Grey Partridge (Perdix perdix) Introductions: Genetic Survey on Wild and Captive Populations at the Edges of the Range
ABSTRACT The grey partridge population has experienced significant declines across Europe, largely due to agricultural intensification and loss of habitat, leading to conservation actions such as Red‐listing in the UK and hunting bans in Greece. The genetics of Balkan and Scottish populations remain...
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Wiley
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Ecology and Evolution |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71122 |
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| author | N. Karaiskou Α. Ball K. Gkagkavouzis A. Moulistanos K. Kalaentzis M. Ghazali G. Murray‐Dickson S. Minoudi D. Parish E. Chatzinikos D. Kiousis N. Manios J. C. Dunn A. Triantafyllidis |
| author_facet | N. Karaiskou Α. Ball K. Gkagkavouzis A. Moulistanos K. Kalaentzis M. Ghazali G. Murray‐Dickson S. Minoudi D. Parish E. Chatzinikos D. Kiousis N. Manios J. C. Dunn A. Triantafyllidis |
| author_sort | N. Karaiskou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT The grey partridge population has experienced significant declines across Europe, largely due to agricultural intensification and loss of habitat, leading to conservation actions such as Red‐listing in the UK and hunting bans in Greece. The genetics of Balkan and Scottish populations remain largely unexplored; genetic analyses are essential to evaluate the impact of past introduction efforts on wild populations, as breeding between released and wild‐living partridges may complicate recovery efforts. In this study, we sample wild and farmed individuals of grey partridge from the Balkans (Greece, North Macedonia) and the United Kingdom (UK) and employ 2300 SNPs, eight microsatellites, and two mitochondrial markers to investigate the genetic structure and diversity of their populations and the impact of past release activities. We reveal a clear distinction between two clades, an Eastern and a Western, as in previous studies, with wild birds from Greece and the UK classified to each clade, respectively. However, birds from North Macedonia belonged to either clade, suggesting a contact zone between the two or a genetic legacy of past introduction practices. The captive stock in Greece and the UK is clearly of Western origin, with minor introgression of the Eastern clade being detected. Finally, an informative SNP marker panel is presented that accurately assigns each individual to either the Eastern or Western clade and will serve as a valuable tool for monitoring population structure, guiding conservation efforts, and assessing the impact of introduction events on grey partridge populations. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e9b4a93574b84a1fa01e37f1fc4c179f |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2045-7758 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj-art-e9b4a93574b84a1fa01e37f1fc4c179f2025-08-20T02:14:01ZengWileyEcology and Evolution2045-77582025-03-01153n/an/a10.1002/ece3.71122Grey Partridge (Perdix perdix) Introductions: Genetic Survey on Wild and Captive Populations at the Edges of the RangeN. Karaiskou0Α. Ball1K. Gkagkavouzis2A. Moulistanos3K. Kalaentzis4M. Ghazali5G. Murray‐Dickson6S. Minoudi7D. Parish8E. Chatzinikos9D. Kiousis10N. Manios11J. C. Dunn12A. Triantafyllidis13Department of Genetics, Development & Molecular Biology, School of Biology, Faculty of Science Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Thessaloniki GreeceRZSS WildGenes Laboratory Royal Zoological Society of Scotland Edinburgh UKDepartment of Genetics, Development & Molecular Biology, School of Biology, Faculty of Science Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Thessaloniki GreeceDepartment of Genetics, Development & Molecular Biology, School of Biology, Faculty of Science Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Thessaloniki GreeceDepartment of Genetics, Development & Molecular Biology, School of Biology, Faculty of Science Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Thessaloniki GreeceRZSS WildGenes Laboratory Royal Zoological Society of Scotland Edinburgh UKRZSS WildGenes Laboratory Royal Zoological Society of Scotland Edinburgh UKDepartment of Genetics, Development & Molecular Biology, School of Biology, Faculty of Science Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Thessaloniki GreeceGame & Wildlife Conservation Trust Fordingbridge Hampshire UK4th Hunting Federation of Sterea Hellas Athens Greece4th Hunting Federation of Sterea Hellas Athens GreeceMinistry of Environment and Energy Athens GreeceSchool of Life Sciences Keele University Newcastle‐Under‐Lyme Staffordshire UKDepartment of Genetics, Development & Molecular Biology, School of Biology, Faculty of Science Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Thessaloniki GreeceABSTRACT The grey partridge population has experienced significant declines across Europe, largely due to agricultural intensification and loss of habitat, leading to conservation actions such as Red‐listing in the UK and hunting bans in Greece. The genetics of Balkan and Scottish populations remain largely unexplored; genetic analyses are essential to evaluate the impact of past introduction efforts on wild populations, as breeding between released and wild‐living partridges may complicate recovery efforts. In this study, we sample wild and farmed individuals of grey partridge from the Balkans (Greece, North Macedonia) and the United Kingdom (UK) and employ 2300 SNPs, eight microsatellites, and two mitochondrial markers to investigate the genetic structure and diversity of their populations and the impact of past release activities. We reveal a clear distinction between two clades, an Eastern and a Western, as in previous studies, with wild birds from Greece and the UK classified to each clade, respectively. However, birds from North Macedonia belonged to either clade, suggesting a contact zone between the two or a genetic legacy of past introduction practices. The captive stock in Greece and the UK is clearly of Western origin, with minor introgression of the Eastern clade being detected. Finally, an informative SNP marker panel is presented that accurately assigns each individual to either the Eastern or Western clade and will serve as a valuable tool for monitoring population structure, guiding conservation efforts, and assessing the impact of introduction events on grey partridge populations.https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71122grey partridgeintroduction practicesphylogeographypopulation structure |
| spellingShingle | N. Karaiskou Α. Ball K. Gkagkavouzis A. Moulistanos K. Kalaentzis M. Ghazali G. Murray‐Dickson S. Minoudi D. Parish E. Chatzinikos D. Kiousis N. Manios J. C. Dunn A. Triantafyllidis Grey Partridge (Perdix perdix) Introductions: Genetic Survey on Wild and Captive Populations at the Edges of the Range Ecology and Evolution grey partridge introduction practices phylogeography population structure |
| title | Grey Partridge (Perdix perdix) Introductions: Genetic Survey on Wild and Captive Populations at the Edges of the Range |
| title_full | Grey Partridge (Perdix perdix) Introductions: Genetic Survey on Wild and Captive Populations at the Edges of the Range |
| title_fullStr | Grey Partridge (Perdix perdix) Introductions: Genetic Survey on Wild and Captive Populations at the Edges of the Range |
| title_full_unstemmed | Grey Partridge (Perdix perdix) Introductions: Genetic Survey on Wild and Captive Populations at the Edges of the Range |
| title_short | Grey Partridge (Perdix perdix) Introductions: Genetic Survey on Wild and Captive Populations at the Edges of the Range |
| title_sort | grey partridge perdix perdix introductions genetic survey on wild and captive populations at the edges of the range |
| topic | grey partridge introduction practices phylogeography population structure |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71122 |
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