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Local genetic structure and relatedness in a solitary mammal, Neotoma fuscipes

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An Erratum to this article was published on 04 May 2007

Abstract

We used DNA microsatellites to investigate temporal and spatial patterns of local genetic differentiation and relatedness in a solitary mammal, the dusky-footed woodrat (Neotoma fuscipes). Patterns of genetic variation were measured relative to spatial clusters, or neighborhoods, of woodrats. We detected significant genetic differentiation among woodrat neighborhoods in two populations spanning multiple habitat types and densities. Estimates of θ ST among neighborhoods ranged 0.034–0.075 and were comparable to levels reported in social mammals. Genetic differentiation at such a local scale is noteworthy because it occurred in the absence of any physical barriers to gene flow, suggesting that the patterns observed are linked to the nonrandom patterns of mating and dispersal that characterize woodrat social structure. Genetic differentiation and relatedness among neighborhoods were even higher when only resident females were analyzed. These results are consistent with a pattern of female philopatry and male-biased dispersal in woodrats. Geographic distance and relatedness were inversely correlated in adult females at intermediate densities, but not at low densities. Nonetheless, matrilineal genetic structure was apparent even at low woodrat densities based on estimates of θ ST among neighborhoods of resident females that were significantly greater than zero and consistently greater than estimates including all individuals. In summary, this study demonstrates a matrilineal genetic structure in dusky-footed woodrats. In addition, our results support the idea that intermediate densities may be better at facilitating the formation of spatial kin clusters than either extreme.

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Acknowledgement

We thank Judy Stamps and three anonymous reviewers for providing helpful comments on the manuscript. This research was supported by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship to MBM and grants from the American Society of Mammalogists (Grant-in-Aid of Research, MBM), American Museum of Natural History (Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Grant, MBM), UC Natural Reserve System (Mildred E. Mathias Grants, MBM), and UC Davis Jastro Shields and Humanities Grants (MBM). We thank Ada Fowler, Chris Floyd, Bernie May, and the GVL laboratory at UC Davis for providing helpful advice. Charles Efferson, Gardner Jones, Ayako Kowabata, and Serica Zwak provided much appreciated field assistance. This research was conducted in accordance with the UC Davis Animal Use and Care Protocol No. 9095.

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  1. Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA, 95616, USA

    M. B. McEachern, John M. Eadie & Dirk H. Van Vuren

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Correspondence to M. B. McEachern.

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Communicated by G. Wilkinson

An erratum to this article can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00265-007-0401-7

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McEachern, M.B., Eadie, J.M., Van Vuren, D.H. et al. Local genetic structure and relatedness in a solitary mammal, Neotoma fuscipes . Behav Ecol Sociobiol 61, 1459–1469 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-007-0378-2

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