Genetic signature of the northward expansion of the Egyptian mongoose Herpestes ichneumon (Herpestidae) in the Iberian Peninsula |
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| Authors: | Tânia Barros Eduardo Ferreira Rita Gomes Rocha Philippe Gaubert Victor Bandeira Luis Souto António Mira Carlos Fonseca |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Departamento de Biologia & Centros de Estudos do Ambiente e do Mar (CESAM), Universidade de Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal;2. Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Centro de Ciências Humanas e Naturais, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Vitória, ES, Brazil;3. Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution de Montpellier (ISEM), UM‐CNRS‐IRD‐CIRAD‐EPHE, Université de Montpellier, Place Eugène Bataillon 4. – 5. CC 64, Montpellier, Cedex 05, France;6. Unidade de Biologia da Conserva??o, Universidade de évora, évora, Portugal |
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| Abstract: | In the last three decades, the range of the Egyptian mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon) has increased in the Iberian Peninsula. A panel of microsatellites was used to confront the patterns of genetic diversity of the species with the scenario of its recent northward expansion in its Iberian range. Evidence of substructure and significant genetic differentiation within the studied population were recorded, with a central‐northern subpopulation (CNorth) and a southern subpopulation (S). Northward range expansion was supported by the observed allelic frequencies, diversity parameters, and observed heterozygosity of the studied loci, with S showing a higher allelic diversity and a higher number of private alleles than CNorth. Patterns of isolation‐by‐distance and isolation‐by‐barrier as a result of the Tagus River were demonstrated, suggesting that the river acted as a semi‐permeable barrier, possibly leading to genetic differentiation of the studied population. The observed individuals from CNorth in southern locations and individuals from S in central/northern areas might comprise evidence for long‐range dispersals across the studied range. A bottleneck event after population expansion was supported by a significant heterozygosity deficiency in CNorth, which is in agreement with a scenario of founder events occurring in recently colonized areas after the crossing of the Tagus River. |
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| Keywords: | carnivore genetic structure Iberia isolation‐by‐barrier isolation‐by‐distance microsatellites range expansion |
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