Range-Wide Snow Leopard Phylogeography Supports Three Subspecies.

摘要: The snow leopard, Panthera uncia, is an elusive high-altitude specialist that inhabits vast, inaccessible habitat across Asia. We conducted the first range-wide genetic assessment of leopards based on noninvasive scat surveys. Thirty-three microsatellites were genotyped and a total 683 bp mitochondrial DNA sequenced in 70 individuals. Snow exhibited low diversity at (AN = 5.8, HO 0.433, HE 0.568), virtually no mtDNA variation, underwent bottleneck Holocene (∼8000 years ago) coinciding with increased temperatures, precipitation, upward treeline shift Tibetan Plateau. Multiple analyses supported 3 primary clusters: (1) Northern (the Altai region), (2) Central (core Himalaya Plateau), (3) Western (Tian Shan, Pamir, trans-Himalaya regions). Accordingly, we recognize subspecies, uncia irbis (Northern group), (Western uncioides (Central group) upon distinctness, levels admixture, unambiguous population assignment, geographic separation. patterns variation consistent desert-basin "barrier effects" Gobi isolating northern subspecies (Mongolia), dividing central (Qinghai, Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal) western (India, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan). Hierarchical Bayesian clustering analysis revealed additional subdivision into minimum 6 proposed management units: Mongolia, southern Tian Pamir-Himalaya, Tibet-Himalaya, Qinghai, spatial autocorrelation suggesting potential connectivity by dispersing individuals up to ∼400 km. provide foundation for global conservation leopard set stage in-depth landscape genetics genomic studies.