European Rabbits Have High Gene Flow in German Cities But Not Other EU Cities

Many organisms seem to do poorly in urban areas, and it is unclear which organisms will become extirpated in cities. Typically, organisms that are experiencing population declines are ones that we would think are negatively impacted by urbanization. However, this may not always be the case.

Recently, Ziege and co-authors studied populations of the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) which has been declining throughout Europe. Interestingly, there are populations in German cities that seem to be in high abundance compared to many of the other populations throughout Europe. Researchers collected samples along an urban to rural gradient in one of these German cities of Frankfurt. They genotyped 10 microsatellite markers and found that genetic diversity was higher in the urban populations than the rural ones. They also found that inbreeding was lower in urban populations (Figure 1).

Although there appears to be some genetic structure by population (Figure 2), this doesn’t seem to influence the overall population negatively, which is the case for many other organisms. Additionally, there was a significant effect of “urbanity” on genetic distance, but this does not seem to negatively influence the populations. The rabbit populations have significant genetic differences between them, but inbreeding is low and genetic diversity is high.

Overall, the researchers found that urbanization seems to have a positive effect on these rabbits, at least in the green city of Frankfurt. It is possible that the city’s green initiatives have provided sufficient habitat heterogeneity and resources for the rabbits established there that they are able to thrive, despite declines in other European cities.

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lindsaymilesphd

I'm a recent graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University in the Integrative Life Science Doctoral Program. Currently, I am a Postdoctoral Fellow in Dr. Marc Johnson's EvoEco Lab at the University of Toronto Mississauga.

I am interested in urban ecology and evolution. Urbanization can have drastic impacts on local ecosystems, both negative and positive, and creates a new environment for organisms to experience. To understand the impacts that urbanization plays on organisms, I look through the lense of population genetics and molecular evolution.

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