Contribution of a native roe deer lineage to the recolonisation of the northern Apennines, Italy

After facing a great decline all over Europe during the past centuries, starting from the secondhalf of the XX century the roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) was reintroduced and strongly man-aged throughout its range, as other ungulate species. Overhunting and habitat change were themain factors threatening roe deer populations in Italy, where small remnant populations of putat-ively native roe deer survived in a few localities of eastern Alps and central-southern Italy. Weinvestigated the genetic variation of a roe deer population inhabiting the northern Apennines in theprovince of Massa-Carrara (Tuscany, Italy), analysing both mitochondrial DNA control region anda total of 11 autosomal microsatellite loci, to identify possible sources and recolonisation patterns,as well as the local prevalence of nativeCapreolus capreolus italicusgene pool. Analyses revealedan admixed nature of roe deer in this area, merging both native and non-native lineages, with a dom-inance ofitalicushaplotypes in the matriline and a majority of non-native genetic component inthe autosomal markers. The high similarity with roe deer from neighbouring areas suggests a nat-ural population origin by immigration. Two scenarios may explain the observed pattern of geneticvariation: a colonisation by a limited number of immigrants from a single admixed source (eithernorth or south-east), or a two-step recolonisation, firstly from the south, where theitalicusancestrywas prevalent, and then from the north, mostly by individuals carryingC. c. capreolusgenes. Thisstudy shows the genetic consequences of translocations even in populations not directly targeted byhuman interventions and highlight how investigating genetic variation might be essential in speciesmanagement.