Abstract The Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) population in Fennoscandia experienced a drastic bottleneck in the late 19th century as a result of high hunting pressure. In the 1990s, despite nearly 70 years of protection, the population showed no signs of recovery. In order to mitigate the population decline and facilitate re-establishment, conservation actions including supplementary feeding and red fox culling were implemented in 1998, followed by the reintroduction of foxes from a captive breeding programme, starting in 2006. A positive demographic impact of these actions is evident from a doubling of the population size over the past decade. We used genetic data collected in eight subpopulations between 2008 and 2015 to address whether the recent demographic recovery has been complemented by changes in genetic variation and connectivity between subpopulations. Our results show that genetic variation within subpopulations has increased considerably during the last decade, while genetic differentiation among subpopulations has decreased. A marked shift in metapopulation dynamics is evident during the study period, suggesting substantially increased migration across the metapopulation. This shift followed the recolonization of an extinct subpopulation through the release of foxes from the captive breeding programme and was synchronized in time with the implementation of supplementary feeding and red fox culling in stepping stone patches between core subpopulations in mid-Scandinavia. Indeed, the increase in genetic variation and connectivity in the Scandinavian arctic fox population suggests that metapopulation dynamics have been restored, which may indicate an increase in the long-term viability of the population.

中文翻译：

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保护行动的遗传后果：恢复斯堪的纳维亚的北极狐（Vulpes lagopus）种群

摘要 19 世纪后期，由于高狩猎压力，芬诺斯坎迪亚的北极狐（Vulpes lagopus）种群经历了严重的瓶颈。在 1990 年代，尽管受到了近 70 年的保护，但人口没有恢复的迹象。为了减缓种群数量下降并促进重建，1998 年实施了包括补充喂养和扑杀赤狐在内的保护行动，随后从 2006 年开始从圈养繁殖计划中重新引入狐狸。这些行动对人口的积极影响过去十年人口规模翻了一番，这一点显而易见。我们使用 2008 年至 2015 年间在八个亚群中收集的遗传数据来解决最近的人口恢复是否得到了亚群之间遗传变异和连通性变化的补充。我们的结果表明，在过去十年中，亚群内的遗传变异显着增加，而亚群之间的遗传分化却有所减少。在研究期间，群体动态的显着变化是明显的，这表明跨群体的迁移显着增加。这一转变是在通过从圈养繁殖计划中释放狐狸而使已灭绝的亚种群重新定殖之后发生的，并且与在斯堪的纳维亚中部核心亚种群之间的垫脚石块中实施补充喂养和红狐扑杀同步进行。