Vergleichende populationsgenetische Untersuchungen an der Europäischen Wildkatze (Felis silvestris, Felidae) in Thüringen und der Slowakei.
Final Report Abstract
Morphological analyses of 182 wildcats and domestic cats of two populations from Slovakia and Thuringia, Germany, showed that both forms could be separated by means of only a few morphometric traits. Following a linear discriminant analysis cranial volume, width of skull over ear openings, distance between foramen rotundum and foramen ovale, cranial index length of C1 diameter of porus acusticus externus and maximal length Mi are necessary to separate the four possible groups {domestic/wild versus male/female) clearly in the Slovakian population. When postcrania! traits are included into the character set tibia length, cranial index and length of C1 are still needed to assign the Slovakian individuals correctly. Pearson's r correlation matrix of all 66 characters showed a high degree of correlation between many characters which highlights the finding that future studies can be restricted to only a few appropriately discriminating traits. The results of the principal component analysis demonstrated that domestic cats and wildcats, and to a lesser extent the sexes of the cats, can be identified unequivocally based on further morphometric measurements even when the best discriminating traits are lacking. Coat patterns, however, as often used discriminating characters, seem to be incapable for a correct assignment of individuals in the Slovakian population. In comparison to the German population the morphological differences between domestic cats and wildcats are cleariy more pronounced in Slovakia and the ranking of diagnostic characters differs. As possible explanations of this finding an east west gradient caused be a more maritime respectively more continental climate as well as a lower degree of introgression and hybridization between both forms in the Slovakian population is discussed.
