Abstract
Here we present an analysis of the genetic diversity and structure of wild Eurasian otters (Lutra lutra) on Kinmen Island, off the coast of eastern-southern China, as derived from high-quality DNA samples from 40 individuals. Mitochondrial DNA was sequenced at the ND5, CYTb and control regions, revealing zero nucleotide diversity within our wild-sampled individuals. In contrast, genotyping at up to 12 autosomal microsatellite loci determined no deviation from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium and no indication of inbreeding depression (FIS = 0.010). Based on phylogenetic analyses of the mtDNA sequences, alongside those from one individual from Taiwan, four spraint samples from northern Fujian, China (this study), and 11 published sequences, the Kinmen otter population is most genetically similar to a now-extinct population in Taiwan, and forms a monophyletic group with southern Chinese populations. These results may guide a framework for implementing Eurasian otter conservation programs in and around the Kinmen region.
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Data Availability
All data generated or analysed during this study are included in this published article and its supplementary information files. The mtDNA sequence data for all samples are available from GenBank and summarized in Table 1.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Yu-Jen Liang, Die-Hua Tsai, and Yu-Jia Chang for their assistance during fieldwork, and Graham L. Banes for proofreading the manuscript. Finally, we wish to express our appreciation to the anonymous reviewers for their careful reading of our manuscript and their many insightful comments and suggestions. This work was supported by Kinmen National Park, Kinmen County Government, Kinmen Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation Association and Kinmen Defense Command either on fund support or field work assistance.
Funding
This study was funded by the Animal Adoption Plan of Taipei Zoo (Grant Number: 104CR-17, 105CR-12, 106CR-01, 10701 and 10801) and by the Kinmen National Park Research Fund (KM1097006).
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This study was conceptualized by NHJL and managed by YCT. YCT coordinated the fieldwork. Sample collection was completed by NHJL, YCT, CJC, CHJ, HYH, HSC and LLL. Material preparation and lab work were organized and performed by NHJL, CHJ, HYH and WD. NHJL and CHJ contributed to the analytical methods. NHJL wrote and revised the manuscript. LWC and SWC contributed to the conservation strategy. The funding for this work was acquired by NHJL and LLL. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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All tissue samples were deposited in the Wildlife Cryobank of Taipei Zoo, and were used here with permission by the Forestry Bureau, the Council of Agriculture, the Executive Yuan, Taiwan, per the following authorizations: 0961608667 (2007), 0961701136, 097011626 (2008), 0980108575 (2009), 0991603072 (2010), 1000116384 (2011), 1011700515 (2012), 1021610837 (2013), 1031700533 (2014), 1041700584 (2015–16), 1061700466 (2017–19), and 1096011590 (2020–22).
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10592_2023_1525_MOESM2_ESM.png
Supplementary file2 The allele frequency distribution of 39 otter samples collected on Kinmen Island. The x-axis represents the classes of allele frequency by the interval of 0.1; the y-axis represents the percentage of alleles in each frequency class, ranging from 0-1. (PNG 34 KB)
10592_2023_1525_MOESM3_ESM.docx
Supplementary file3 AMOVA analysis of 39 Kinmen otter samples. The “population” indicates the five sampling geographic locations in Kinmen Island referring to Fig. 3. (DOCX 15 KB)
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Jang-Liaw, NH., Tan, YC., Chang, CJ. et al. Genetic diversity and structure of Eurasian otters on Kinmen Island. Conserv Genet 24, 589–606 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-023-01525-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-023-01525-2