Population Genetics of the Invasive Red Fox, Vulpes vulpes, in South-Eastern Australia.

Kalynda M.-A Watson,Katarina M Mikac,Sibylle G Schwab

doi:10.3390/genes12050786

Abstract

The use of genetic information in conservation biology has become more widespread with genetic information more readily available for non-model organisms. It has also been recognized that genetic information from invasive species can inform their management and control. The red fox poses a significant threat to Australian native fauna and the agricultural industry. Despite this, there are few recently published studies investigating the population genetics of foxes in Australia. This study investigated the population genetics of 94 foxes across the Illawarra and Shoalhaven regions of New South Wales, Australia. Diversity Array sequencing technology was used to genotype a large number of single nucleotide polymorphisms (N = 33,375). Moderate genetic diversity and relatedness were observed across the foxes sampled. Low to moderate levels of inbreeding, high-levels of identity-by-state values, as well as high identity-by-descent values were also found. There was limited evidence for population genetic structure among the foxes across the landscape sampled, supporting the presence of a single population across the study area. This indicates that there may be no barriers hindering fox dispersal across the landscape.

Highlights

The European red fox, Vulpes vulpes, has been recognised as an invasive species and key threat to Australian fauna, following the deliberate introduction and establishment of the species in southern Victoria about 140 years ago [1]
We have shown that across a landscape-scale study in south-eastern Australia, there are insufficient geographic barriers to mitigate geneflow of the foxes sampled
A push toward reduction of gene flow, the structuring of populations across the landscape, and allowing genetic drift to assist in control may assist in fox control [55]

Summary

Introduction

The European red fox, Vulpes vulpes, has been recognised as an invasive species and key threat to Australian fauna, following the deliberate introduction and establishment of the species in southern Victoria about 140 years ago [1]. It is well known that foxes severely impact upon the distribution and abundance of Australian native fauna [4,5] Their main prey are livestock and native fauna in the critical weight range [6,7,8]. Foxes compete with native species for habitat and resources and threaten the presence of already declining native populations. Such has been observed in the spotted-tail quoll (Dasyurus maculatus), with a conservation status of near-threatened, where there is extensive overlap in habitat and resource use [13]. There is no doubt that foxes pose a serious threat to native populations by competition for resources and habitat overlap, and controlling fox populations will be important to the success of any conservation efforts for threatened Australian fauna

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