Effect of landscape features on the genetic structure of forest duikers (Cephalophinae) in Moukalaba forest, Gabon

Dispersal and gene flow within an animal population are influenced by the composition and configuration of the landscape. In this study, we characterized the population genetic structures of three coexistent forest duiker species (Cephalophinae) in an approximately 250 km 2 area of Moukalaba-Doudou National Park, Gabon. We obtained genotypes of 11 autosomal microsatellite loci and sequenced a portion of the mitochondrial DNA control region (~ 600 bp). Individual identification analyses using microsatellites showed that we obtained 82 blue, 6 bay, and 15 yellow-backed duiker individuals. In each species, mitochondrial and microsatellite results showed that there were two genetically different subpopulations. A mountainous area was suggested to cause the observed genetic differentiation in the blue duiker, while a river might act as a genetic barrier for yellow-backed duiker. The difference in genetic barriers between the two species might also be explained by the difference in body size. In the blue duiker population, two genetically different subpopulations were suggested to have recently come into contact. This suggests that the population history of blue duiker in Moukalaba may be complex, although duikers were continuously distributed. In this study, using both mitochondrial and microsatellite data, we described the genetic structure of coexistent duikers, suggesting that different landscape features limited gene flow in different species.