The effects of a motorway on movement behaviour and gene flow in a forest carnivore: Joint evidence from road mortality, radio tracking and genetics

《The effects of a motorway on movement behaviour and gene flow in a forest carnivore: Joint evidence from road mortality, radio tracking and genetics》

打印

作者

来源: LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING,Vol.178,P.217-227

语言: 英文

关键字: Anthropogenic barriers; Conservation genetics; Genetta genetta; Habitat fragmentation; Movement ecology; Road ecology; MULTILOCUS GENOTYPE DATA; BADGER MELES-MELES; LANDSCAPE GENETICS; POPULATION-STRUCTURE; PARENTAGE ANALYSIS; MIGRATION RATES; COMMON GENE

作者单位: [Carvalho, Filipe; Lourenco, Andre; Alves, Paulo C.; Beja, Pedro] Univ Porto, Ctr Invest Biodiversidade & Recursos Genet, CIBIO InBio, Campus Agr Vairdo, P-4485661 Vairao, Portugal. [Carvalho, Filipe] Univ Ft Hare, Sch Biol & Environm Sci, Dept Zool & Entomol, Private Bag X1314, ZA-5700 Alice, South Africa. [Carvalho, Filipe; Carvalho, Rafael; Mira, Antonio] Univ Evora, Ctr Invest Biodiversidade & Recursos Genet, CIBIO InBio UE, Polo Evora,Casa Cordovil 2 Andar, P-7000890 Evora, Portugal. [Carvalho, Filipe; Carvalho, Rafael; Mira, Antonio] Univ Evora, Dept Biol, Unidade Biol Conservacdo, Nucl Mitra, P-7002554 Evora, Portugal. [Lourenco, Andre; Alves, Paulo C.] Univ Porto, Fac Ciencias, Dept Biol, Rua Campo Alegre, P-4169007 Porto, Portugal. [Alves, Paulo C.] Univ Montana, Coll Forestry & Conservat, Wildlife Biol Program, Missoula, MT USA. [Beja, Pedro] Univ Lisbon, Inst Super Agron, Ctr Ecol Aplicada Prof Baeta Neves, CEABN InBio, P-1349017 Lisbon, Portugal. Carvalho, F; Lourenco, A (reprint author), Univ Porto, Ctr Invest Biodiversidade & Recursos Genet, CIBIO InBio, Campus Agr Vairdo, P-4485661 Vairao, Portugal. E-Mail: filipescpcarvalho@gmail.com; andrelourenco300@gmail.com

摘要: Roads represent barriers to animal movement due to physical obstruction, mortality, or behavioural avoidance. The population-level consequences of such constraints remain poorly understood, because successful crossings may be sufficient to counteract negative effects of fragmentation and isolation. Here we examine the individual and population-level barrier effects of a motorway on the common genet Genetta genetta, by combining long-term road mortality, radio tracking and population genetics data. We found 84 genets killed at roads, of which 68% were subadults, with a peak mortality during the dispersal period. The home ranges of resident adults often bordered the motorway, and their sizes were similar close to (314 ha, n = 9) and far from (258 ha, n = 10) the motorway. The crossing rate was much higher for dispersing subadults (4.1 crossings/100 nights, n = 3) than for resident adults living near the motorway (0.2 crossings/100 nights, n = 9), though the number of tracked subadults crossing the motorway was low. Genetic kinship analysis revealed seven crossings based on father offspring and half-sibling relationships. There was no significant genetic differentiation related to the motorway. The movement of residents were strongly constrained by the motorway, though gene flow mediated by successful crossings, particularly by subadults, likely prevented genetic differentiation. Genet movements across the motorway were probably facilitated by low traffic flow and the presence of crossing structures. Our study implies that evaluating mitigation strategies to reduce the barrier effects of roads would benefit from the integration of mortality, animal behaviour, and population genetics data, to increase effectiveness and avoid wasting scarce conservation resources.