Genomics for conservation: a case study of behavioral genes in the Tasmanian devil

The increased availability of genomic resources for many species has expanded perspectives on problems in conservation by helping to design management strategies for threatened species. Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) are an iconic and endangered marsupial with an intensively managed breeding program aimed at preventing extinction in the wild caused by devil facial tumour disease. Between 2015 and 2017, 85 devils from this program were released to three sites in Tasmania to support wild populations. Of these, 26 were known to have been killed by vehicles shortly after release. A previous analysis indicated that increased generations in captivity was a positive predictor of vehicle strike, with possible behavioural change hypothesised. Here we use 39 resequenced devil genomes to characterise diversity at 35 behaviour-associated genes, which contained 826 single nucleotide polymorphisms (24 were non-synonymous). We tested for a predictor of survival by examining three genes (AVPR1B, OXT and SLC6A4) in 62 released devils with known fates (survived, N = 39; died, N = 23), and genome-wide associations via reduced-representation sequencing (1727 single nucleotide polymorphisms [SNPs]), in 55 devils with known fates (survived, N = 38; died, N = 17). Overall, there was little evidence of an association between genetic profile and probability of being struck by a vehicle. Despite previous evidence of low genetic diversity in devils, the 35 behaviour-associated genes contained variation that may influence their functions. Our dataset can be used for future research into devil behavioural ecology, and adds to the increasing body of research applying genomics to conservation problems.