The potential and shortcomings of mitochondrial DNA analysis for cheetah conservation management

There are only about 7,100 adolescent and adult cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) remaining in the wild. With the majority occurring outside protected areas, their numbers are rapidly declining. Evidence-based conservation measures are essential for the survival of this species. Genetic data is routinely used to inform conservation strategies, e.g., by establishing conservation units (CU). A commonly used marker in conservation genetics is mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Here, we investigated the cheetah’s phylogeography using a large-scale mtDNA data set to refine subspecies distributions and better assign individuals to CUs. Our dataset mostly consisted of historic samples to cover the cheetah’s whole range as the species has been extinct in most of its former distribution. While our genetic data largely agree with geography-based subspecies assignments, several geographic regions show conflicting mtDNA signals. Our analyses support previous findings that evolutionary forces such as incomplete l..., ,野生环境中现存的猎豹（Acinonyx jubatus）仅约7100头亚成体与成体个体，其中绝大多数栖息于保护区域之外，种群数量正快速下滑。针对该物种的存续，基于实证的保护措施必不可少。遗传数据常被用于指导保护策略的制定，例如通过划定保护单元（Conservation Units, CU）。保护遗传学领域常用的分子标记之一为线粒体DNA（mitochondrial DNA, mtDNA）。本研究依托大规模线粒体DNA数据集，对猎豹的系统地理学特征展开探究，以期细化亚种分布范围，并更精准地将个体归类至对应保护单元中。鉴于该物种已在绝大多数历史分布区内局部灭绝，本数据集主要采用历史样本，以覆盖猎豹的完整分布范围。尽管本次获取的遗传数据大体上与基于地理区划的亚种划分结果相符，但多个地理区域呈现出不一致的线粒体DNA信号。本研究的分析结果支持既往研究结论，即诸如不完全谱系分选（incomplete lineage sorting，原文此处截断）等进化力量的相关影响……