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Short Legs Racing Towards Extinction: The Landscape Genetics of UK Hedgehogs / SAMANTHA SHOVE

Swansea University Author: SAMANTHA SHOVE

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Abstract

Biodiversity has been in global declines since the 1940s with industrialised nations including the UK seeing significant declines driven by habitat loss and fragmentation, land use changes and barrier effects, among others. These declines have not only resulted in the loss of species and ecosystem d...

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Published: Swansea, Wales, UK 2024
Institution: Swansea University
Degree level: Master of Research
Degree name: MRes
Supervisor: Nichols, Hazel
URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa66098
first_indexed 2024-04-20T10:38:21Z
last_indexed 2024-11-25T14:17:30Z
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recordtype RisThesis
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spelling 2024-04-20T12:06:28.2749781 v2 66098 2024-04-20 Short Legs Racing Towards Extinction: The Landscape Genetics of UK Hedgehogs 52153752d0169af408382c169459c078 SAMANTHA SHOVE SAMANTHA SHOVE true false 2024-04-20 Biodiversity has been in global declines since the 1940s with industrialised nations including the UK seeing significant declines driven by habitat loss and fragmentation, land use changes and barrier effects, among others. These declines have not only resulted in the loss of species and ecosystem diversity but also genetic diversity, a key component to species survival. The relationship between genetic loss and landscape changes has been demonstrated for a variety of specialist species but is less well established for generalist species, such as the West European Hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus). This species has seen significant declines and changes in distribution across the UK since the 1950s. Although the drivers of these changes are not well understood, anthropogenic changes in the landscape such as modified agricultural practices and increased road traffic have been proposed to play a part. I used microsatellite genetic analysis to investigate the impact of landscape features on the genetic structure of hedgehogs across South Wales. To understand how landscape features might impact on population genetics, I developed landscape resistance mapping for habitats, roads, watercourses and geographic distance, producing surfaces representing the ‘resistance’ of movement of hedgehogs through South Wales. I then combined these with the genetic data to test for landscape effects on genetic relatedness using circuit theory. I detected weak genetic structure, with four genetic clusters, but many individuals were admixed. The landscape genetic analysis showed no significant effect from any of the resistance variables on genetic relatedness, including geographic distance, suggesting that gene flow within the sample population is not impacted by landscape resistance. I discuss the potential reasons for this along with other possible causes for the genetic structure observed. This study demonstrates the importance of understanding the interactions between a species and landscape to ensure successful conservation management and appropriate consideration within ecological consultancy. E-Thesis Swansea, Wales, UK Hedgehog, landscape, genetics, conservation, biodiversity, genetic diversity 29 1 2024 2024-01-29 COLLEGE NANME COLLEGE CODE Swansea University Nichols, Hazel Master of Research MRes 2024-04-20T12:06:28.2749781 2024-04-20T11:35:27.4722155 Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences SAMANTHA SHOVE 1 66098__30081__d9a5fbf4ae9b4350ab67973313b3d623.pdf Shove_Samantha_MRes_Thesis_Final_Redacted_Signature.pdf 2024-04-20T11:53:28.8415884 Output 2788219 application/pdf E-Thesis – open access true Copyright: The Author, Samantha Shove, 2024. true eng
title Short Legs Racing Towards Extinction: The Landscape Genetics of UK Hedgehogs
spellingShingle Short Legs Racing Towards Extinction: The Landscape Genetics of UK Hedgehogs
SAMANTHA SHOVE
title_short Short Legs Racing Towards Extinction: The Landscape Genetics of UK Hedgehogs
title_full Short Legs Racing Towards Extinction: The Landscape Genetics of UK Hedgehogs
title_fullStr Short Legs Racing Towards Extinction: The Landscape Genetics of UK Hedgehogs
title_full_unstemmed Short Legs Racing Towards Extinction: The Landscape Genetics of UK Hedgehogs
title_sort Short Legs Racing Towards Extinction: The Landscape Genetics of UK Hedgehogs
author_id_str_mv 52153752d0169af408382c169459c078
author_id_fullname_str_mv 52153752d0169af408382c169459c078_***_SAMANTHA SHOVE
author SAMANTHA SHOVE
author2 SAMANTHA SHOVE
format E-Thesis
publishDate 2024
institution Swansea University
college_str Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
department_str School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Science and Engineering{{{_:::_}}}School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences
document_store_str 1
active_str 0
description Biodiversity has been in global declines since the 1940s with industrialised nations including the UK seeing significant declines driven by habitat loss and fragmentation, land use changes and barrier effects, among others. These declines have not only resulted in the loss of species and ecosystem diversity but also genetic diversity, a key component to species survival. The relationship between genetic loss and landscape changes has been demonstrated for a variety of specialist species but is less well established for generalist species, such as the West European Hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus). This species has seen significant declines and changes in distribution across the UK since the 1950s. Although the drivers of these changes are not well understood, anthropogenic changes in the landscape such as modified agricultural practices and increased road traffic have been proposed to play a part. I used microsatellite genetic analysis to investigate the impact of landscape features on the genetic structure of hedgehogs across South Wales. To understand how landscape features might impact on population genetics, I developed landscape resistance mapping for habitats, roads, watercourses and geographic distance, producing surfaces representing the ‘resistance’ of movement of hedgehogs through South Wales. I then combined these with the genetic data to test for landscape effects on genetic relatedness using circuit theory. I detected weak genetic structure, with four genetic clusters, but many individuals were admixed. The landscape genetic analysis showed no significant effect from any of the resistance variables on genetic relatedness, including geographic distance, suggesting that gene flow within the sample population is not impacted by landscape resistance. I discuss the potential reasons for this along with other possible causes for the genetic structure observed. This study demonstrates the importance of understanding the interactions between a species and landscape to ensure successful conservation management and appropriate consideration within ecological consultancy.
published_date 2024-01-29T09:19:51Z
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score 11.057753

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