Quantifying genetic distance between wild and captive strains of the grey partridge Perdix perdix in France: conservation implications

The grey partridge Perdix perdix is an important gamebird in Europe. Its numbers have decreased dramatically during the XXth century and releases are commonly undertaken for the conservation of the populations and/or hunting purposes in Western Europe. However, this practice that generally involves birds from commercial farms raises several concerns, among which a potential hybridization between farmed and wild individuals. Herein, based on microsatellite markers, we characterize the genetic patterns of farmed birds in view of wild birds of the two French subspecies (P. p. armoricana in central-northern France and P. p. hispaniensis in the Pyrenees). Hence, we estimate the risk of genetic introgression between wild and farmed birds. Our results highlight a genetic divergence between both subspecies—in accordance with the known evolutionary history of the grey partridge during the Quaternary. In central-northern France, a slight but significant difference in the genetic signature between wild and farmed partridges is detected. This difference however does not seem prone to alter the gene pool of wild birds if farmed birds are released in the wild and reproduce. On the contrary, in the Pyrenees, the large and significant genetic difference between wild and farmed birds represents a real risk of genetic introgression. This threat should be taken into account in population management.