Population structure of the red-legged partridge: management implications

Abstract

Dispersal barriers may arise and disappear repeatedly over the course of a species’ distribution and can have different effects depending partially on the duration of the barrier and the species’ ecology. The red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa) has a large natural distribution range extending from the Mediterranean to humid temperate zones. However, the genetic structure of this species is unknown. We investigated the potential impact of Pleistocene and Holocene range shifts on the phylogeographic patterns and genetic population structure of this species using mitochondrial DNA control-region and nuclear microsatellite loci. Our results imply that during the Pleistocene glaciations this species was affected by climatic changes and ephemeral geographic barriers, which led to their current shallow genealogical and genetic structure apportioned into five genetic groups: South-western, Central-eastern, North-western, Balearic, and French and Italian, which could be recognized as management units (stocks) of the A. rufa species. Future conservation and management plans of this species should take into account its wild genetic structure in regards of releases of captivebred partridges for restocking, avoiding the mixture of different gene pools and alteration of intraspecific diversity.