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We propose a two-step procedure for estimating multiple migration rates in an approximate Bayesian computation ( ABC) framework, accounting for global nuisance parameters. The approach is not limited to migration, but generally of interest for inference problems with multiple parameters and a modular structure (e.g. independent sets of demes or loci). We condition on a known, but complex demographic model of a spatially subdivided population, motivated by the reintroduction of Alpine ibex ( Capra ibex) into Switzerland. In the first step, the global parameters ancestral mutation rate and male mating skew have been estimated for the whole population in Aeschbacher et al. ( Genetics 2012; 192: 1027). In the second step, we estimate in this study the migration rates independently for clusters of demes putatively connected by migration. For large clusters (many migration rates), ABC faces the problem of too many summary statistics. We therefore assess by simulation if estimation per pair of demes is a valid alternative. We find that the trade-off between reduced dimensionality for the pairwise estimation on the one hand and lower accuracy due to the assumption of pairwise independence on the other depends on the number of migration rates to be inferred: the accuracy of the pairwise approach increases with the number of parameters, relative to the joint estimation approach. To distinguish between low and zero migration, we perform ABC-type model comparison between a model with migration and one without. Applying the approach to microsatellite data from Alpine ibex, we find no evidence for substantial gene flow via migration, except for one pair of demes in one direction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A population’s neutral genetic variation is a composite of its size, degree of isolation and demographic history. Bottlenecks and founder events increase genetic drift, leading to the loss of genetic variation and increased genetic differentiation among populations. Gene flow has the opposite effects. Thus, gene flow can override the genetic patterns caused by founder events. Using 37 microsatellite loci, we investigated the effects of serial bottlenecks on genetic variation and differentiation among 42 Alpine ibex populations in Switzerland with known re-introduction histories. We detected a strong footprint of re-introduction events on contemporary genetic structure, with re-introduction history explaining a substantial part of the genetic differentiation among populations. As a result of the translocation of a considerable number of individuals from the sole formerly surviving population in northern Italy, most of the genetic variation of the ancestral population is now present in the combined re-introduced Swiss populations. However, re-introductions split up the genetic variation among populations, such that each contemporary Swiss population showed lower genetic variation than the ancestral population. As expected, serial bottlenecks had different effects on the expected heterozygosity (He) and standardized number of alleles (sNa). While loss of sNa was higher in the first bottlenecks than in subsequent ones, He declined to a similar degree with each bottleneck. Thus, genetic drift was detected with each bottleneck, even when no loss of sNa was observed. Overall, more than a hundred years after the beginning of this successful re-introduction programme, re-introduction history was the main determinant of today’s genetic structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Secondary sexual traits, such as horns in ungulates, may be good indicators of genetic quality because they are costly to develop. Genetic effects on such traits may be revealed by examining correlations between multilocus heterozygosity (MLH) and trait value. Correlations between MLH and fitness traits, termed heterozygosity–fitness correlations (HFC), may reflect inbreeding depression or associative overdominance of neutral microsatellite loci with loci directly affecting fitness traits. We investigated HFCs for horn growth, body mass and faecal counts of nematode eggs in wild Alpine ibex ( Capra ibex). We also tested if individual inbreeding coefficients ( f′) estimated from microsatellite data were more strongly correlated with fitness traits than MLH. MLH was more strongly associated with trait variation than f′. We found HFC for horn growth but not for body mass or faecal counts of nematode eggs. The effect of MLH on horn growth was age-specific. The slope of the correlation between MLH and yearly horn growth changed from negative to positive as males aged, in accordance with the mutation accumulation theory of the evolution of senescence. Our results suggest that the horns of ibex males are an honest signal of genetic quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract We evaluated the usefulness of microsatellites and recently developed statistical methods for the conservation management of fragmented and reintroduced populations, using the alpine ibex (Capra ibex ) as a model species. First, we assessed the effects of past reintroduction programmes on genetic diversity and population differentiation considering different population sizes and histories. We show that genetic variability in ibex populations (H E ≈ 0.13) is among the lowest reported from microsatellites in mammal species, and that the Alpi Marittime–Mercantour population has suffered from a severe genetic bottleneck associated with its reintroduction. Second, using a computer-simulation approach, we provide examples and rough guidelines for translocation programmes concerning the number and origin of individuals for future reintroductions and for the reinforcement of populations with low genetic variability. Finally, we use the ibex microsatellite data to assess the usefulness of several published statistical tests for detecting population bottlenecks and assigning individuals to their population of origin. This study illustrates that microsatellites allow: (i) evaluation of alternative translocation scenarios by simulating different numbers and origins of ‘migrants’; (ii) identification of bottlenecked populations (especially using the Wilcoxon signed-ranks test); and (iii) population assignment with a high certainty (P < 0.001) of almost 100% of the individuals (or trophies or carcasses) from two distant populations (especially using stucture or whichrun software). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]