Genetic evidence of range-wide population declines in an Australian marsupial prior to European settlement
Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskrift › Tidsskriftartikel › Forskning › fagfællebedømt
Standard
Genetic evidence of range-wide population declines in an Australian marsupial prior to European settlement. / Brüniche-Olsen, Anna; Hazlitt, Stephanie L.; Eldridge, Mark D.B.
I: Conservation Genetics, Bind 18, Nr. 5, 2017, s. 1077-1089.Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskrift › Tidsskriftartikel › Forskning › fagfællebedømt
Harvard
APA
Vancouver
Author
Bibtex
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
T1 - Genetic evidence of range-wide population declines in an Australian marsupial prior to European settlement
AU - Brüniche-Olsen, Anna
AU - Hazlitt, Stephanie L.
AU - Eldridge, Mark D.B.
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2017, Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.
PY - 2017
Y1 - 2017
N2 - Reconstruction of a species demographic history can be used to investigate impacts of environmental change through time. Australia’s mesic biome experienced massive changes during the Holocene, including climate fluctuations, increased human populations, and European settlement. Using microsatellite data from 202 brush-tailed rock-wallabies (Petrogale penicillata) sampled across the species current geographic range, we investigated gene flow and inferred the demographic history of the species to explore the historical impacts of environmental change on this once wide-ranging marsupial mammal. We found high levels of genetic diversity in all colonies, despite very restricted contemporary gene flow and no sign of historical gene flow. Demographic analyses showed that individual populations have low effective population sizes (Ne < 200). We identified a major historical decline throughout the species range occurring 10,000–1000 years before present, spanning a period with increased El Niño Southern Oscillation activity, increased human population size and establishment of the dingo population. This major decline pre-dates the European settlement of Australia and so places the species most recent dramatic decline into context, suggesting that brushed-tailed rock-wallabies were inherently vulnerable to major changes to their environment.
AB - Reconstruction of a species demographic history can be used to investigate impacts of environmental change through time. Australia’s mesic biome experienced massive changes during the Holocene, including climate fluctuations, increased human populations, and European settlement. Using microsatellite data from 202 brush-tailed rock-wallabies (Petrogale penicillata) sampled across the species current geographic range, we investigated gene flow and inferred the demographic history of the species to explore the historical impacts of environmental change on this once wide-ranging marsupial mammal. We found high levels of genetic diversity in all colonies, despite very restricted contemporary gene flow and no sign of historical gene flow. Demographic analyses showed that individual populations have low effective population sizes (Ne < 200). We identified a major historical decline throughout the species range occurring 10,000–1000 years before present, spanning a period with increased El Niño Southern Oscillation activity, increased human population size and establishment of the dingo population. This major decline pre-dates the European settlement of Australia and so places the species most recent dramatic decline into context, suggesting that brushed-tailed rock-wallabies were inherently vulnerable to major changes to their environment.
KW - Demographic history
KW - Gene flow
KW - Marsupial
KW - Microsatellite
KW - Rock-wallaby
U2 - 10.1007/s10592-017-0960-8
DO - 10.1007/s10592-017-0960-8
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85016111665
VL - 18
SP - 1077
EP - 1089
JO - Conservation Genetics
JF - Conservation Genetics
SN - 1566-0621
IS - 5
ER -
ID: 394712180