Genetic Structure Of Red Deer And The Relationship Between Landscape And Genetic Differentiation Pattern In The Southern Of Greater Khingan Mountains,China

Gene flow is a key factor in maintaining population structure,and is also an important indicator for the conservation of endangered species and the assessment of population status.Human activities and habitat fragmentation will reduce gene flow among wild populations and the level of genetic diversity,which will reduce the adaptability of wild animals to the environment.Red deer（Cervus elaphus xanthopygus）is a Class II wild animal under spacial state protectionl,which was widely distributed in the forest in the northeast of China.In recent years,due to human disturbance and the change of natural environment,the habitat of red deer was fragmented and the distribution area was gradually shrinking,which led to the decline of population size,the block of gene flow,and the decline of genetic diversity.The Greater Khingan Mountains,located in the northeast of China,is an important distribution area for red deer,with a density of 1.11/km².Fecal samples of red deer were collected in the Gaogesitai-Hanwula National Nature Reserve in Inner Mongolia,which is located in the southern of Greater Khingan Mountains.Combining with population genetics approaches,mitochondrial DNA and microsatellite markers were used to evaluate the genetic diversity and genetic structure of red deer.We also used landscape genetics approaches to quantitatively evaluate the effects of landscape factors on gene flow.This study would provide scientific support for the conservation of wild red deer.Key findings were as follows:1.The results of genetic diversity showed that a total of 172 individuals were identified by species identification and individual identification of 231 fecal samples,and the ratio of female to male was 2.25:1.A total of 2 haplotypes were detected in 172 mitochondrial cytochrome b sequences,with haplotype diversity（H_d）of 0.319 and nucleotide diversity（P_i）of 0.226%.The average number of alleles（N_a）was 8.0,the average expected heterozygosity（H_e）was 0.737,and the average observed heterozygosity（H_o）was 0.767.Compared with the results of previous studies,the genetic diversity of red deer in the southern of Greater Khingan Mountains was at middle level.2.The results of population genetic structure analysis showed that the F-statistics and Bayesian clustering analysis were performed on 5 local groups in the study area based on microsatellite data.The F-statistic showed that the genetic differentiation index(F_st)of the whole population was 0.014,and 80%of the paired local groups showed significant genetic differentiation（p<0.01）.3.Landscape genetic analysis showed that the genetic differentiation pattern of red deer was consistent with the isolation-by-distance model（IBD）,and the genetic distance was significantly positively correlated with geographic distance.The least cost path distance between local groups was constructed by using landscape features to evaluate the effect of landscape features on gene flow.The results showed that landscape environmental variables were significantly related to gene flow between local groups（p<0.05）.Roads,elevation,and settlements were the main factors affecting the genetic differentiation pattern of red deer.In addition,based on the above analysis results,the authors suggested that the protection and management of red deer in the study area should be further strengthened.It is important to monitor the traffic intensity and reduce the interference of human activities to ensure adequate gene flow among red deer populations.