Data from: Informing conservation strategies with museum genomics: Long-term effects of past anthropogenic persecution on the elusive European wildcat

Like many carnivore species, European wildcats (Felis silvestris) have
suffered severe anthropogenic population declines in the past, resulting
in a strong population bottleneck in the beginning of the 20th century. In
Germany, the species has managed to survive its near-extinction in small
isolated areas and is currently recolonizing former habitats owing to
legal protection and concerted conservation efforts. Here, we SNP
genotyped and mtDNA sequenced 56 historical and 650 contemporary samples
to assess the impact of massive persecution on genetic diversity,
population structure and hybridization dynamics of wildcats.
Spatiotemporal analyses suggest that the presumed postglacial
differentiation between two genetically distinct metapopulations in
Germany is in fact the result of the anthropogenic bottleneck followed by
re-expansion from few secluded refugia. We found that, despite the
bottleneck, populations experienced no severe genetic erosion, nor
suffered from elevated inbreeding or showed signs of increased
hybridization with domestic cats. Our findings have significant
implications for current wildcat conservation strategies, as the data
analyses show that the two presently recognized wildcat population
clusters should be treated as a single conservation unit. Although current
populations appear under no imminent threat from genetic factors,
fostering connectivity through the implementation of forest corridors will
facilitate the preservation of genetic diversity and promote long-term
viability. The present study documents how museum collections can be used
as essential resource for assessing long-term anthropogenic effects on
natural populations, e.g., regarding population structure and the
delineation of appropriate conservation units, potentially informing
todays’ species conservation.

与多数食肉动物类群一样，欧洲野猫（Felis silvestris）曾遭受严重的人为种群数量下降，导致20世纪初出现强烈的种群瓶颈效应。
在德国，该物种曾在小型孤立栖息地中侥幸躲过灭绝危机，如今依托法律保护与协同保护工作，正重新占据此前的适宜生境。
本研究对56份历史样本与650份现代样本开展单核苷酸多态性（Single Nucleotide Polymorphism, SNP）基因分型与线粒体DNA（mitochondrial DNA, mtDNA）测序，以评估大规模人为捕杀对野猫遗传多样性、种群结构及杂交动态的影响。
时空分析结果显示，此前被认为是德国境内两个遗传分化显著的集合种群（metapopulation）间的冰后分化现象，实则是人为种群瓶颈后，从少数隐蔽避难所重新扩张的结果。
研究发现，即便经历了种群瓶颈，野猫种群并未出现严重的遗传侵蚀，也未出现近交水平升高，亦未显现出与家猫杂交程度加剧的迹象。
本研究结果对当前野猫保护策略具有重要参考价值：数据分析表明，目前公认的两个野猫种群集群应被视为单一保护单元。
尽管当前种群未受到来自遗传层面的直接威胁，但通过营建森林廊道以促进种群间的连通性，将有助于维持遗传多样性，并提升种群的长期存续能力。
本研究证实了博物馆馆藏样本可作为关键资源，用于评估人为活动对自然种群的长期影响——例如在种群结构解析与适宜保护单元划定等方面，可为当代物种保护工作提供科学参考。