title: Mitochondrial Genetic Diversity of Eurasian Red Squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris) from Denmark.
abstract: Melanistic Eurasian red squirrels Sciurus vulgaris are commonly found on the Danish island of Funen. They are thought to represent native Danish squirrel types and are presently under threat from admixture with introduced red squirrels. In response, a conservation program was started in 2009 that involves the translocation of melanistic squirrels from Funen to the squirrel-free island of Langeland. Using mitochondrial DNA of 101 historical and modern samples from throughout Denmark, we assess for the first time population structure and mitochondrial genetic diversity of Danish squirrels compared to its larger pan-Eurasian distribution. We find that Danish squirrels have low levels of genetic diversity, especially melanistic individuals. Bayesian skyline reconstructions show that Danish squirrels have most probably experienced a severe bottleneck within the last 200 years. Also, fine-scale genetic structure was found between squirrels from the regions of Funen, Zealand and Jutland, which mimics the insular geography of Denmark. Additional nuclear DNA analyses will be required to determine the precise admixture levels between original Danish and introduced squirrels and to locate unmixed candidate populations for specific conservation efforts.
authors.affiliation: From the Centre for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 5-7, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark (Madsen, Vilstrup, Fernández, Marchi, and Orlando); the Eco-Anthropologie et Ethnobiologie, UMR 7206 CNRS, MNHN, Université Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, France (Marchi); the Danmarks Naturfredningsforening, Masnedøgade 20, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark (Håkansson); the Naturstyrelsen, Naturstyrelsen på Fyn, Sollerupsvej 22, 5600 Faaborg, Denmark (Krog); Department of BioScience, Aarhus University, Grenåvej 14, 8410 Rønde, Denmark (Asferg); and the Zoological Museum, Natural History Museum of Denmark, Universitetsparken 15, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark (Baagøe).
authors.forename: Corrie L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Madsen
authors.affiliation: From the Centre for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 5-7, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark (Madsen, Vilstrup, Fernández, Marchi, and Orlando); the Eco-Anthropologie et Ethnobiologie, UMR 7206 CNRS, MNHN, Université Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, France (Marchi); the Danmarks Naturfredningsforening, Masnedøgade 20, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark (Håkansson); the Naturstyrelsen, Naturstyrelsen på Fyn, Sollerupsvej 22, 5600 Faaborg, Denmark (Krog); Department of BioScience, Aarhus University, Grenåvej 14, 8410 Rønde, Denmark (Asferg); and the Zoological Museum, Natural History Museum of Denmark, Universitetsparken 15, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark (Baagøe).
authors.forename: Julia T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Vilstrup
authors.affiliation: From the Centre for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 5-7, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark (Madsen, Vilstrup, Fernández, Marchi, and Orlando); the Eco-Anthropologie et Ethnobiologie, UMR 7206 CNRS, MNHN, Université Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, France (Marchi); the Danmarks Naturfredningsforening, Masnedøgade 20, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark (Håkansson); the Naturstyrelsen, Naturstyrelsen på Fyn, Sollerupsvej 22, 5600 Faaborg, Denmark (Krog); Department of BioScience, Aarhus University, Grenåvej 14, 8410 Rønde, Denmark (Asferg); and the Zoological Museum, Natural History Museum of Denmark, Universitetsparken 15, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark (Baagøe).
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fernández
authors.affiliation: From the Centre for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 5-7, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark (Madsen, Vilstrup, Fernández, Marchi, and Orlando); the Eco-Anthropologie et Ethnobiologie, UMR 7206 CNRS, MNHN, Université Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, France (Marchi); the Danmarks Naturfredningsforening, Masnedøgade 20, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark (Håkansson); the Naturstyrelsen, Naturstyrelsen på Fyn, Sollerupsvej 22, 5600 Faaborg, Denmark (Krog); Department of BioScience, Aarhus University, Grenåvej 14, 8410 Rønde, Denmark (Asferg); and the Zoological Museum, Natural History Museum of Denmark, Universitetsparken 15, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark (Baagøe).
