Genetic structure of the Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) population: Are tigers in Sikhote‐Alin and southwest Primorye truly isolated?

A genetic analysis of Amur tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) in the Russian Far East reveals that tigers in southern and northern Sikhote-Alin are more closely related than those separated by less than 10 km, indicating a significant barrier to tiger movement between Southwest Primorye and southern Sikhote-Alin. The study used noninvasive sampling of feces, hair, and blood from 63 identified individuals across three regions, analyzing nuclear DNA at nine microsatellite loci. This suggests that despite proximity, geographical or ecological factors may effectively isolate these populations.

SOROKIN, P. A., ROZHNOV, V. V., KRASNENKO, A. U., LUKAREVSKIY, V. S., NAIDENKO, S. V., & HERNANDEZ‐BLANCO, J. A. (2016). Genetic structure of the Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) population: Are tigers in Sikhote‐Alin and southwest Primorye truly isolated? Integrative Zoology, 11(1), 25–32. Portico. https://doi.org/10.1111/1749-4877.12175