Image Caption: This female mountain lion, known as F52, was collared in the middle portion of the Santa Ana range. She later died near a busy highway of unknown causes. Credit: UC Davis<\/p>\n
Provided by University of California Davis <\/p>\n
Cut off by freeways and human development, mountain lions in southern California are facing a severe loss of genetic diversity, according to a new study led by the University of California, Davis in partnership with The Nature Conservancy. <\/p>\n
The study, published today in the journal PLOS ONE, represents the largest genetic sampling of mountain lions, or pumas, in southern California. It raises concerns about the current status of mountain lions in the Santa Ana and Santa Monica mountains, as well as the longer-term outlook for mountain lions across southern California. <\/p>\n
UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine scientists collected and analyzed DNA samples from 354 mountain lions statewide, including 97 from southern California. Pumas in the Santa Ana Mountains displayed lower genetic diversity than those from nearly every other region in the state. <\/p>\n
Santa Ana mountain lions show dramatic genetic isolation and have less in common with their neighbors in the Santa Monica Mountains than with those in the Sierra Nevada, underscoring the increasing seclusion of pumas in southern California. <\/p>\n
The Santa Ana Mountain range, located south of Los Angeles and north of San Diego, is surrounded by urbanization and a growing population of about 20 million people. A small habitat linkage to the southeast connects pumas to the Peninsular Range, but it is bisected by Interstate 15 a busy 10-lane highway and associated human development. The study highlights the urgency to maintain and enhance the little connectivity remaining for coastal mountain lions, particularly across I-15. <\/p>\n
The study also showed that the Santa Ana pumas recently went through a population bottleneck, when the populations size sharply decreased to a fraction of its original size. <\/p>\n
The genetic samples give us a clear indication that there was a genetic bottleneck in the last 80 or so years, said lead author Holly Ernest, a professor with the Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center and the Veterinary Genetic Laboratory at UC Davis at the time of the study. She is now a professor at the University of Wyoming, Laramie. That tells us its not just natural factors causing this loss of genetic diversity. Its us people impacting these environments. <\/p>\n
Pumas in the Santa Monica Mountains are similarly threatened by low genetic diversity, inbreeding, and lions killing other lions, according to a study co-authored by Ernest published in Septembers issue of Current Biology. Just one lion was known to cross Highway 101 during the study period, and he significantly increased the genetic diversity of that population, the study found. <\/p>\n
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Mountain Lions In Southern California Face Genetic Decay<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Image Caption: This female mountain lion, known as F52, was collared in the middle portion of the Santa Ana range. She later died near a busy highway of unknown causes Continue reading