THE INFLUENCE OF PHYSICAL BARRIERS AND ECOLOGICAL FACTORS ON AREAL FRAGMENTATION AND GENETIC DIVERSITY OF POPULATIONS OF THE SPECKLED GROUND SQUIRREL (SPERMOPHILUS SUSLICUS GÜLD.) IN MIDDLE VOLGA REGION 

Zaks Svetlana Sergeevna, Candidate of biological sciences, senior staff scientist, research department, Penza State University (40 Krasnaya street, Penza, Russia), s.s.zaks@yandex.ru 
Chernyshova Olga Valer'evna, Postgraduate student, Penza State University (40 Krasnaya street, Penza, Russia), oliarabbit@yandex.ru
Kuzmin Anton Alekseevich, Candidate of biological sciences, associate professor, sub-department of biotechnologies and technosphere safety, Penza State Technological University (1a/11 Baidukova lane / Gagarina street, Penza, Russia), kuzmin-puh@yandex.com
Titov Sergey Vital'evich, Doctor of biological sciences, professor, head of sub-department of zoology and ecology, dean of the Faculty of Physics, Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Penza State University (40 Krasnaya street, Penza, Russia), svtitov@yandex.ru

591.557:599.322.2

10.21685/2307-9150-2017-4-2

Background. Studying the genetic structure of populations, the flow of genes and genetic diversity is a topical contemporary problem of population ecology and metapopulation theory. This line o f research can solve a number of issues related to the problem of nature conservation and conservation of biological diversity. The goal
of the work is to study the effect of physical barriers and ecological factors on the genetic structure and genetic diversity of spatially subdivided populations of the  Spotted Ground Squirrel (Spermophilus suslicus Güld.) in Middle Volga region. The authors used the data of ecological (the density of individuals, biotopic priority) and molecular-genetic studies of a model colony of this species.
Materials and methods. The genetic (microsatellite markers) structure of 28 populations (n = 131 individuals) of the Spotted Ground Squirrel was investigated.  The total sample included 131 individuals. Along with this, 20 population and biotopic indices were analyzed in 121 colonies of the Spotted Ground Squirrel in Middle Volga region. The genetic structure of populations was described using the Arlequin ver. 3.1, and multidimensional indicators of ecological and biotope confinedness were processed in the Statistica for Windows software.
Results and conclusions. Areal indicators of the spotted ground squirrel colonies were examined using factor analysis (the principal component method). They merge into three clusters, which correspond to the basic types of preferred biotops – “man-altered”, “steppe” and “wet”. The obtained orthogonal multivariate space is a factor model of the ecological niche of this species in the Eastern portion of its range. Populations of S. suslicus in Ulyanovsk region were grouped on the basis of the data on distribution of the speckled ground squirrel taking into account the location of geographic barriers. The correctness of the determined metapopulation groups of the spotted ground squirrel was proved by the results of a stepwise discriminant analysis and the data on the genetic diversity of the 3 locus microsatellite DNA. Revealed in the course of the study, the fragmented structure of the Eastern part of the spotted ground squirrel’s areal is caused by two factors: a complex landscape structure of the territory of Middle Volga region and the diversity of the biotopic conditions of potential habitats for this species, as well as strong anthropogenic transformations of natural biotops.

Spotted Ground Squirrel, genetic structure, genetic diversity, environmental factors, physical barriers, subdivision of populations, Middle Volga region

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