# Evidence for High Levels of Gene Flow in Hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) Across South Wales, UK, Despite Potential Anthropogenic and Natural Barriers to Dispersal

## TL;DR

Hedgehogs in South Wales show high gene flow despite landscape barriers like roads and waterways, suggesting they can disperse widely.

## Contribution

This study provides new evidence that hedgehogs maintain genetic connectivity despite anthropogenic and natural barriers.

## Key findings

- Hedgehogs showed weak genetic structuring with many admixed individuals across South Wales.
- No genetic differentiation was linked to roads, waterways, habitat resistance, or geographic distance.
- Findings suggest hedgehogs can disperse across potential barriers, minimizing genetic fragmentation.

## Abstract

Understanding how landscape connectivity affects gene flow can help to guide the management of animal species of conservation concern. One such species is the West European hedgehog (
Erinaceus europaeus
), which has seen significant declines across its distribution, with the highest rate of declines being reported in rural areas of the UK. The drivers of these declines are not well understood, but anthropogenic changes in the landscape such as modified agricultural practices and increased road traffic have been proposed to play a part. These impacts are likely to fragment populations into smaller sub‐populations, leading to genetic differentiation and depletion. Here, we used genetic (microsatellite) and landscape data to investigate the impact of habitat resistance and landscape features (roads and waterways) on the genetic structure of hedgehogs across a 5800 km2 area of South Wales, UK. We found evidence of weak genetic structuring, with four genetic clusters present across the study area, but many individuals were admixed. We found no evidence that this genetic structure was related to roads, waterways, habitat resistance, or geographic distance, suggesting that hedgehogs may be able to disperse across these potential barriers frequently enough to minimise genetic fragmentation. This study demonstrates the importance of understanding the interactions between a species and the wider landscape to inform conservation management.

The West European Hedgehog (
Erinaceus europaeus
) has seen significant declines across its distribution, the drivers for which are not well understood, but anthropogenic changes in the landscape such as modified agricultural practices and increased road traffic have been proposed to play a part. These impacts are likely to fragment populations into smaller sub‐populations, leading to genetic differentiation and depletion. However, we found no evidence that this genetic structure was related to roads, waterways, habitat resistance, or geographic distance, suggesting that hedgehogs may be able to disperse across these potential barriers.