The nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) is unique among mammals because females produce litters of genetically identical quadruplets via monozygotic polyembryony. This unusual form of reproduction could have profound impacts on the spatial genetic structure of populations of armadillos, but at present it is unclear whether littermates remain together as adults, or if sex-biased dispersal occurs. The goal of our study was to determine whether fine-scale spatial genetic structure (FSGS) within a population of armadillos diminishes with age (i.e., from juvenile to adult due to the dispersal of littermates away from one another), and if the degree of FSGS for a given age class differs between the sexes. We obtained genotype data at seven microsatellite DNA loci for 421 individuals in a wild population of armadillos inhabiting the Yazoo National Wildlife Refuge in western Mississippi. Correlogram analyses based on measures of spatial genetic autocorrelation showed weak but significant FSGS that was driven by positive spatial genetic autocorrelation among both male and female juveniles and adult males, but not adult females. Positive spatial genetic autocorrelation among adult males could be due to either female-biased dispersal or high variance in male reproductive success. Further work is required to discriminate between these two possibilities.

中文翻译：

---

密西西比西部九带犰狳种群的空间遗传结构

九带犰狳（Dasypus novemcinctus）在哺乳动物中是独一无二的，因为雌性通过单卵多胚产生遗传相同的四胞胎。这种不寻常的繁殖方式可能对犰狳种群的空间遗传结构产生深远的影响，但目前尚不清楚同窝仔是否在成年后仍然在一起，或者是否发生了性别偏见的分散。我们研究的目的是确定犰狳种群内的精细空间遗传结构 (FSGS) 是否随着年龄的增长而减少（即，由于同窝仔彼此疏远，从幼年到成年），以及给定年龄段的 FSGS 因性别而异。我们获得了居住在密西西比州西部 Yazoo 国家野生动物保护区的犰狳野生种群中 421 个人的 7 个微卫星 DNA 位点的基因型数据。基于空间遗传自相关测量的相关图分析显示出较弱但显着的 FSGS，这是由雄性和雌性幼鱼和成年雄性而非成年雌性之间的正空间遗传自相关驱动的。成年男性之间的正空间遗传自相关可能是由于偏向女性的分散或男性生殖成功的高方差。需要进一步的工作来区分这两种可能性。基于空间遗传自相关测量的相关图分析显示出较弱但显着的 FSGS，这是由雄性和雌性幼鱼和成年雄性而非成年雌性之间的正空间遗传自相关驱动的。成年男性之间的正空间遗传自相关可能是由于偏向女性的分散或男性生殖成功的高方差。需要进一步的工作来区分这两种可能性。基于空间遗传自相关测量的相关图分析显示出较弱但显着的 FSGS，这是由雄性和雌性幼鱼和成年雄性而非成年雌性之间的正空间遗传自相关驱动的。成年男性之间的正空间遗传自相关可能是由于偏向女性的分散或男性生殖成功的高方差。需要进一步的工作来区分这两种可能性。