Summary
1. Urban sprawl has resulted in the permanent presence of large mammal species in urban areas, leading to human-wildlife conflicts. Wild boar (Sus scrofa) are establishing a permanent presence in many cities in Europe, with the largest German urban population occurring in Berlin. Despite their relatively long-term presence there is little knowledge of colonisation processes, dispersal patterns and connectivity of Berlin’s populations, hampering the development of effective management plans.
2. We used 13 microsatellite loci to genotype 387 adult and sub-adult wild boar from four urban forest, from adjacent built-up areas and from the surrounding rural forests. We applied genetic clustering algorithms to analyse the population genetic structure of the urban boar. We used Approximate Bayesian Computation to infer the boar’s colonisation history of the city. Finally, we used assignment tests to determine the origin of wild boar hunted in the urban built-up areas.
3. The animals in three urban forests formed distinct genetic clusters, with the remaining samples all being assigned to one rural population. One urban cluster was founded by individuals from another urban cluster rather than by rural immigrants.
4. The wild boar that had been harvested within urban built-up areas were predominantly assigned to the rural cluster surrounding the urban area, rather than to one of the urban clusters.
5. Synthesis and application: Our results are likely to have an immediate impact on management strategies, because they show that there are not only distinct urban clusters, but also ongoing sink-source-dynamics between urban and rural areas. It is therefore essential, that the neighbouring Federal States Berlin and Brandenburg develop common hunting plans to control the wild boar population and reduce conflicts in urban areas.
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