While genetic diversity of threatened species is a major concern of conservation biologists, historic patterns of genetic variation are often unknown. A powerful approach to assess patterns and processes of genetic erosion is via ancient DNA techniques. Herein, we analyzed mtDNA from historical samples (1800s to present) of Andean Condors (Vultur gryphus) to investigate whether contemporary low genetic variability is the result of recent human expansion and persecution, and compared this genetic history to that of California condors (Gymnogyps californianus).We then explored historic demographies for both species via coalescent simulations. We found that Andean condors have lost at least 17% of their genetic variation in the early 20th century. Unlike California condors, however, low mtDNA diversity in the Andean condor was mostly ancient, before European arrival. However, we found that both condor species shared similar demographies in that population bottlenecks were recent and co‐occurred with the introduction of livestock to the Americas and the global collapse of marine mammals. Given the combined information on genetic and demographic processes, we suggest that the protection of key habitats should be targeted for conserving extant genetic diversity and facilitate the natural recolonization of lost territories, while nuclear genomic data should be used to inform translocation plans.

中文翻译：

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安第斯和加州秃鹰的遗传组成不同，但人口统计历史相似

虽然受威胁物种的遗传多样性是保护生物学家的主要关注点，但遗传变异的历史模式通常是未知的。一种评估遗传侵蚀模式和过程的有效方法是通过古老的DNA技术。在这里，我们分析了安第斯秃鹰（Vultur gryphus）的历史样本（1800年代至今）中的mtDNA，以调查当代低遗传变异性是否是最近人类扩张和迫害的结果，并将这种遗传历史与加州秃鹰（Gymnogyps californianus）进行了比较。）。然后，我们通过合并模拟探索了这两个物种的历史人口统计信息。我们发现，安第斯秃鹰在20世纪初期已经丧失了至少17％的遗传变异。但是，与加利福尼亚秃鹰不同，安第斯秃鹰的mtDNA多样性低，在欧洲到来之前大多是古老的。但是，我们发现这两种秃鹰物种在人口瓶颈方面具有相似的人口特征，因为它们是最近出现的瓶颈，并且与将牲畜引入美洲以及全球海洋哺乳动物的崩溃同时发生。考虑到遗传和人口过程的综合信息，我们建议重点保护生境的目的应是保护现有的遗传多样性，并促进失去领土的自然重新定殖，同时应使用核基因组数据来指导易位计划。