title: Noninvasive molecular and morphological evidences for an undiscovered population of snow vole in Southern Spain.
abstract: Capturing wild animals can be time consuming and difficult or even impractical. Noninvasive sampling is potentially a cost-effective and efficient means to monitor wild animals, thereby avoiding the need of capture and disturb species in the wild. On the basis of the morphological and genetic analyses of owl pellet contents, a so far undetected European snow vole (Chionomys nivalis) population was discovered in the Sierra Segura mountain range (Southern Spain). The mtDNA sequence from the newly discovered haplotype was compared with sequences from vole populations of the Sierra Nevada and Sierra Peñalara mountain ranges (Spain) and from Churwalden (Switzerland). The nine recovered haplotypes clustered in four distinct lineages according to their geographical origin. The vole sequence from the Sierra Segura owl pellet belonged to a new haplotype, constituting a new lineage. The evolutionary divergence between sequences from the Sierra Segura and other Spanish populations was higher than that among other Spanish haplotypes. The new snow vole haplotype from this new locality duplicates the number of occurrence sites of this critically endangered species in Southern Spain, which is of great interest for further conservation and management plans of the European snow vole in the most southwestern area of its entire distribution range.
authors.affiliation: Estación Biológica de Doñana, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Avda. Américo Vespucio s/n 41092 , Seville , Spain.
authors.forename: Samer
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Alasaad
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Jowers
authors.forename: José A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Garrido-García
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wandeler
authors.forename: Joerns
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fickel
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sánchez
authors.forename: Ramón C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Soriguer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild; D003411:Arvicolinae / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics*; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics; D006702:Homing Behavior; D019901:Locus Control Region / Q000235:genetics; D008334:Mandible / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D010802:Phylogeny; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D013030:Spain; D014070:Tooth / Q000033:anatomy & histology
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial