A European Concern? Genetic Structure and Expansion of Golden Jackals (Canis aureus) in Europe and the Caucasus

Abstract

In the first continent-wide study of the golden jackal (Canis aureus), we characterised its population genetic structure and attempted to identify the origin of European populations. This provided a unique insight into genetic characteristics of a native carnivore population with rapid large-scale expansion. We analysed 15 microsatellite markers and a 406 base-pair fragment of the mitochondrial control region. Bayesian-based and principal components methods were applied to evaluate whether the geographical grouping of samples corresponded with genetic groups. Our analysis revealed low levels of genetic diversity, reflecting the unique history of the golden jackal among Europe’s native carnivores. The results suggest ongoing gene flow between south-eastern Europe and the Caucasus, with both contributing to the Baltic population, which appeared only recently. The population from the Peloponnese Peninsula in southern Greece forms a common genetic cluster with samples from south-eastern Europe (ΔK approach in STRUCTURE, Principal Components Analysis [PCA]), although the results based on BAPS and the estimated likelihood in STRUCTURE indicate that Peloponnesian jackals may represent a distinct population. Moreover, analyses of population structure also suggest either genetic distinctiveness of the island population from Samos near the coast of Asia Minor (BAPS, most STRUCTURE, PCA), or possibly its connection with the Caucasus population (one analysis in STRUCTURE). We speculate from our results that ancient Mediterranean jackal populations have persisted to the present day, and have merged with jackals colonising from Asia. These data also suggest that new populations of the golden jackal may be founded by long-distance dispersal, and thus should not be treated as an invasive alien species, i.e. an organism that is “non-native to an ecosystem, and which may cause economic or environmental harm or adversely affect human health”. These insights into the genetic structure and ancestry of Baltic jackals have important implications for management and conservation of jackals in Europe. The golden jackal is listed as an Annex V species in the EU Habitats Directive and as such, considering also the results presented here, should be legally protected in all EU member states.

Golden jackal (Canis aureus) in the Czech Republic: the first record of a live animal and its long-term persistence in the colonized habitat

“…Although the recent expansion of the golden jackal in the Baltic countries has generated concerns about its possible negative effects on other wildlife species and livestock via predation or transmission of pathogens, and has led to it being labelled as a potentially invasive alien species, the prevailing opinion in other countries does not support this attitude (Banea et al 2015; Rutkowski et al 2015; Science for Environment Policy 2016). …”

“…Last but not least, it should be remembered that the observed range expansion is essentially favoured by a pronounced capability of the species for a long-distance leptokurtic disperal. Rutkowski et al (2015) report a number of records of long-distance movements and demonstrate a dual origin of the population in Baltic region recently established first by immigrants of the Caucasian haplotype followed by those of the south-eastern European origin.…”

Nuclear microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA analyses reveal the regional genetic structure and phylogeographical history of a sanguivorous land leech, Haemadipsa japonica, in Japan

“…Trontelj and Utevsky (2012) then noted the need for an analysis using microsatellites exhibiting high levels of polymorphism. The use of nuclear microsatellites (nSSR) in combination with mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences for studies on leech species provides an opportunity to track the phylogeographical history, as previously reported for other animal species (e.g., Konishi, Hata, Matsuda, Arai, & Mizoguchi, 2017;López-Uribe, Cane, Minckley, & Danforth, 2016;Michaelides et al, 2015;Rutkowski et al, 2015;Shoda-Kagaya et al, 2010). However, few genetic analyses on leech species using nSSR markers have been conducted (e.g., Liu et al, 2016).…”

Food niche segregation between sympatric golden jackals and red foxes in central Bulgaria

“…This range has, however, expanded westward and northward since the mid-twentieth century (Arnold et al, 2012), and immigrant individuals have recently been observed, or caught in Switzerland, Austria and other countries surrounding the Baltic Sea (e.g. Kowalczyk et al, 2015;Rutkowski et al, 2015;Trouwborst et al, 2015). Bulgaria currently has the largest population of the golden jackal among European countries (Arnold et al, 2012).…”