driver (soil fertility) can be modified by another driver (herbivory,) and stress the importance of taking herbivory into account when using plant traits as indicators of large‐scale processes (e.g. climate change). Furthermore, the results suggest that plant indicator values may be more robust towards these effects, while compiled indices such as RQE could mask considerable functional turnover. Several traits (e.g. SLA) are strongly connected to nutrient cycling. The development, driven by browsing, towards higher SLA on poorer sites may thus cause a positive feedback effect on site fertility that drives an increase in nutrient availability. This may in turn have implications for ecosystem functionality. Hence, the large reduction in functional diversity revealed at the scale of this study may in the long term have implications on multiple ecosystem processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant biomass consumers (mammalian herbivory and fire) are increasingly seen as major drivers of ecosystem structure and function but the prevailing paradigm in temperate forest ecology is still that their dynamics are mainly bottom-up resource-controlled. Using conceptual advances from savanna ecology, particularly the demographic bottleneck model, we present a novel view on temperate forest dynamics that integrates consumer and resource control., We used a fully factorial experiment, with varying levels of ungulate herbivory and resource (light) availability, to investigate how these factors shape recruitment of five temperate tree species. We ran simulations to project how inter- and intraspecific differences in height increment under the different experimental scenarios influence long-term recruitment of tree species., Strong herbivore-driven demographic bottlenecks occurred in our temperate forest system, and bottlenecks were as strong under resource-rich as under resource-poor conditions. Increased browsing by herbivores in resource-rich patches strongly counteracted the increased escape strength of saplings in these patches., This finding is a crucial extension of the demographic bottleneck model which assumes that increased resource availability allows plants to more easily escape consumer-driven bottlenecks. Our study demonstrates that a more dynamic understanding of consumer-resource interactions is necessary, where consumers and plants both respond to resource availability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reproductive performance of mammalian females depends on a broad set of extrinsic and intrinsic factors. One of the most important attributes for a female ungulate is body condition, which depends on food availability. Forage supply, in turn, is dependent on habitat quality, weather conditions, and animal density. The main objectives of our study, conducted in Augustów, Knyszyn, and Białowieża Forests in northeastern Poland from 2006 to 2011, were to quantify reproductive characteristics of female red deer (Cervus elaphus) and determine factors affecting their fertility. Targeted populations of nonmigratory deer were part of an almost natural system, which included seminatural closed forests, a multispecies ungulate guild, and large carnivores. Red deer in northeastern Poland occurred at relatively low densities and females exhibited good reproductive potential, reflected by high fertility rate, low age at 1st reproduction, and lack of reproductive senescence. Fertility was affected by age and body condition. The positive effect of body mass on female fertility declined with age, while the opposite relationship occurred with mandible fat content-its effect increased with female age. Environmental factors and population density did not affect fertility. Early survival and recruitment of young were high (73% and 52 young per 100 females, respectively). Survival of young increased with age of mother in young and prime-aged females and decreased in older females. Summer weather conditions at the time of the study were stable; therefore, their effect on female fertility was not evident. The negative effects of density dependence, which operate mainly through female body condition in this large ungulate, were weak, resulting in adequate food resources, and high fertility rates and population productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate genetic diversity and the population structure of the European moose ( Alces alces), we analyzed 14 microsatellite loci for 694 samples collected across 16 localities. The highest genetic diversity was detected in Belarus and Russia and the lowest was found in Scandinavia. Two major genetic clusters existed, Scandinavian and continental, and some further spatial structure was detected. There was high concordance between the spatial distribution of microsatellite clusters analyzed in the present study and previously recognized mitochondrial DNA clades of moose. The split of genetic lineages calculated using approximate Bayesian computation ( ABC) occurred at the beginning of the Last Glacial Maximum: approximately 29 000 and 28 000 years BP. A range-wide bottleneck detected by ABC took place 1800-1200 years BP, although a more recent decline in moose numbers was also documented in the 18th to early 20th Century. Genetic differentiation in European moose increased with geographical distance, and the Baltic Sea appeared to be a barrier to gene flow. We conclude that isolation in different glacial refugia, postglacial colonization, and declines of range and numbers in Holocene shaped the present pattern of genetic diversity of European moose. Based on genetic divergence and a lack of apparent gene flow, the contemporary Scandinavian and continental subpopulations should be treated as separate management units. