Regional population genetics and global phylogeography of the widely distributed golden jackal (Canis aureus): Implications for conservation management.

Abstract

In the current era, many terrestrial carnivore populations confront a multitude of threats and are rapidly shifting their ranges in response to human-induced modifications. Monitoring changes in genetic diversity and structure of such species in response to changing environmental conditions is important for understanding species' responses and designing effective conservation management strategies. In this study, we investigated the genetic status of the golden jackal, a widely distributed canid inhabiting human-dominated landscapes and exhibiting high dispersal capability. We collected and analysed 141 jackal samples from across the distribution range in India, employing a combination of mtDNA (Cyt-b & CR) and nuclear microsatellite (n = 25) markers to investigate patterns of genetic diversity, gene flow, demographic history and phylogeography. Our analyses showed substantial levels of genetic diversity within India surpassing levels observed in other global populations. Bayesian and non-Bayesian clustering analysis revealed low levels of genetic differentiation among sampled populations, except for the Southern Indian population. Demographic analysis using both mtDNA and microsatellites revealed that golden jackals in India have not experienced significant bottlenecks, while estimates of past effective population size suggested declines during the last 2500 generations, which corresponds to 7500-10 000 Ybp. Global phylogeographic analysis highlighted the distinctiveness of Indian jackals compared to other populations from across the species' distribution, with the highest number of haplotypes observed in Indian populations and no shared haplotypes observed between India and Middle Eastern or Indian and European populations. These findings are indicative of a long evolutionary history and bring new insights to inform targeted conservation management strategies for golden jackals, both locally and globally.