Evaluating the Impact of Wildlife Shelter Management on the Genetic Diversity of and in Their Contact Zone.

Hedgehogs are among the most abundant species to be found within wildlife shelters and after successful rehabilitation they are frequently translocated. The effects and potential impact of these translocations on gene flow within wild populations are largely unknown. In this study, different wild hedgehog populations were compared with artificially created "shelter populations", with regard to their genetic diversity, in order to establish basic data for future inferences on the genetic impact of hedgehog translocations.

Application of a SSR-GBS marker system on investigation of European Hedgehog species and their hybrid zone dynamics.

By applying second-generation sequencing technologies to microsatellite genotyping, sequence information is produced which can result in high-resolution population genetics analysis populations and increased replicability between runs and laboratories. In the present study, we establish an approach to study the genetic structure patterns of two European hedgehog species and . These species are usually associated with human settlements and are good models to study anthropogenic impacts on the genetic diversity of wild populations.