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tree architectures reflect the main abiotic and biotic selection pressures determining tree growth and survival. Studies have shown that trees growing in herbivore‐dominated ecosystems, such as savannas, develop denser, more divaricate 'cage'‐like architectures in response to chronic browsing pressure (also known as 'brown world' architectures). In contrast, trees growing under resource‐limited conditions develop traits that allow them to better compete for abiotic resources (referred to as 'green world' architectures); for example, light limitation can induce trees to form more pole‐like structures that allow them to grow faster in height. In temperate forests, abiotic drivers have traditionally been assumed to be the main factors affecting plant architecture. However, gap dynamics typically characterize old‐growth temperate forests, where disturbances such as storms create gaps with temporary high‐light availability, but also attracting intense mammalian browsing. Under such conditions, one would expect tree saplings to exhibit high architectural plasticity enabling them to develop a 'cage' in response to high herbivore pressure, but when herbivore pressure declines switch to a more pole‐like structure that allows them to grow quickly in height and compete for light.We tested the ability of five dominant European tree species to induce a 'cage' architecture (hereafter referred to as 'cage plasticity') under contrasting light and herbivory regimes in a full‐factorial experiment in Białowieża Forest. We planted 720 young tree saplings in six replicated blocks in which we manipulated ungulate browsing (exclosure vs. control) and light levels (gap vs. closed forest).Two out of the five species (hornbeam Carpinus betulus and lime Tilia cordata) were able to develop a cage when exposed to ungulate herbivores but only under high‐light conditions. These two species had the highest survival rates in the herbivory treatment over a 10‐year period.Synthesis. Cage plasticity in temperate forest tree species may reflect an overlooked adaptation to mammal herbivory originating in a past when large mammals exerted strong selection pressures in European ecosystems. Our findings challenge the view of closed‐canopy forest communities being solely driven by abiotic drivers and call for a re‐evaluation of the importance of large herbivores in shaping the functional traits of temperate tree species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim Moose, Alces alces (Linnaeus, 1758), survived the European Pleistocene glaciations in multiple southern refugia, in a northern refugium near the Carpathians and possibly in other locations. During the second millennium ad, moose were nearly extirpated in Europe and only recolonized their current range after World War II. The number and location of refugia during the Pleistocene and recent population lows may have affected the current genetic diversity. We sought to characterize the genetic diversity in European moose in order to determine its genetic structure and the location of genetic hotspots as a way of inferring its population history and the number of Last Glacial Maximum ( LGM) refugia. Location Europe. Methods We sequenced 538 nucleotides from the mitochondrial control region of 657 moose from throughout the species' European range. We estimated diversity within and among 16 sampling localities, and used samova to cluster sampling locations into subpopulations. We constructed phylogenetic trees and median-joining networks to examine systematic relationships, and conducted Bayesian analysis of the coalescent and used mismatch distributions and approximate Bayesian computation to infer demographic history. Results Estonia had the highest nucleotide diversity, and western Belarus had the highest haplotype diversity. We observed four regional populations from the samova analysis. We found three haplogroups in European moose, probably representing lineages conserved in different refugia during the Pleistocene. European moose underwent spatial expansion after the LGM, but did not undergo demographic expansion. The effective population size has declined markedly within the last 2000 years. Main conclusions The current levels and distribution of genetic diversity in European moose indicate the effects both of Pleistocene glaciations and of a recent bottleneck, probably associated with anthropogenic influences such as pastoralization and hunting, and a very recent re-expansion. We show that both historical and recent events can influence the diversity and distribution of a large mammal on a large scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are several mechanisms that allow plants to temporarily escape from top-down control. One of them is trophic cascades triggered by top predators or pathogens. Another is satiation of consumers by mast seeding. These two mechanisms have traditionally been studied in separation. However, their combined action may have a greater effect on plant release than either process alone. In 2015, an outbreak of a disease (African swine fever, ASF) caused a crash in wild boar (Sus scrofa) abundance in Białowieża