Alan Templeton

Social structures and habitat configuration influence inbreeding in wild populations. In harem‐forming, female‐defence polygynous equids, social organization promotes inbreeding avoidance, but this has not been studied in fission–fusion, resource‐defence equid species. Because reproduction depends on solitary males establishing territories near resources, shifts in resource distribution are expected to affect mating patterns and inbreeding. We examined inbreeding patterns in the Asiatic wild ass ( Equus hemionus ) in the Negev Highlands, Israel (2019–2023), by comparing mating‐pair relatedness (MPR) to all female–male dyads, within each year, and testing whether these patterns changed following a 2020 water source increase and redistribution by increasing the number of new territorial males. We then examined whether females overall tended to mate with veteran (i.e., mating since 2019) or new (i.e., mating since 2020) reproducing males, and compared female–male genetic relatedness between these two groups. Using 2509 faecal samples (2020–2024) genotyped at 625 SNPs, we assigned parentage to 73 offspring and estimated the MPR. Within years, the MPR was higher than random in 2019 and 2020 but declined after the water source manipulation, in 2021–2023. The MPR was higher near the original water source than near the new water sources. Most females (87.3%) mated with new reproducing males, and in 68.3% of cases, new reproducing males were less related to females than were veteran males. Our study suggests that reduced inbreeding is possible in fission–fusion populations when females have extended mating opportunities with territorial males, which can be achieved by expanding the distribution of resources.

The distribution of resources influences interactions in wild populations by affecting movement, space‐use patterns, and, as a result, mating systems. Limited resources may reduce encounters between potential breeders, reducing the number and variety of individuals contributing to the population's gene pool. This can impact the variance effective population size ( N _ev ), an important indicator of genetic drift and genetic diversity in populations. Despite its importance, the relationship between resource distribution and genetic diversity has received limited attention in the practical management of genetically vulnerable populations. Here, we provide empirical evidence that the number of reproducing males (adult males identified as sires by parentage analysis from foal genotypes) and N _ev can be affected by resource management in the population of the Asiatic wild ass ( Equus hemionus ) in the Negev Desert, Israel, using water sources. This population, characterized by strong polygyny, has experienced declining genetic diversity. Following an intervention to increase the number of water sources from one to three during May 2020, we monitored the population using noninvasive genetic methods and direct observations. We collected 864 fecal samples from adult males, females, and foals, genotyped the DNA across 535 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), and conducted a parentage analysis. The results showed an increase in the proportion of total reproducing males out of all adult males in the population from 16%–18% to 42%–48%, with a significant rise in reproducing males in 2020 that had not been sires in 2019, from 31.2% to 73.8% ( Z = −2.877, p = 0.002) before and after the management, respectively. Spatial analyses indicated a higher presence of reproducing males near the new water sources. These findings demonstrate how resource management can impact N _ev in the short term and, therefore, potentially influence genetic diversity in the long term. We suggest a management framework targeting genetic diversity within an adaptive management approach and discuss its relevance and applicability for other systems and types of resources.

In 1982 a conservation project was initiated to restore glade communities in the Missouri Ozarks with a special emphasis on collared lizards (Crotophytus collaris), a state threatened species at the time. Starting in 1984, collared lizards were translocated onto restored glade habitats on Stegall Mountain in the Ozarks. The populations persisted but did not colonize other glades on Stegall until 1994, when prescribed fires included not only the glades, but also the surrounding woodland. Starting in 1999, landscape-level burns connected Stegall to three nearby mountains. The goal of this study was to test the hypothesis that expanding prescribed burns to the forested woodlands between Stegall Mountain and nearby mountains would create dispersal corridors for the colonization of glades on new mountains. Indeed, all three mountains were colonized and direct dispersal of marked lizards from Stegall was observed following the prescribed fires. Inter-mountain colonization dynamics and patterns varied: one was absorbed into the Stegall meta-population, another experienced a founder event followed by rapid colonization, and the third underwent repeated failed colonization attempts before successful establishment years later. These diverse patterns were consistent with differences in landscape resistance in the inter-mountain corridors rather than in geographical distance. Intra-mountain colonization patterns indicated that lizards assessed glade quality based on multiple factors. High landscape resistance resulted in a young age structure in the initial colonizing population. This young age structure interacted with the territorial behavior of collared lizards, age of reproduction, and probability of dispersal. This strong interaction between landscape resistance in the dispersal corridor and social behavior in the colonizing population is a novel factor in predicting colonization dynamics. Moreover, these results highlight the importance of social behavior on dispersal decisions versus habitat quality alone.

