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Intrapopulation Polymorphism of the Pine Marten (Martes martes, Carnivora, Mustelidae) from Tver Oblast

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Abstract

The intrapopulation polymorphism of the pine marten (Martes martes L. 1758) was assessed on the basis of studying five samplings of skulls, three of which were collected on the same territory at different times. The geographical distance between the three sampling areas varied from 60 to 240 km. Study of the material using the phenetic (250 skulls), morphometric (151 skulls), and molecular genetic (21 skin samples) approaches allowed us to characterize the pine marten as a species with a low level of polymorphism. The genetic diversity (π = 0.0069 ± 0.0041 and H = 0.90 ± 0.039) is determined by ancient demographic processes that took place in the Pleistocene and Holocene and are related to the ice-age history of this species, its expansion, and the formation of the population on the territory under study. Low levels of phenetic (μ = 1.48 ± 0.056, h = 0.14 ± 0.033) and morphological (CV = 3.37 ± 0.41) diversity as well as a low level of sexual dimorphism (Isd = 9.4) indicate that the pine marten occupies a specific and relatively narrow ecological niche and is involved in weak competition with smaller mustelid species.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 119991, Russia

    M. P. Korablev

  2. Velikie Luki State Agricultural Academy, Velikie Luki, Pskov oblast, 182112, Russia

    N. P. Korablev

  3. Central Forest State Nature Biosphere Reserve, Zapovednyi settlement, Nelidovo region, Tver oblast, 172513, Russia

    M. P. Korablev & P. N. Korablev

  4. Pskov State University, Pskov, 180000, Russia

    N. P. Korablev

  5. Zhitkov All-Russia Research Institute of Game Management and Animal Breeding, Western Branch, St. Petersburg, 197183, Russia

    I. L. Tumanov

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  1. M. P. Korablev
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  2. N. P. Korablev
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  3. P. N. Korablev
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Original Russian Text © M.P. Korablev, N.P. Korablev, P.N. Korablev, I.L. Tumanov, 2016, published in Zoologicheskii Zhurnal, 2016, Vol. 95, No. 1, pp. 80–93.

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Korablev, M.P., Korablev, N.P., Korablev, P.N. et al. Intrapopulation Polymorphism of the Pine Marten (Martes martes, Carnivora, Mustelidae) from Tver Oblast. Biol Bull Russ Acad Sci 44, 794–806 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1062359017070111

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