Primeval Forest. Wild boar are important consumers of acorns and are difficult to satiate relative to less mobile granivores. We hypothesized that the joint action of the ASF outbreak and masting would enhance regeneration of oaks (Quercus robur). Data from ungulate exclosures demonstrated that ASF led to reduction in acorn predation. Tree seedling data indicated that oak recruitment increased twofold relative to pre-epidemic period. Our results showed that perturbations caused by wildlife disease travel through food webs and influence forest dynamics. The outbreak of ASF acted synergistically with masting and removed herbivore top-down control of oaks by mobile consumers. This illustrates that the ASF epidemic that currently occurs across Europe can have broad effects on forest dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present phylogeographic pattern of red deer in Eurasia is not only a result of the contraction of their distribution range into glacial refugia and postglacial expansion, but probably also an effect of replacement of some red deer s.l. mtDNA lineages by others during the last 50 000 years. To better recognize this process, we analysed 501 sequences of mtDNA cytochrome b , including 194 ancient and 75 contemporary samples newly obtained for this study. The inclusion of 161 radiocarbon-dated samples enabled us to study the phylogeny in a temporal context and conduct divergence-time estimation and molecular dating. Depending on methodology, our estimate of divergence between Cervus elaphus and Cervus canadensis varied considerably (370 000 or 1.37 million years BP, respectively). The divergence times of genetic lineages and haplogroups corresponded to large environmental changes associated with stadials and interstadials of the Late Pleistocene. Due to the climatic oscillations, the distribution of C. elaphus and C. canadensis fluctuated in north–south and east–west directions. Some haplotypes dated to pre-Last Glacial Maximum periods were not detected afterwards, representing possibly extinct populations. We indicated with a high probability the presence of red deer sensu lato in south-eastern Europe and western Asia during the Last Glacial Maximum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The aim of the study was to assess the effect of changes in population size and migration on variation in functional immunity genes in the previously bottlenecked population of the grey wolf, Canis lupus. Location: Eastern/Central Europe: Poland, Czechia, Slovakia. Methods: We genotyped 7 immunity genes: three MHC‐DLA genes (dog leukocyte antigen) and four Toll‐like receptor (TLR) genes among 130 wolves originating from three populations: two lowland (Baltic and Central European), and highland Carpathian. We contrasted the population structure in immunity genes with a neutral structure based on 13 microsatellites, and we analysed signatures of selection in the immunity loci. Results: We found high overall genetic variance in immunity genes and no evidence for decreased diversity in the recently established populations. The population structure in immunity loci was weak, with pairwise FST lower than for neutral markers. Although the results of neutrality tests were not significant, we identified codons under selection, both positive and negative. Main Conclusions: We demonstrated that despite recent population expansion which is expected to result in decreased genetic diversity, the diversity of immunity genes in the newly established wolf population is similar to those in the source population. This suggests that migrations do not cause allele loss in grey wolf. Signatures of selection on codon level, but not in tests using allele frequencies, suggest the contrasting effects of demography and selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The wild boar Sus scrofa is one of the widely spread ungulate species in Europe, yet the origin and genetic structure of the population inhabiting Central and Eastern Europe are not well recognized. We analysed 101 newly obtained sequences of complete mtDNA genomes and 548 D-loop sequences of the species and combined them with previously published data. We identified five phylogenetic clades in Europe with clear phylogeographic pattern. Two of them occurred mainly in western and central part of the continent, while the range of the third clade covered North-Eastern, Central and South-Eastern Europe. The two other clades had rather restricted distribution. In Central Europe, we identified a contact zone of three mtDNA clades. Population genetic structure reflected clear phylogeographic pattern of wild boar in this part of Europe. The contribution of lineages originating from the southern (Dinaric-Balkan) and eastern (northern cost of the Black Sea) areas to the observed phylogeographic pattern of the species in Central and Eastern Europe was larger than those from the regions located in southern France, Iberian, and Italian Peninsulas. The present work was the first mitogenomic analysis conducted in Central and Eastern Europe to study genetic diversity and structure of wild boar population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The Expansion‐Contraction model has been used to explain the responses of species to climatic changes. During periods of unfavourable climatic conditions, species retreat to refugia from where they may later expand. This paper focuses on the palaeoecology of red deer over the past 54 ka across Europe and