Allen Adrian, Guerrero Jimena, Byrne Andrew, Lavery John, Presho Eleanor, Courcier Emily, O'Keeffe James, Fogarty Ursula, Delahay Richard, Wilson Gavin, Newman Chris, Buesching Christina, Silk Matthew, O'Meara Denise, Skuce Robin, Biek Roman, McDonald Robbie A
Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute, Belfast, UK.
Centre D'Ecologie Fonctionelle et Evolutive, Montpellier, France.
R Soc Open Sci. 2020 Apr 1;7(4):200288. doi: 10.1098/rsos.200288. eCollection 2020 Apr.
The colonization of Ireland by mammals has been the subject of extensive study using genetic methods and forms a central problem in understanding the phylogeography of European mammals after the Last Glacial Maximum. Ireland exhibits a depauperate mammal fauna relative to Great Britain and continental Europe, and a range of natural and anthropogenic processes have given rise to its modern fauna. Previous Europe-wide surveys of the European badger () have found conflicting microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA evidence in Irish populations, suggesting Irish badgers have arisen from admixture between human imported British and Scandinavian animals. The extent and history of contact between British and Irish badger populations remains unclear. We use comprehensive genetic data from Great Britain and Ireland to demonstrate that badgers in Ireland's northeastern and southeastern counties are genetically similar to contemporary British populations. Simulation analyses suggest this admixed population arose in Ireland 600-700 (CI 100-2600) years before present most likely through introduction of British badgers by people. These findings add to our knowledge of the complex colonization history of Ireland by mammals and the central role of humans in facilitating it.
利用遗传方法对哺乳动物在爱尔兰的殖民化进行了广泛研究，这是理解末次盛冰期后欧洲哺乳动物系统地理学的核心问题。与大不列颠及欧洲大陆相比，爱尔兰的哺乳动物区系较为贫乏，一系列自然和人为过程造就了其现代动物群。此前在欧洲范围内对欧洲獾（ ）的调查发现，爱尔兰种群的微卫星和线粒体DNA证据相互矛盾，这表明爱尔兰獾是人类引入的英国獾和斯堪的纳维亚獾杂交的产物。英国和爱尔兰獾种群之间接触的程度和历史仍不清楚。我们利用来自大不列颠和爱尔兰的全面遗传数据证明，爱尔兰东北部和东南部各县的獾在基因上与当代英国种群相似。模拟分析表明，这种混合种群出现在爱尔兰的时间距今600 - 700年（置信区间为距今100 - 2600年），最有可能是人类引入英国獾所致。这些发现增加了我们对哺乳动物在爱尔兰复杂殖民历史的了解，以及人类在这一过程中所起的核心作用。
