FEATURES OF THE METAPOPULATION STRUCTURE OF THE EASTERN PART OF THE SPOTTED GROUND SQUIRREL HABITAT IN CONDITIONS OF ANTHROPOGENIC AND NATURAL FRAGMENTATION OF ENVIRONMENT
Background. Sustainability of biological species in a highly fragmented and competitive environment is an important fundamental problem of modern biology. Two areas of research are relevant: the study of internal polymorphism and the stability of local populations to the negative effects of the external and internal environment and the study of genetic subdivision of populations resulting from natural and anthropogenic fragmentation of the habitat (metapopulation approach). The aim of the study is to reveal the features of the metapopulation structure of the Spotted Ground Squirrel area in the Volga region and the factors of its modern formation on the basis of already obtained and new genetic data. Materials and methods. The primary genetic data on DNA polymorphism in the populations of the Spotted Ground Squirrel in Ulyanovsk region ( n = 24) and the results of the generalized analysis of genetic data on metapopulations were the material for the work. 32 combined nucleotide sequences of two mtDNA markers (D-loop and Cyt b) were analyzed using MEGA 7.0.21 and DnaSP 5.10. Results. The results of ML-analysis and analysis of polymorphism of nucleotide sequences of mtDNA of the Spotted Ground Squirrel show a low genetic differentiation of the Northern metapopulations of the S. suslicus (Eastern, Central, Northern and North-Western) and high genetic differentiation of the southern metapopulation. Conclusions. The metapopulation structure of the Eastern part of the Spotted Ground Squirrel squirrel area is organized according to the metapopulation model, which assumes the presence of only two genetically subdivided groups of local populations. These metapopulation geographically isolated to the river valley of Syzrani and named the South and North populations.