Limited genetic differentiation among wild oryctolagus cuniculus l. (rabbit) populations in arid eastern australia

ABSTRACT A systems approach is necessary for effective control of feral rabbit (_Oryctolagus cuniculus_ L.) populations in the arid environments of Australia. Localized control procedures

may result in local extinctions, but the persistence of the overall population will depend on the probability of recolonization, and hence, the degree of isolation of each local population

unit. Genetic markers obtained using allozyme electrophoresis, temperature gradient gel electrophoresis (TGGE) and heteroduplex analysis (HA) were used to characterize the degree of

structuring and extent of gene flow among rabbit populations in arid Queensland, Australia. Allozyme allele frequency data showed that there was no significant differentiation among sites

(average _F_ST = 0.005) and no isolation-by-distance or environmental discontinuity effects. TGGE/HA results also revealed no significant differentiation in mitochondrial DNA Control Region

haplotype frequencies among sites and low interpopulation nucleotide divergence estimates (_N_ST = 0.013). Therefore, rabbit populations exhibited a high degree of gene flow over large

geographical areas (1600 km2) and were essentially a single panmictic unit. Unpredictable environmental conditions together with the spatial configuration of habitats which possess different

probabilities of extinction may have resulted in repeated local extinctions followed by recolonization and homogenizing gene flow. These data suggest that current rabbit control strategies

based on individual warren management may not achieve effective control in arid Queensland. SIMILAR CONTENT BEING VIEWED BY OTHERS POPULATION STRUCTURE AND GENETIC DIVERSITY OF NON-NATIVE

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AFFILIATIONS * School of Life Science and Centre for Biological Population Management, Queensland University of Technology, GPO Box 2434, Brisbane, 4001, Australia Susan J Fuller, Peter B

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permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Fuller, S., Mather, P. & Wilson, J. Limited genetic differentiation among wild _Oryctolagus cuniculus_ L. (rabbit) populations in arid

eastern Australia. _Heredity_ 77, 138–145 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1038/hdy.1996.118 Download citation * Received: 09 August 1995 * Issue Date: 01 August 1996 * DOI:

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currently available for this article. Copy to clipboard Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative KEYWORDS * allozymes * control region * genetic differentiation *

heteroduplex analysis * mtDNA * temperature gradient gel electrophoresis