Understanding dispersal patterns can inform future translocation strategies: A case study of the threatened greater stick‐nest rat (Leporillus conditor)

Abstract

Dispersal behaviour and sociality are significant factors influencing survival at both the individual and population levels. In translocation and breeding programmes, social structure and sex-biased philopatry and dispersal should be considered in order to maximise population viability and conservation outcomes. Here, we use the greater stick-nest rat (Leporillus conditor), a native Australian rodent, as a case study to understand how knowledge of social structure and dispersal can inform conservation and translocation programmes. We combine high-throughput DNA sequencing with field trapping data from a translocated population of greater stick-nest rats at Arid Recovery Reserve, South Australia, to provide the first empirical evidence of female philopatry and male-biased dispersal in this species. Males were found to disperse, on average, 1.5 km from the natal nest, while females typically did not disperse beyond 500 m. Further, recapture data showed that females demonstrated a higher degree of nest fidelity than males over time. Based on these findings, we make two key recommendations for future translocations of the species. Firstly, founders should be harvested in small groups at adjacent nest sites with groups separated by a minimum of 1.5 km allowing family group structure to be retained during translocation while simultaneously maximising genetic diversity. Secondly, translocated individuals should be released in family cohorts into patches of optimal habitat that contain adequate shelter substrates interspersed over short distances (~300–500 m, the maximum dispersal distance of females found in this study), thereby facilitating nest establishment and maintenance of family groups. The results of this study have implications for conservation and reintroduction biology as a whole; we highlight the importance of considering spatial genetic structure during all stages of translocations to improve outcomes, and the value of combining genetic and field data to better understand species’ social and spatial preferences.