Title

The Population Origins and Expansion of Feral Cats in Australia

Authors

Peter B. S. Spencer, Murdoch University - Australia
Andrey A. Yurchenko, St. Petersburg State University - Russia
Victor A. David, National Cancer Institute at Frederick
Rachael Scott, National Cancer Institute at Frederick; University of Maryland
Klaus-Peter Koepfli, National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
Carlos Driscoll, National Cancer Institute at Frederick; University of Maryland
Stephen J. O'Brien, St. Petersburg State University - Russia; Nova Southeastern UniversityFollow
Marilyn Menotti-Raymond, National Cancer Institute at Frederick

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-2016

Publication Title

Journal of Heredity

Keywords

Felis catus, Felis silvestris silvestris, Genetic structure, Microsatellite, Population ecology, Wild cat

ISSN

0022-1503

Volume

107

Issue/No.

2

First Page

104

Last Page

114

Abstract

The historical literature suggests that in Australia, the domestic cat (Felis catus) had a European origin [~200 years before present (ybp)], but it is unclear if cats arrived from across the Asian land bridge contemporaneously with the dingo (4000 ybp), or perhaps immigrated ~40000 ybp in association with Aboriginal settlement from Asia. The origin of cats in Australia is important because the continent has a complex and ancient faunal assemblage that is dominated by endemic rodents and marsupials and lacks the large placental carnivores found on other large continents. Cats are now ubiquitous across the entire Australian continent and have been implicit in the range contraction or extinction of its small to medium sized (<3.5kg) mammals. We analyzed the population structure of 830 cats using 15 short tandem repeat (STR) genomic markers. Their origin appears to come exclusively from European founders. Feral cats in continental Australia exhibit high genetic diversity in comparison with the low diversity found in populations of feral cats living on islands. The genetic structure is consistent with a rapid westerly expansion from eastern Australia and a limited expansion in coastal Western Australia. Australian cats show modest if any population structure and a close genetic alignment with European feral cats as compared to cats from Asia, the Christmas and Cocos (Keeling) Islands (Indian Ocean), and European wildcats (F. silvestris silvestris).

Comments

© The American Genetic Association. 2015. All rights reserved

Additional Comments

Australian Research Council grant #: LP0775356; Russian Ministry of Science grant #: 11.G34.31.0068

NSUWorks Citation

Spencer, Peter B. S.; Andrey A. Yurchenko; Victor A. David; Rachael Scott; Klaus-Peter Koepfli; Carlos Driscoll; Stephen J. O'Brien; and Marilyn Menotti-Raymond. 2016. "The Population Origins and Expansion of Feral Cats in Australia." Journal of Heredity 107, (2): 104-114. https://nsuworks.nova.edu/cnso_bio_facarticles/415

ORCID ID

0000-0001-7353-8301

ResearcherID

N-1726-2015