title: Genetic consequences of historical anthropogenic and ecological events on giant pandas.
abstract: The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) was taken to the brink of extinction in the 1980s through a combination of deforestation, large-scale loss of bamboo in the core of its range, poaching, and zoo collection, causing over 1000 deaths from the 1950s. It was thought that the drastic population decline was likely to impose a severe impact on population viability. Here, based on temporal genotyping of individuals, we show that this rapid decline did not significantly reduce the overall effective population size and genetic variation of this species, or of the two focal populations (Minshan and Qionglai) that declined the most. These results are contrary to previously assumptions, probably because the population decline has not produced the expected negative impact due to the short time scale involved (at most 10 generations), or because previous surveys underestimated the population size at the time of decline. However, if present-day habitat fragmentation and limited migration of giant pandas remains, we predict a loss of genetic diversity across the giant pandas' range in the near future. Thus, our findings highlight the substantial resilience of this species when facing demographic and environmental stochasticity, but key conservation strategies, such as enhancing habitat connectivity and habitat restoration should be immediately implemented to retain the extant genetic variation and maintain long-term evolutionary potential of this endangered species.
authors.affiliation: Key Lab of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1-5 Beichenxi Road, Chaoyang, Beijing 100101 China.
authors.forename: Lifeng
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Key Lab of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1-5 Beichenxi Road, Chaoyang, Beijing 100101 China.
authors.forename: Yibo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Key Lab of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1-5 Beichenxi Road, Chaoyang, Beijing 100101 China.
authors.forename: Dunwu
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.affiliation: Key Lab of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1-5 Beichenxi Road, Chaoyang, Beijing 100101 China.
authors.forename: Hua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Key Lab of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1-5 Beichenxi Road, Chaoyang, Beijing 100101 China.
authors.forename: Xiangjiang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhan
authors.affiliation: Key Lab of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1-5 Beichenxi Road, Chaoyang, Beijing 100101 China.
authors.forename: Zhejun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Organisms and Environment Division, Cardiff School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3AX United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Michael W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Bruford
authors.affiliation: lnstitute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regent's Park, London NW1 4RY United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Jinliang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Wildlife Conservation Division, Sichuan Forestry Department, Chengdu, Sichuan 610081 China.
authors.forename: Xuyu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Wildlife Conservation Division, Sichuan Forestry Department, Chengdu, Sichuan 610081 China.
authors.forename: Xiaodong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.affiliation: Key Lab of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1-5 Beichenxi Road, Chaoyang, Beijing 100101 China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Key Lab of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1-5 Beichenxi Road, Chaoyang, Beijing 100101 China.
authors.forename: Baowei
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: China Wildlife Conservation Association, No 18, Hepingli East Street, Beijing 100714 China.
authors.forename: Shanning
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Key Lab of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1-5 Beichenxi Road, Chaoyang, Beijing 100101 China.
authors.forename: Fuwen
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wei
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics; D003710:Demography; D017753:Ecosystem; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006802:Human Activities; D006801:Humans; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats; D013997:Time Factors; D001503:Ursidae / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial