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<p>Urbanization is a dominant driver of habitat fragmentation globally, creating small, isolated wildlife populations vulnerable to accelerated genetic drift, reduced genetic diversity, and increased population differentiation. We investigated how urban development affects the genetic structure of caracals (<i>Caracal caracal</i>) in Cape Town, South Africa using microsatellites and mitochondrial DNA sequence data. Sampling across four geographically distinct urban and rural populations revealed contrasting temporal patterns: mitochondrial markers indicate broader historical genetic connectivity among the sampled populations, while microsatellite data demonstrate recent genetic structuring driven primarily by urbanization. Caracals isolated by Cape Town’s metropole showed reduced allelic richness and pronounced genetic differentiation, reflecting the established role of urbanization as a strong barrier to gene flow for many taxa. A test of isolation by distance showed that distance contributed only 12% of the genetic variation among populations. We also found no association between relatedness and the degree of home range overlap amongst GPS-collared individuals. Our findings reveal that urbanization has rapidly disrupted gene flow in this otherwise geographically widespread and adaptable carnivore, imposing a sufficient barrier to generate detectable genetic consequences within contemporary timeframes. The contrasting signals from historical versus contemporary molecular markers highlight urbanization’s role in fragmenting previously connected populations and demonstrates the value of multi-marker approaches for detecting anthropogenic impacts on wildlife populations. These results underscore urbanization’s capacity to rapidly alter population genetic dynamics, even in a highly mobile and adaptable carnivore.</p>

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Urbanization drives genetic erosion and population structure in a historically connected carnivore population

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年4月9日

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  • Laurel E. K. Serieys,
  • Megan Jackson,
  • Shaelynn Sleater-Squires,
  • Gabriella R. M. Leighton,
  • Marine Drouilly,
  • Storme Viljoen,
  • Bogdan Cristescu,
  • Kristine J. Teichman,
  • Deborah J. Winterton,
  • Robert K. Wayne,
  • Jacqueline M. Bishop

摘要

Urbanization is a dominant driver of habitat fragmentation globally, creating small, isolated wildlife populations vulnerable to accelerated genetic drift, reduced genetic diversity, and increased population differentiation. We investigated how urban development affects the genetic structure of caracals (Caracal caracal) in Cape Town, South Africa using microsatellites and mitochondrial DNA sequence data. Sampling across four geographically distinct urban and rural populations revealed contrasting temporal patterns: mitochondrial markers indicate broader historical genetic connectivity among the sampled populations, while microsatellite data demonstrate recent genetic structuring driven primarily by urbanization. Caracals isolated by Cape Town’s metropole showed reduced allelic richness and pronounced genetic differentiation, reflecting the established role of urbanization as a strong barrier to gene flow for many taxa. A test of isolation by distance showed that distance contributed only 12% of the genetic variation among populations. We also found no association between relatedness and the degree of home range overlap amongst GPS-collared individuals. Our findings reveal that urbanization has rapidly disrupted gene flow in this otherwise geographically widespread and adaptable carnivore, imposing a sufficient barrier to generate detectable genetic consequences within contemporary timeframes. The contrasting signals from historical versus contemporary molecular markers highlight urbanization’s role in fragmenting previously connected populations and demonstrates the value of multi-marker approaches for detecting anthropogenic impacts on wildlife populations. These results underscore urbanization’s capacity to rapidly alter population genetic dynamics, even in a highly mobile and adaptable carnivore.