Abstract:

Aims：In the context of global biodiversity facing threats, protecting the genetic diversity of wildlife is of critical importance for maintaining ecological balance and enhancing the adaptive capacity of ecosystems. 

Methods：This study took red deer in the Ebinur Lake Nature Reserve as the research object, using non-invasive sampling methods to collect fecal samples, and analyzed their genetic diversity and genetic structure based on microsatellite and mitochondrial markers (CYTB, D-LOOP). 

Results：The results showed that the overall observed heterozygosity (Ho) for microsatellites was 0.662, the expected heterozygosity (He) was 0.777, the polymorphic information content (PIC) was 0.712, and the inbreeding coefficient (Fis) was 0.165, indicating a deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The haplotype diversity (Hd) of mitochondrial markers CYTB and D-LOOP was 0.447 and 0.605, respectively, and the nucleotide diversity (Pi) was 0.00463 and 0.00334, respectively. Compared to other subspecies of red deer, the genetic diversity of red deer in Ebinur Lake National Park is moderately high. No bottleneck effect has occurred, and a certain degree of inbreeding is present. Microsatellite structure analysis and principal coordinate analysis indicate that red deer in Ebinur Lake Nature Reserve form two distinct clusters, suggesting genetic differentiation has occurred.Phylogenetic and genetic distance analysis suggests that the red deer in the Ebinur Lake Nature Reserve are closely related to the Tianshan red deer and the Altai red deer. 

Conclusion：As one of the large ungulate species within the reserve, its genetic diversity is of significant importance for maintaining the ecosystem. Therefore, to preserve the genetic diversity of the red deer in the Ebinur Lake Nature Reserve, it is recommended to strengthen the protection of red deer habitats, establish ecological corridors to facilitate gene exchange, and prevent inbreeding.

Key words: Ebinur Lake Reserve, red deer, genetic diversity, non-invasive sampling, microsatellites, mitochondrial DNA