title: Greece: a Balkan subrefuge for a remnant red deer (cervus elaphus) population.
abstract: A number of phylogeographic studies have revealed the existence of multiple ice age refugia within the Balkan Peninsula, marking it as a biodiversity hotspot. Greece has been reported to harbor genetically differentiated lineages from the rest of Balkans for a number of mammal species. We therefore searched for distinct red deer lineages in Greece, by analyzing 78 samples originating from its last population in Parnitha Mountain (Central Greece). Additionally, we tested the impact of human-induced practices on this population. The presence of 2 discrete mtDNA lineages was inferred: 1) an abundant one not previously sampled in the Balkans and 2) a more restricted one shared with other Balkan populations, possibly the result of successful translocations of Eastern European individuals. Microsatellite-based analyses of 14 loci strongly support the existence of 2 subpopulations with relative frequencies similar to mitochondrial analyses. This study stresses the biogeographic importance of Central Greece as a separate Last Glacial Maximum period refugium within the Balkans. It also delineates the possible effects that recent translocations of red deer populations had on the genetic structuring within Parnitha. We suggest that the Greek red deer population of Parnitha is genetically distinct, and restocking programs should take this genetic evidence into consideration.
authors.affiliation: the Department of Genetics, Developmental and Molecular Biology, School of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Nikoleta
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Karaiskou
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tsakogiannis
authors.forename: Konstantinos
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gkagkavouzis
authors.forename: Sylvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Papika
authors.forename: Panagiotis
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Latsoudis
authors.forename: Ioannis
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kavakiotis
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pantis
authors.forename: Theodore J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Abatzopoulos
authors.forename: Costas
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Triantaphyllidis
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Triantafyllidis
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D063368:Balkan Peninsula; D044822:Biodiversity; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics*; D003670:Deer / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics*; D005787:Gene Frequency; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005828:Genetics, Population; D056914:Genomic Structural Variation; D006115:Greece; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats / Q000235:genetics*; D058974:Phylogeography; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D014178:Translocation, Genetic
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial
keywords: Balkan Peninsula; genetic lineages; genetic structure; microsatellites; mitochondrial DNA; translocations