Phylogenetic relationships of Australian and New Zealand feral pigs assessed by mitochondrial control region sequence and nuclear GPIP genotype

Invasive species and their impacts on agri-ecosystems: issues and solutions for restoring ecosystem processes

“…Agricultural production primarily uses animal and plant species that are novel to Australasian ecosystems. There were no ungulates in either Australia or New Zealand until Europeans brought them, although it is possible that Asian wild boar (Sus scrofa) were introduced from South East Asia via Cape York before European introduction of Asian and European domestic pigs (Gongora et al 2004). Ungulates were behaviourally, reproductively and, most importantly, morphologically different from any animals Howald et al 2007; feral cats and rabbits on Macquarie Island, (Robinson and Copson 2014;Sindel et al 2017) where the scale is logistically tractable.…”

Mitochondrial DNA diversity of feral pigs from Karukinka Natural Park, Tierra del Fuego Island, Chile

“…In wild pig populations from Australia, the presence of the same haplotype has been associated with the first stages of colonization by Europeans in the 18-19th centuries (Gongora et al, 2004). Moreover, although there is no precise description of the feral pig populations in Latin America, studies have identified descendants of the first introduced animals distributed from Mexico to the southern tip of Argentina (Benítez, 2001).…”

“…The temporal lag between feral pig sightings in the 2 areas of the Karukinka Natural Park raises questions regarding the source of the invasion in TDF, connectivity between both localities, and human participation in translocation events. Understanding this dynamic is critical for developing effective management or surveillance strategies (Choquenot et al, 1996;Gongora et al, 2004).…”

“…In recent years, advances in the phylogenetic analysis of the origin of the domestic pig using the hyper-variable mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region (D-loop) has made available pig sequences from many regions worldwide, enabling researchers to relate sequences of introduced populations with a geographic source (Gongora et al, 2004;Larson et al, 2010). Thus, the number and pattern of polymorphisms in mtDNA sequences can be used to infer the history of the introduction of wild populations, as well as provide information regarding population structure and gene flow in a relatively short time period (Gongora et al, 2004;Horwitz and Bar-Gal, 2006).…”

“…Thus, the number and pattern of polymorphisms in mtDNA sequences can be used to infer the history of the introduction of wild populations, as well as provide information regarding population structure and gene flow in a relatively short time period (Gongora et al, 2004;Horwitz and Bar-Gal, 2006). In this study, we analyzed genetic variation in the mtDNA control region to 1) identify the geographic origin of the TDF feral pig population, 2) elucidate whether there are 1 or more populations in Karukinka Natural Park, and 3) identify genetic relationships between feral pigs and domestic pigs from local farms.…”