No genetic signature of glacial refugia in current European fallow deer ( Dama dama dama L., 1758) populations: a commen
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
No genetic signature of glacial refugia in current European fallow deer (Dama dama dama L., 1758) populations: a comment on Baker et al. (2017) Alexis Marchesini1 · Cristiano Vernesi1 · Andrea Gandolfi2 · Marco Masseti3,4 Received: 7 July 2020 / Accepted: 4 October 2020 © Deutsche Gesellschaft für Säugetierkunde 2020
Abstract Genetic data are crucial for making inferences about the evolutionary history of species and deriving guidelines for conservation strategies. In conservation genetics studies, each step should be critically evaluated, from sampling strategy to data quality assessment and analytical methods: potential issues and biases should be considered, reproducibility should be guaranteed and the results of different analyses should be critically evaluated. By incorporating all these steps, we reanalysed data from Baker et al. (Heredity 119:16–26, 2017): our results led to conclusions that contradict the ones reached by the authors, which were based on weak support and biased analyses. European fallow deer current genetic makeup most likely derives from extensive human-mediated translocations. The genetic expectations of glacial refugia hypothesis cannot be found in current European fallow deer populations. Keywords Fallow deer · Reappraisal · mtDNA · Microsatellites · Glacial refugia · Translocations
Introduction With more than 40 years of history, conservation genetics is a well-established research discipline with a robust, although constantly evolving, framework of theory and methods (Frankham et al. 2017). However, each new study Handling editor: Laura Iacolina. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s42991-020-00076-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Cristiano Vernesi [email protected] 1
Department of Sustainable Agroecosystems and Bioresources, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, via E. Mach 1, 38010 S. Michele All’Adige, TN, Italy
2
Department of Biodiversity and Molecular Ecology, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, via E. Mach 1, 38010 S. Michele All’Adige, TN, Italy
3
Department of Biology, University of Florence, via del Proconsolo 12, 50122 Florence, Italy
4
IUCN Deer Specialist Group, via del Proconsolo 12, 50122 Florence, Italy
is potentially misleading if performed and interpreted without a rigorous and critical use of genetic data. In particular, genetics is too often used without proper consideration of several relevant aspects, such as: (1) quality and informativeness of the dataset (i.e. degree of polymorphism), (2) sound and unbiased analytical workflow (from sampling scheme to a proper use of genetic software), and (3) critical interpretation of results, contextualising the genetic data with other available information on the study species (e.g. peculiarities of the mating system, current knowledge deriving from historical and archaeozoological information). Overlooking these crucial aspects can l
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