The geometry of gametic dispersal in a flying mammal, Rhinolophus hipposideros
Abstract
Dispersal influences population and evolutionary dynamics, in a manner that depends on by which dispersal strategies gene flow occurs. In some species, mating partners move exclusively for mating, dispersing genes but not individuals. This is the case in many bat species, of which the lesser horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus hipposideros) shows a genetic structure at a fine spatial scale suggesting restricted dispersal. We investigated how natal and mating dispersal shape gene flow in this species in two metapopulations using paternity and population assignments. Half of the inferred paternities were intra-colonial and gave an estimate of the mean mating dispersal distance of around 11 km, explaining the observed genetic structure. Complete gametic dispersal distances were further estimated by combining natal with mating dispersal distances. The resulting gametic dispersal kernels showed a mean distance of around 20 km and a fat-tailed distribution typical of an excess of long-distance dispersal movements. It is the first time that natal and mating dispersal distances have been separately estimated and then combined in animals, documenting quantitatively how mating dispersal decorrelates gene and individual flows. It is important to consider this mechanism to explain dispersal evolution.
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BibTeX
@article{brazier2026geometry,
title = {{The geometry of gametic dispersal in a flying mammal, Rhinolophus hipposideros}},
author = {Thomas Brazier and Diane Zarzoso-Lacoste and Lisa Lehnen and Pierre-Loup Jan and Sebastien Puechmaille and Eric Petit},
journal = {Peer Community Journal},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.24072/pcjournal.811},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05788354v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - The geometry of gametic dispersal in a flying mammal, Rhinolophus hipposideros
AU - Thomas Brazier
AU - Diane Zarzoso-Lacoste
AU - Lisa Lehnen
AU - Pierre-Loup Jan
AU - Sebastien Puechmaille
AU - Eric Petit
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/09
JO - Peer Community Journal
DO - 10.24072/pcjournal.811
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05788354v1
AB - Dispersal influences population and evolutionary dynamics, in a manner that depends on by which dispersal strategies gene flow occurs. In some species, mating partners move exclusively for mating, dispersing genes but not individuals. This is the case in many bat species, of which the lesser horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus hipposideros) shows a genetic structure at a fine spatial scale suggesting restricted dispersal. We investigated how natal and mating dispersal shape gene flow in this species in two metapopulations using paternity and population assignments. Half of the inferred paternities were intra-colonial and gave an estimate of the mean mating dispersal distance of around 11 km, explaining the observed genetic structure. Complete gametic dispersal distances were further estimated by combining natal with mating dispersal distances. The resulting gametic dispersal kernels showed a mean distance of around 20 km and a fat-tailed distribution typical of an excess of long-distance dispersal movements. It is the first time that natal and mating dispersal distances have been separately estimated and then combined in animals, documenting quantitatively how mating dispersal decorrelates gene and individual flows. It is important to consider this mechanism to explain dispersal evolution.
SN - 2804-3871
SN - 2804-3871
ER -