Population genetic characteristics of free-living domestic cats, Felis catus L., 1758, of Russky Island (Peter the Great Bay, Primorsky Krai)

The enormous infl uence of free-living populations of the domestic cat (Felis catus L., 1758) on the wild fauna of small animals throughout the world provides the basis for a careful multilateral study of such populations with a view to their subsequent control, including their genetic structure. A description of the genetic profi le of the free-living population of domestic cats of Russky Island is given. It has been shown that the island population is genetically almost identical to the mainland population of Vladivostok. The exception is a statistically signifi cantly lower proportion of piebald cats on Russky Island (51.8 ± 4.8% versus 63.8 ± 2.0%, p < 0.02). This indicates a common origin for these populations. Due to their recent emergence (probably no more than 160 years ago) and low level of isolation, the populations experienced little genetic shift relative to each other. Similar data were obtained earlier for other pairs of settlements (urban- rural) in Primorsky Krai. A comparative analysis of the available data on the genetic diff erentiation of adjacent urban and rural populations of free-living domestic cats was carried out. The possible connection of genetic variability with the advantage in hunting activity of cats is discussed.