DOES SEX AFFECT THE GENETIC STRUCTURE OF JACKALS IN NORTHERN LOWLANDS OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63356/asb.2025.004Keywords:
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canis aureus, genetic structure, relatedness, sex-biased dispersalAbstract
Sex-biased dispersal may affect the genetic structure of wild populations, often leading to distinct patterns of relatedness between males and females. We examined this phenomenon in the golden jackal (Canis aureus) population from the northern lowlands of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) by analyzing 36 individuals (18 males and 18 females) using 16 polymorphic microsatellite loci. The population exhibited moderate genetic diversity, consistent with the diversity in the region. Analyses of population structure, including STRUCTURE, PCoA, and pairwise Fst (Fst = 0.004; p = 0.190), revealed no significant genetic differentiation between males and females, suggesting a lack of sex-biased structuring. This pattern may be further explained by recent demographic expansion. Analyses of local relatedness showed that the observed patterns reflect local kinship rather than relatedness determined by sex. Although the corrected Assignment Index (AIc) indicated a trend consistent with male-biased dispersal, this difference was not statistically significant. However, male dispersal warrants further investigation with an increased sample size and broader sample distribution.
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