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If a dangerously inbred puma population in Southern California is to survive in the future, an urgent need for genetic connectivity must be met, according to a team of researchers. The team reports that the puma population of about 20 adults in the Santa Ana Mountains has the lowest genetic diversity ever reported for pumas besides the Florida panther, which nearly went extinct from genetic causes.
The pumas’ isolation is primarily due to surrounding urbanization from Los Angeles and San Diego.Image credit: University of California-Davis
