Genetic structure of native and naturalized populations of sable (Martes zibellina L.) of the Central Siberian Plateau and adjacent territories

The sable (Martes zibellina L.) range extends from the western slopes of the Ural Mountains to the Far East. Sable has a complex intraspecific structure; geographic populations differ in a number of morphological traits. Unregulated sable hunting for several centuries, forest fires and industrialization of Siberia led to a sharp decline in the species’ population size and the fragmentation of its habitat by the beginning of the twentieth century. In some regions of Siberia, the species was almost completely exterminated. To restore the sable population, along with a complete ban on hunting, large-scale sable reintroductions were made in the middle of the twentieth century. About 11.7–11.8 thousand animals were brought from the Baikal-Patom region of the Baikal Mountain Country to Western and Eastern Siberia. Reintroduced sables survived in the new territories and formed naturalized populations. We studied the allele frequency distribution of 15 microsatellite loci of 474 sable specimens from 14 native and six naturalized sable populations in the Central Siberian Plateau and adjacent territories. The results of the analysis of genetic diversity, differentiation and population structure indicate the presence of five clusters in the study area, four of which are formed by native populations and one that includes a native population from the Patom donor area and all six naturalized populations. Both large-scale reintroductions and a complete ban on hunting have contributed to the restoration of sable populations in Siberia, which have become a continuous sable range. An analysis of genetic structure in historical and geographic context can be useful in studying the effects of introduction or reintroduction when considering the stages of introduction-naturalization-invasion continuum.