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Marchi
authors.affiliation: From the Centre for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 5-7, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark (Madsen, Vilstrup, Fernández, Marchi, and Orlando); the Eco-Anthropologie et Ethnobiologie, UMR 7206 CNRS, MNHN, Université Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, France (Marchi); the Danmarks Naturfredningsforening, Masnedøgade 20, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark (Håkansson); the Naturstyrelsen, Naturstyrelsen på Fyn, Sollerupsvej 22, 5600 Faaborg, Denmark (Krog); Department of BioScience, Aarhus University, Grenåvej 14, 8410 Rønde, Denmark (Asferg); and the Zoological Museum, Natural History Museum of Denmark, Universitetsparken 15, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark (Baagøe).
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Håkansson
authors.affiliation: From the Centre for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 5-7, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark (Madsen, Vilstrup, Fernández, Marchi, and Orlando); the Eco-Anthropologie et Ethnobiologie, UMR 7206 CNRS, MNHN, Université Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, France (Marchi); the Danmarks Naturfredningsforening, Masnedøgade 20, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark (Håkansson); the Naturstyrelsen, Naturstyrelsen på Fyn, Sollerupsvej 22, 5600 Faaborg, Denmark (Krog); Department of BioScience, Aarhus University, Grenåvej 14, 8410 Rønde, Denmark (Asferg); and the Zoological Museum, Natural History Museum of Denmark, Universitetsparken 15, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark (Baagøe).
authors.forename: Mogens
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Krog
authors.affiliation: From the Centre for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 5-7, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark (Madsen, Vilstrup, Fernández, Marchi, and Orlando); the Eco-Anthropologie et Ethnobiologie, UMR 7206 CNRS, MNHN, Université Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, France (Marchi); the Danmarks Naturfredningsforening, Masnedøgade 20, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark (Håkansson); the Naturstyrelsen, Naturstyrelsen på Fyn, Sollerupsvej 22, 5600 Faaborg, Denmark (Krog); Department of BioScience, Aarhus University, Grenåvej 14, 8410 Rønde, Denmark (Asferg); and the Zoological Museum, Natural History Museum of Denmark, Universitetsparken 15, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark (Baagøe).
authors.forename: Tommy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Asferg
authors.affiliation: From the Centre for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 5-7, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark (Madsen, Vilstrup, Fernández, Marchi, and Orlando); the Eco-Anthropologie et Ethnobiologie, UMR 7206 CNRS, MNHN, Université Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, France (Marchi); the Danmarks Naturfredningsforening, Masnedøgade 20, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark (Håkansson); the Naturstyrelsen, Naturstyrelsen på Fyn, Sollerupsvej 22, 5600 Faaborg, Denmark (Krog); Department of BioScience, Aarhus University, Grenåvej 14, 8410 Rønde, Denmark (Asferg); and the Zoological Museum, Natural History Museum of Denmark, Universitetsparken 15, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark (Baagøe).
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Baagøe
authors.affiliation: From the Centre for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 5-7, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark (Madsen, Vilstrup, Fernández, Marchi, and Orlando); the Eco-Anthropologie et Ethnobiologie, UMR 7206 CNRS, MNHN, Université Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, France (Marchi); the Danmarks Naturfredningsforening, Masnedøgade 20, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark (Håkansson); the Naturstyrelsen, Naturstyrelsen på Fyn, Sollerupsvej 22, 5600 Faaborg, Denmark (Krog); Department of BioScience, Aarhus University, Grenåvej 14, 8410 Rønde, Denmark (Asferg); and the Zoological Museum, Natural History Museum of Denmark, Universitetsparken 15, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark (Baagøe). ruth@mayaproject.org lorlando@snm.ku.dk.
authors.forename: Ludovic
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Orlando
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001499:Bayes Theorem; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics; D003718:Denmark; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005828:Genetics, Population; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012589:Sciuridae / Q000235:genetics*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial
keywords: Eurasian red squirrel; Sciurus vulgaris; conservation; melanism; mtDNA