Isolation, small population size, and management influence inbreeding and reduced genetic variation in K’gari dingoes

作者：Susan M. Miller, Linda Behrendorff, Benjamin L. Allen, Rose L. Andrew, Guy Ballard, J. William O. Ballard, Kylie M. Cairns, Gabriel Conroy, Peter J. S. Fleming, Catherine E. Grueber, Jane Oakey, Deane Smith, Danielle Stephens, Claire M. Wade, Jacqueline M. Bishop · 发表于：Conservation Genetics · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1007/s10592-024-01616-8 · 被引用次数：9 · 研究领域：Genetic Mapping and Diversity in Plants and Animals、Horticultural and Viticultural Research、Agronomic Practices and Intercropping Systems

Abstract Small island populations are vulnerable to genetic decline via demographic and environmental stochasticity. In the absence of immigration, founder effects, inbreeding and genetic drift are likely to contribute to local extinction risk. Management actions may also have a greater impact on small, closed populations. The demographic and social characteristics of a species can, however, delay the impact of threats. K’gari, a ~ 1 660 km 2 island off the Australian east coast and UNESCO World Heritage Site (Fraser Island 1842–2023), supports an isolated population of approximately 70–200 dingoes that represent an ideal opportunity to explore the small island paradigm. To examine temporal and spatial patterns of genetic diversity in this population we analysed single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotype data (72 454 SNPS) for 112 K’gari dingoes collected over a 25-year period (1996 to 2020). Genetic diversity was lower in K’gari dingoes than mainland dingoes at the earliest time point in our study and declined significantly following a management cull in 2001. We did not find any spatial genetic patterns on the island, suggesting high levels of genetic connectivity between socially discrete packs. This connectivity, combined with the social structure and behaviour of dingoes, may act in concert to buffer the population from the impacts of genetic drift in the short term. Nevertheless, a general decline in genetic variation via inbreeding and drift has occurred over the pa...