On 14 December 2005, there was a catastrophic flood after a failure in the upper reservoir at the Taum Sauk Plant in southern Missouri. While there has been extensive research on the cause of the dam’s failure and the flood’s immediate impact, there has been limited investigation on how vegetation in and around the resulting flood scour has changed since this event. This study fills this gap through a time-series analysis using imagery sourced from GloVis and Planet Explorer to quantify vegetation levels prior to the flood (2005) through to 2024. Vegetation level was calculated using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), which measures the level of greenness via light reflected by vegetation. Vegetation levels inside of the scour were compared to two 120 m buffer areas surrounding the scour, immediately adjacent (0–120 m) and at 120–240 m from the scour’s edge. Within the scour, NDVI analysis showed a dramatic loss of vegetation immediately after the flood, followed by varying levels for several years, before a steady increase in the proportion of areas with vegetation starting in 2014. The buffer area adjacent to the edge of the scour showed a similar pattern, but at lower magnitudes of change, which likely reflects the ragged edge created by the flood. The buffer area farther from the edge showed a consistent pattern of high vegetation, which likely reflects the broader landscape. While ground truthing confirmed these patterns between 2006 and 2011, in 2012, the ground truthing revealed much recovery in small local areas within the scour that were not apparent though NDVI analysis. These local areas of recovery were reflected in the pattern of recolonization of the scour from nearby glades (i.e., natural habitats of exposed bedrock) by glade flora and by the eastern collared lizard (Crotaphytus collaris collaris), an apex predator adapted to living in rocky, open areas and a bioindicator of vegetation recovery. While recovery of vegetation occurred steadily after 2012, ground truthing indicated that the original oak/hickory forest was now a minor component of this recovery, and that glade species dominated the former forested area.

A major challenge in analysing single‐nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotype datasets is detecting and filtering errors that bias analyses and misinterpret ecological and evolutionary processes. Here, we present a comprehensive method to estimate and minimise genotyping error rates (deviations from the ‘true’ genotype) in any SNP datasets using triplicates (three repeats of the same sample) in a four‐step filtration pipeline. The approach involves: (1) SNP filtering by missing data; (2) SNP filtering by error rates; (3) sample filtering by missing data and (4) detection of recaptured individuals by using estimated SNP error rates. The modular pipeline is provided in an R script that allows customised adjustments. We demonstrate the applicability of the method using non‐invasive sampling from the Asiatic wild ass (Equus hemionus) population in Israel. We genotyped 756 samples using 625 SNPs, of which 255 were triplicates of 85 samples. The average SNP error rate, calculated based on the number of mismatching genotypes across triplicates before filtration, was 0.0034 and was reduced to 0.00174 following filtration. Evaluating genetic distance (GD) and relatedness (r) between triplicates before and after filtration (expected to be at the minimum and maximum respectively) showed a significant reduction in the average GD, from 58.1 to 25.3 (p = 0.0002) and a significant increase in relatedness, from r = 0.98 to r = 0.991 (p = 0.00587). We demonstrate how error rate estimation enhances recapture detection and improves genotype quality.

How far would you be willing to go to save an endangered species? Would you consider burning part of a forest as a solution? As unconventional as it may sound, conservationists sometimes resort to such measures to restore lost habitats. One remarkable example is the efforts to save eastern collared lizards – and indeed the entire biological community in which they live – in the Ozarks, spearheaded by American geneticist and statistician Professor Alan Templeton of Washington University in St Louis, USA.