the Urals, to reveal patterns of change in their range and explore the role of environmental conditions in determining their distribution. Location: Europe and western Asia to 63°E. Taxon: Red deer (Cervus elaphus). Methods: We collected 984 records of radiocarbon‐dated red deer subfossils from the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene, including 93 original dates. For each deer sample we compiled climatic and biome type data for the corresponding time intervals. Results: During the last 54 ka changes in red deer range in Europe and the Urals were asynchronous and differed between western and eastern Europe and western Asia due to different environmental conditions in those regions. The range of suitable areas for deer during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) was larger than previously thought and covered vast regions not only in southern but also in western and eastern Europe. Throughout the period investigated the majority of specimens inhabited forests in the temperate climatic zone. The contribution of forests in deer localities significantly decreased during the last 4 ka, due to deforestation of Europe caused by humans. Mean January temperature was the main limiting factor for species distribution. Over 90% of the samples were found in areas where mean January temperature was above −10°C. Main conclusions: Red deer response to climatic oscillations are in agreement with the Expansion‐Contraction model but in contradiction to the statement of only the southernmost LGM refugia of the species. During the last 54 ka red deer occurred mostly in forests of the temperate climatic zone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our understanding of animal adaptations to human pressure is limited by the focus on rare taxa, despite that common species are more significant in shaping structure, function and service provision of ecosystems. Thus better understanding of their ecology and behavioural adjustments is central for drafting conservation actions. In this study, we used radio-telemetry on 21 individuals (10 females, 11 males) to provide data on spatial ecology, habitat selection and use of roosts of one of the commonest species, the whiskered bat (Myotis mystacinus), inhabiting the Carpathian Mountains (southern Poland). We tested, whether this species prefers natural over human-modified landscapes to seek prey and roosts. Mean home range size of the whiskered bat in the Carpathian Mountains was 26.3 ha (SE ± 3.2, Local Convex Hull) and 110 ha (SE ± 22.1, Minimum Convex Polygon with all locations), and included between one and three patches, among which bats moved along linear environmental features, such as scrubby banks of streams or lines of trees. During foraging whiskered bats selected small woodlands within agricultural landscapes, avoided large mountain forests and open areas, and used built-up areas proportionally to their availability. Whiskered bats occupied roosts located mainly in buildings (>97%), at an average altitude of 547.9 m above sea level (SE ± 8.3). Roosts were used for 5.4 days, on average. Our study shows that whiskered bats adapted well to the mosaic of semi-natural and anthropogenic habitats. It highlights the importance of buildings serving as roosts and small woodlands used as foraging areas in human-dominated montane landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analysed a fragment (247 bp) of cytochrome b of mitochondrial DNA sequenced using 353 samples of yellow-necked mice Apodemus flavicollis trapped in seven forests and along three woodlot transects in north-eastern Poland. Our aims were to identify the phylogeographic pattern and mtDNA structure of the population and to evaluate the role of environmental conditions in shaping the spatial pattern of mtDNA diversity. We found out that three European haplogroups occurred sympatrically in north-eastern Poland. Inferences based on mtDNA haplotype distribution and frequency defined five subpopulations. The mtDNA-based structure of mice significantly correlated with winter temperature: frequency of Haplogroup 1 was positively, and that of Haplogroup 3 negatively correlated to mean temperature of January in the year of trapping. Synthesis of the published pan-European data on the species phylogeography also showed that the possibly 'thermophilous' Haplogroup 1 has the westernmost occurrence, whereas the more 'cold-resistant' Haplogroup 3 occurs much further to north-east than the other haplogroups. The observed patter may be a byproduct of the tight coevolution with nuclear genes, as we have earlier found that − in mice population in NE Poland − the spatial pattern of nuclear DNA was best explained by January temperature. Alternatively, the observed association of mitochondrial genetic variation with temperature is possible to be adaptive as cytochrome b is involved in the process of ATP production via oxidative phosphorylation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The goal of this study, conducted in seven large woodlands and three areas with small woodlots in northeastern Poland in 2004–2008, was to infer genetic structure in yellow‐necked mouse Apodemus flavicollis population and to evaluate the roles of environmental and population ecology variables in shaping the spatial pattern of genetic variation using 768 samples genotyped at 13 microsatellite loci. Genetic variation was very high in all studied regions. The primal genetic subdivision was observed