Thread by @isabel_salado

1/8 Paper out! Loss of mitochondrial genetic diversity despite population growth in the Iberian wolf🧬🐺 #wolfConsevol
#SpecialIssue "Advance in Canine Genetics" @Genes_MDPI
Find out more -> mdpi.com/2031456
@ebdonana @PhD_EBD @consevol @unipotsdam @MDPIOpenAccess
🧵👇🏼

2/8 Iberian wolves declined in the last two centuries due to human persecution and habitat fragmentation. Since the min number around 1970s ☠️📉, their numbers have significantly increased📈 and then stabilized in recent decades.

3/8 We used whole mitogenomes🧬from historical ☠️and modern Iberian wolves to test if the recent population expansion since the 1970s has halted the loss of genetic diversity after centuries of intense persecution.
Photo: @isabel_salado. Iberian wolf skulls from @coleccionesEBD

4/8 We found unique mitochondrial diversity in Iberian wolves not identified outside Iberia, forming two separate clades (green)

5/8 We identified 10 whole mtDNA haplotypes in 19 historical specimens, whereas only six of them were observed in 29 modern Iberian wolves.
(red-haplotypes only found in historical wolves)

6/8 We found a mito haplotype (MT) restricted to the southern part of the distribution and haplotypes only found in historical wolves (private). The southern haplotype has likely dissappeared with the local extinction of the wolf in Sierra Morena☠️🐺
(gray: current wolf range)

7/8 Our results illustrate a lag between demographic and genetic diversity changes, and show that after severe population declines, genetic diversity can continue to be lost in stable or even expanding populations, suggesting that such populations may be of conservation concern📝

8/8 Thanks to the rest of the authors, collaborators, funding and institutions that have contributed to this study!🙂 @ebdonana @unipotsdam @consevol @JenBiologist @carles_vila_ebd