Common hamster (Cricetus cricetus L., 1758, Cricetidae, Rodentia) in Moscow City: genetic structure, conservation status

The habitat conditions and genetic structure of the native population of the common hamster in Moscow, listed in the 3rd edition of the Red Data Book of Moscow City with the status 3 (vulnerable in the city), are described. Information about the presence of the common hamster in Moscow dates back to the end of the XIX century. Over the past 50 years, the Moscow population is noted to have sharply declined in abundance and has survived only along the Yazvenka River and the banks of the Borisov ponds. These areas are separated by a distance of 6 km. The genetic differences between these subpopulations are 14.6%. The diversity of the Moscow subpopulations is reduced both in mitochondrial DNA (there are only two mtDNA haplotypes in the city (in the cytochrome b gene + control region)) and in microsatellite markers. When analyzing 10 microsatellite loci in the Moscow population, 23 alleles were found. This is two to three times lower than in the populations of the common hamster in Astana, Simferopol and Kislovodsk. Haplotypes of the Moscow population together with those of the hamsters from the Tula and Vladimir regions form a well-supported clade on the phylogenetic tree. Genetic analysis of Moscow subpopulations of the common hamster confirms the adequacy of including this species in the Red Data Book of the Moscow City.