Armstrong Noah, Klure Dylan M, Greenhalgh Robert, Stapleton Tess E, Dearing M Denise
School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, 257 S. 1400 E. Room 201, Salt Lake City, UT 84102, United States.
ARUP Laboratories, 500 Chipeta Way, Salt Lake City, UT 84108, United States.
J Mammal. 2024 Nov 15;106(2):395-405. doi: 10.1093/jmammal/gyae133. eCollection 2025 Apr.
Introduced species are one of the leading causes of declining global biodiversity and result in many billions of dollars of losses to the bioeconomy worldwide. Introduced species have become increasingly common due to globalization and climate change, and population genetics is a useful tool for the management of such species. The Eastern Fox Squirrel () is a highly successful invader that was introduced to many states in western North America throughout the 20th century. We used low-pass whole genome sequencing to evaluate phylogeographic structure across native and introduced ranges of this species and identify the putative number and geographic sources of introductions in California and Utah. We found minimal patterns of phylogeographic structure, consistent with recent range and population expansion since the Last Glacial Maximum. Additionally, we found evidence for multiple mitochondrial haplotypes in California and only 1 haplotype in Utah, which suggests that fox squirrels in California were sourced from multiple introduction events while those in Utah were likely sourced from a single event. Genomic resources generated in this study will be useful for future conservation efforts in this species and will assist with the ongoing management of its introductions across western North America.
外来物种是全球生物多样性下降的主要原因之一,给全球生物经济造成了数十亿美元的损失。由于全球化和气候变化,外来物种变得越来越普遍,而群体遗传学是管理此类物种的有用工具。东部狐松鼠()是一种非常成功的入侵物种,在整个20世纪被引入北美西部的许多州。我们使用低覆盖度全基因组测序来评估该物种原生和引入范围内的系统地理结构,并确定加利福尼亚州和犹他州引入的假定数量和地理来源。我们发现了最小的系统地理结构模式,这与末次盛冰期以来最近的分布范围和种群扩张一致。此外,我们发现加利福尼亚州有多种线粒体单倍型的证据,而犹他州只有1种单倍型,这表明加利福尼亚州的狐松鼠来自多个引入事件,而犹他州的狐松鼠可能来自单一事件。本研究中产生的基因组资源将有助于该物种未来的保护工作,并将协助对其在北美西部引入的持续管理。