title: Population structure of the golden snub-nosed monkey Rhinopithecus roxellana in the Qinling Mountains, central China.
abstract: Environmental barriers and habitat fragmentation can restrict gene flow, leading to genetic divergence among animal populations. The golden snub-nosed monkey, Rhinopithecus roxellana, is endemic to China, and ranges across 4 provinces. However, over the past 40 years its populations have become fragmented. We investigated the genetic diversity, demographic history and population structure of R. roxellana in 5 reserves in one of its strongholds, the Qinling Mountain forests of Shaanxi. We collected genetic material from 11 monkey bands (a group of individuals containing multiple 1-male units) with a total of 428 samples genotyped at 20 microsatellite loci. Allelic richness and heterozygosity suggested a relatively high level of intra-band genetic diversity. We found no evidence of any genetic bottleneck in these R. roxellana populations. AMOVA and Bayesian cluster analysis revealed that R. roxellana in the 5 reserves are highly structured and form at least 3 distinct subpopulations. These subpopulations concur with major topographical features in the study area, such as mountain ridges, suggesting that dispersal of R. roxellana may be restricted by geographical barriers.
authors.affiliation: Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi'an, China.
authors.forename: Kang
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi'an, China.
authors.forename: Songtao
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: US Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA.
authors.forename: Samuel A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Cushman
authors.affiliation: Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi'an, China.
authors.forename: Derek W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Dunn
authors.affiliation: Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi'an, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoguang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.affiliation: Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi'an, China.
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.affiliation: Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi'an, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi'an, China.
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi'an, China.
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi'an, China.
authors.forename: Zhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi'an, China.
authors.forename: Kan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi'an, China. baoguoli@nwu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Baoguo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001499:Bayes Theorem; D002681:China; D016673:Colobinae / Q000235:genetics*; D017753:Ecosystem; D005260:Female; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005843:Geography; D008297:Male; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats
keywords: bottleneck effect; genetic diversity; golden snub-nosed monkey; population structure