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Genetic structure and functioning of alien ship rat populations from a Corsican micro-insular complex

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Abstract

The detrimental effects of the introduced ship rat on bird species on the Lavezzi Mediterranean archipelago has led to the decision to eradicate the rodent from the main island, Lavezzu (73 ha), as well as from several neighbouring islets. A genetic study using eight microsatellite markers has revealed some of the dynamics of this rat population. First, it has been shown that the rat population was genetically stable (no departure from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and no linkage disequilibrium) and as suggested by paleontological data, established for a long time. This information is encouraging in term of viability of the eradication campaign in the long term, even if rare immigration events cannot be excluded. Second, this study shows that rats are likely to swim between the main island and the islets quite regularly since no clear genetic differentiation has been detected between them. This result is quite surprising since the ship rat is not known for its swimming abilities. Third, a cryptic genetic structure has been detected on the main island, with the north peninsula differentiated from the rest. This result correlates the observation of particular predation behaviours only observed in this part of the island. Finally, evolutionary hypotheses (e.g., dispersal limitation, emergence of family groups, local adaptation) are discussed to explain the genetic patterns observed and the population functioning inferred. These results should be of particular interest to wildlife managers concerned with rat eradications, and also provide clear insights into the study of other biological invasions.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge Daniel Simberloff and James Russell for their helpful comments at different stages of this work, as well as Daniel White for the improvement of English in the initial manuscript and two anonymous reviewer for their highly beneficial remarks. The eradication operation was financially supported by the Office de l’Environnement de la Corse through a contract with Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique. The genetic work was supported by a Ph.D. grant to J.A. from the Conservatoire du Littoral et des Rivages Lacustres and was conducted at the Service de Systématique Moléculaire (IFR 101—CNRS) of the Natural History Museum of Paris. We thank the rangers of the Groupement Atlantique des Brigades Mobiles d’Intervention de l’Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage and the staff of the International Marine Park of Bonifacio Strait who actively participated to the rat eradication operations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Département Systématique, Adaptation et Evolution, UMR 7138 UPMC-IRD-MNHN-CNRS (UR IRD 148), Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, CP 26, 57 Rue Cuvier, Paris Cedex 05, 75231, France

    J. Abdelkrim & S. Samadi

  2. UMR ESE—Ecology of Biological Invasions, Institut National de Recherche Agronomique, Station SCRIBE, Campus de Beaulieu, Rennes Cedex, 35042, France

    J. Abdelkrim & M. Pascal

  3. Molecular Ecology Lab, Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Private bag 4800, Christchurch, New Zealand

    J. Abdelkrim

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  1. J. Abdelkrim
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  2. M. Pascal
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  3. S. Samadi
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Correspondence to J. Abdelkrim.

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Abdelkrim, J., Pascal, M. & Samadi, S. Genetic structure and functioning of alien ship rat populations from a Corsican micro-insular complex. Biol Invasions 11, 473–482 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-008-9263-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-008-9263-9

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