TY - JOUR AU - Streicher, Melanie AU - Krüger, Sonja AU - Loercher, Franziska AU - Willows-Munro, Sandi PY - 2021 DA - 2021/03/15 TI - Evidence of genetic structure in the wide-ranging bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus (Linnaeus, 1758)) JO - BMC Ecology and Evolution SP - 42 VL - 21 IS - 1 AB - The bearded vulture is sparsely distributed across a wide geographic range that extends over three continents (Africa, Europe and Asia). Restriction to high-altitude mountainous habitats, low breeding rates, lack of food and a heightened level of persecution have left many local populations severely diminished or extinct. Understanding the genetic connectivity and population structure of this threatened vulture species is critical for accurately assessing their conservation status, and for appropriately managing local populations through captive breeding programmes or translocations. Previous genetic assessments of the species were mainly focused on the European and Asian populations and included limited representation of the geographically isolated southern African population. A single mitochondrial study, which focused on the African populations of the bearded vulture, detected limited genetic differentiation between populations in Ethiopia and southern Africa, with reduced haplotype diversity in the southern Africa population. In this study, we extend the previous genetic assessments of the species by examining the phylogeography and genetic connectivity of global G. barbatus populations using a panel of 14 microsatellite loci. SN - 2730-7182 UR - https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-021-01760-6 DO - 10.1186/s12862-021-01760-6 ID - Streicher2021 ER -