Laura Iacolina

1 Introduction Effective conservation and management of many large carnivores is seriously challenged by inadequate knowledge of their ecology and behaviour, the size and connectivity of populations, and their adaptive capacity (Doran-Myers et al., 2021). While genetic tools can help address these questions, difficulty accessing necessary material from target individuals remains.

Abstract European wildlife has been subjected to intensifying levels of anthropogenic impact throughout the Holocene, yet the main genetic partitioning of many species is thought to still reflect the late-Pleistocene glacial refugia. We analyzed 26,342 nuclear SNPs of 464 wild boar (Sus scrofa) across the European continent to infer demographic history and reassess the genetic consequences of natural and anthropogenic forces.

Abstract Genetic monitoring of populations currently attracts interest in the context of the Convention on Biological Diversity but needs long-term planning and investments. However, genetic diversity has been largely neglected in biodiversity monitoring, and when addressed, it is treated separately, detached from other conservation issues, such as habitat alteration due to climate change.