Cross-amplification in falcons and their hybrids: A new im- plemented multi-locus panel for conservation and forensic purposes

Falcons and their hybrids are among the most traded raptor species, with a significant proportion of international market involving countries with a strong falconry tradition. The trend in legal trade of falcons is strongly increased likewise the illegal international market is expected to swell due to the growing interest in wild-caught rather than captive-bred individuals. Biomolecular investigations represent a practical tool to foster actions finalized in tracking any wildlife trade, so contributing to the prevention of species overexploitation too. Contextually, they can inform about wild populations allowing the monitoring of genetic variability and structure. Microsatellites loci (STR) are amongst the most popular markers in molecular ecology. Despite the availability of species-specific microsatellite loci in some Falco species, a newly defined panel permitting the genetic analysis across the mostly traded Falco spp. and their hybrids has not been validated yet. Here we report the characterization of a panel of 21 highly polymorphic microsatellite loci selected from literature and evaluate its reliability for conservation and forensic purposes. We included in the study 163 captive-bred individuals belonging to in six species of falcons (Falco biarmicus, Falco cherrug, Falco pelegrinoides, Falco peregrinus, Falco rusticolus and Falco tinnunculus) and three hybrids (Falco cherrug x Falco peregrinus, Falco peregrinus x Falco rusticolus and Falco cherrug x Falco rusticolus). We identified two sample sets, including individuals from pure species belonging to 46 parental groups tested for genetic variability and differentiation and parentage analysis, and another enclosing individuals from pure species F. cherrug, F. peregrinus, F. rusticolus and their F1 hybrid individuals tested in the analysis of hybrid detection. The proposed STR panel could be of value in monitoring genetic diversity and differentiation in wild populations and describing mating systems and gene flow; moreover, it has the potential to perform individual identification and parentage analysis, so contributing to investigate parental claims, illegal transfer or suspected smuggling in Falco species and their hybrids.