between the northern and the southern parts of the study area, which harbored two major clusters and the intermediate area of highly admixed individuals. The probability of assignment of individual mice to the northern cluster increased significantly with lower temperatures of January and July and declined in regions with higher proportion of deciduous and mixed forests. Despite the detected structure, genetic differentiation among regions was very low. Fine‐scale structure was shaped by the population density, whereas higher level structure was mainly shaped by geographic distance. Genetic similarity indices were highly influenced by mouse abundance (which positively correlated with the share of deciduous forests in the studied regions) and exhibited the greatest change between 0 and 1 km in the forests, 0 and 5 km in small woodlots. Isolation by distance pattern, calculated among regions, was highly significant but such relationship between genetic and geographic distance was much weaker, and held the linearity at very fine scale (~1.5 km), when analyses were conducted at individual level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim To compare predictions of the habitat suitability model ( HSM) for wolves Canis lupus in Poland with actual wolf distribution in western Poland after 15 years of recolonization. Location Western Poland ( WPL, ca. 136,000 km2), west of the 18°48′E meridian. Methods Data on wolf occurrence (8,057 records) were gathered in 2001-2016. Wolf presence in 10 × 10 km cells was classified as follows: (1) permanent occurrence with reproduction, (2) permanent occurrence with no reproduction and (3) sporadic occurrence (interpreted as dispersing individuals). These cells were compared to all 10 × 10 km cells in WPL with respect to the probability of wolf occurrence as predicted by the HSM and habitat variables important for wolves. For temporal analysis, data were divided into two 8-year subsets: the initial and later phases of wolf recovery. Results Wolves were recorded in 259 cells (19.8% of the study area). The pairs and packs settled in areas predicted by the HSM to have good and very good habitat, in cells characterized by high forest cover and low densities of roads. Wolf groups that reproduced were found in the best-quality habitats characterized by denser forest cover and markedly lower shares of anthropogenic structures. Dispersing individuals were mostly recorded in unsuitable and suboptimal habitats, and they avoided both the poorest and the best habitats. In the initial phase of wolf recovery, cells selected by wolves for settling down and those used by dispersing wolves did not differ in their habitat parameters. However, in the later phase, as WPL became more saturated with wolf packs, dispersing individuals were recorded in less suitable habitats. Main conclusions The HSM for Polish wolves predicted with high accuracy the areas later occupied by wolf groups in the western part of the country. A similar approach may also be useful to predict the future distribution of wolves in the lowlands of central and western Europe where environmental conditions are comparable and recolonizing wolves originate from the same source population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The survival of isolated small populations is threatened by both demographic and genetic factors. Large carnivores declined for centuries in most of Europe due to habitat changes, overhunting of their natural prey and direct persecution. However, the current rewilding trends are driving many carnivore populations to expand again, possibly reverting the erosion of their genetic diversity. In this study we reassessed the extent and origin of the genetic variation of the Italian wolf population, which is expanding after centuries of decline and isolation. We genotyped wolves from Italy and other nine populations at four mtDNA regions (control-region, ATP6, COIII and ND4) and 39 autosomal microsatellites. Results of phylogenetic analyses and assignment procedures confirmed in the Italian wolves a second private mtDNA haplotype, which belongs to a haplogroup distributed mostly in southern Europe. Coalescent analyses showed that the unique mtDNA haplotypes in the Italian wolves likely originated during the late Pleistocene. ABC simulations concordantly showed that the extant wolf populations in Italy and in south-western Europe started to be isolated and declined right after the last glacial maximum. Thus, the standing genetic variation in the Italian wolves principally results from the historical isolation south of the Alps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two maternal lineages of bank vole ( Myodes glareolus), the Eastern and the Carpathian, that had originated from different glacial refugia, came to a secondary contact in north-east Poland. We analysed a fragment of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) [cytochrome b (cyt b), 424 bp] from 1038 samples of the species to map the contact zone, estimate the mtDNA diversity of bank vole populations, and analyse if the distribution of the two lineages correlates with environmental variables. We found 89 haplotypes of mtDNA: 36 in the Carpathian lineage, 51 in the Eastern lineage and additionally 2 belonging in the Western lineage. The contact zone between lineages varied in width from 45 to 243 km. Nucleotide diversity and haplotype diversity of cyt b were notably higher in the Carpathian lineage than in the Eastern