Isolation can result in a fragmented genetic population structure, a decline of genetic diversity and increased inbreeding, followed by a decrease in reproductive potential and survival of the population (Frankham et al. Nevertheless, with extensive home range requirements and natural low densities, large carnivores are particularly sensitive to habitat fragmentation and limited connectivity between the patches (Crooks 2002 Crooks et al. 2014), but recent conservation efforts have aided the recovery of several populations in Europe (Chapron et al. Large carnivores have suffered from considerable declines globally (Prugh et al. Combining all available data, we infer that the genetic population structure within Finland is shaped by a recent bottleneck, isolation by distance, human-aided translocations and postglacial recolonization routes.Ĭonservation of large carnivores represents a challenging issue especially due to the conflicts arising from their interaction with human activities. The rare haplotype was more prominent in the eastern genetic cluster. Two mtDNA haplotypes were found: one common and identical to Scandinavian wolverines the other rare and not previously detected. Nevertheless, the genetic diversity was higher in the eastern cluster ( H E = 0.57, A R = 4.0, A P = 0.3) than in the northern cluster ( H E = 0.49, A R = 3.7, A P = 0.1). For both main clusters, most estimates of the effective population size N e were below 50. Wolverines in western Finland had a genetic signature similar to the northern cluster, which can be explained by former translocations of wolverines from northern to western Finland. We found two major genetic clusters divided between eastern and northern Finland based on microsatellites ( F ST = 0.100) but also a significant pattern of isolation by distance.
Considering the recent recovery of the wolverine ( Gulo gulo) in Finland, our aim was to evaluate genetic variation using 14 microsatellites and mtDNA control region (579 bp) in order (1) to determine whether the species is represented by a single genetic population within Finland, (2) to quantify the genetic diversity, and (3) to estimate the effective population size. After decades, even centuries of persecution, large carnivore populations are widely recovering in Europe.
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