Meißner, René (University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna / Goethe University) René Meißner Prost, Stefan (University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna / LOEWE Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics) Stefan Prost Bottriell, Lena Godsall (Rex Foundation) Lena Godsall Bottriell Greve, Carola (LOEWE Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics) Carola Greve Sliwa, Alexander (Kölner Zoo AG) Alexander Sliwa Winter, Sven (University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna) Sven Winter Westerhüs, Uta (Opel-Zoo) Uta Westerhüs Burger, Pamela A. (University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna) Pamela A. Burger Horin, Petr (University of Veterinary Sciences Brno) Petr Horin Khalatbari, Leili (Universidade do Porto / CIBIO / Mohitban Society / University of Veterinary Sciences Brno) Leili Khalatbari Abramov, Alexei V. (Russian Academy of Sciences) Alexei V. Abramov Hunter, Luke T. B. (Wildlife Conservation Society / University of KwaZulu-Natal) Luke T. B. Hunter Vercammen, Paul (Breeding Centre for Endangered Arabian Wildlife) Paul Vercammen Fernandes, Carlos Rodríguez (University of Lisbon) Carlos Rodríguez Fernandes Bottriell, Paul (Rex Foundation) Paul Bottriell Springer 2022 Abstract: 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 lineage sorting or mitochondrial capture likely confound the mitochondrial phylogeography of this species, especially in East and, to some extent, in Northeast Africa. We caution that subspecies assignments solely based on mtDNA should be treated carefully and argue for an additional standardized nuclear single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) marker set for subspecies identification and monitoring. However, the detection of the A. j. soemmeringii specific haplogroup by a newly designed Amplification-Refractory Mutation System (ARMS) can already provide support for conservation measures. PDFDocument en 2024-07-23T07:55:33.950Z Acinonyx-Jubatus; Asiatic Cheetah; Avoidance; Habitats; Iran 3004686 b application/pdf CC BY 4.0 International