lineage. There was evidence of demographic and spatial expansion in the Eastern lineage. The spatial distribution of bank vole haplotypes belonging to the Carpathian lineage was positively correlated with the number of plant species associated with the Carpathian refugium and the mean temperature of July. The opposite (negative correlations with these two variables) was found for the Eastern lineage. These factors can be related to the different environmental conditions in which the two lineages survived and which affected the current mtDNA diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gray wolf populations have been recovering recently across Europe, a fact that poses serious challenges to the management of the species. We investigate the population genetics of wolves at the south-eastern edge of their European range, in Greece, and identify conservation priorities for the species in the country. During population monitoring efforts (1998–2014) 48 tissue and hair samples were collected and genotyped at 14 microsatellite loci. Eight samples were discarded from further downstream analysis because of possible dog-wolf admixture. Unlike many other edge populations, wolves in Greece showed high levels of genetic variation (H E = 0.73; H O = 0.66). We detected two genetic clusters of wolves but no genetic bottleneck, which suggests that the human-caused population reduction of wolves in Greece may not have been as severe as previously assumed and that enough wolves may have survived in inaccessible areas and/or neighboring countries to maintain genetic diversity. Two of the main conservation priorities identified for gray wolves in Greece are non-invasive genetic monitoring and ensuring the functional connectivity of the Natura 2000 network through the identification and protection of ecological corridors and road-less areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a growing evidence that members of animal groups synchronize their vigilance behavior to minimize predation risk. Because synchronized vigilance deviates from the classical vigilance models, which assume independent scanning, it is important to understand when and why it occurs. We explored vigilance behavior of wild boar (Sus scrofa) in a population subject to spatial variation in human hunting risk and seasonal variation in food availability. Group members synchronized their vigilance behavior. We hypothesized that vigilance synchronization would be context dependent and the trade-off between energy gain and safety would shape the relationship between the degree of vigilance synchronization and group size. We predicted weaker synchronization in large groups under heavy predation risk, due to benefits of numerical dilution, and stronger synchronization in large groups when food is limiting, due to intense food competition. The degree of synchronization decreased with increasing group size in the area where human hunting added another risk factor to the natural predation, pointing at the safety benefits of vigilance synchrony for members of small groups and the role of human-induced risk in shaping vigilance synchrony. We found no relation between vigilance synchrony and group size in a food scarce, winter season. However, low levels of vigilance and its synchronization observed in winter indicated that energy gain was prioritized over safety. Thus, members of wild boar groups can adjust levels of vigilance and its synchronization depending on the forage-risk trade-off set by the ecological context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated contemporary and historical influences on the pattern of genetic diversity of European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus). The study was conducted in northeastern Poland, a zone where vast areas of primeval forests are conserved and where the European roe deer was never driven to extinction. A total of 319 unique samples collected in three sampling areas were genotyped at 16 microsatellites and one fragment (610 bp) of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region. Genetic diversity was high, and a low degree of genetic differentiation among sampling areas was observed with both microsatellites and mtDNA. No evidence of genetic differentiation between roe deer inhabiting open fields and forested areas was found, indicating that the ability of the species to exploit these contrasting environments might be the result of its phenotypic plasticity. Half of the studied individuals carried an mtDNA haplotype that did not belong to C. capreolus, but to a related species that does not occur naturally in the area, the Siberian roe deer (C. pygargus). No differentiation between individuals with Siberian and European mtDNA haplotypes was detected at microsatellite loci. Introgression of mtDNA of Siberian roe deer into the genome of European roe deer has recently been detected in eastern Europe. Such introgression might be caused by human-mediated translocations of Siberian roe deer within the range of European roe deer or by natural hybridization between these species in the past. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cover image, by Sabina Nowak et al., is based on the Biodiversity Research Sedentary but not dispersing wolves Canis lupus recolonizing western Poland (2001–2016) conform to the predictions of a habitat suitability model, DOI: 10.1111/ddi.12621. Photo Credit: Robert Myslajek. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]