Data from: Functional connectivity and home range inferred at a microgeographic landscape genetics scale in a desert-dwelling rodent

Gene flow in animals is limited or facilitated by different features within the landscape matrix they inhabit. The landscape representation in landscape genetics (LG) is traditionally modeled as resistance surfaces (RS), where novel optimization approaches are needed for assigning resistance values that adequately avoid subjectivity. Also, desert ecosystems and mammals are scarcely represented in LG studies We addressed these issues by evaluating, at a microgeographic scale, the effect of landscape features on functional connectivity of the desert-dwelling Dipodomys merriami. We characterized genetic diversity and structure with microsatellites loci, estimated home ranges and movement of individuals using telemetry –one of the first with rodents–, generated a set of individual and composite environmental surfaces based on hypotheses of variables influencing movement, and assessed how these variables relate to individual-based gene flow. Genetic diversity and structure results evidenced a family-induced pattern driven by first-order related individuals, notably determining landscape genetic inferences. The vegetation cover and soil resistance optimized surface (NDVI) was the best-supported model and a significant predictor of individual genetic distance, followed by humidity and NDVI+humidity. Based on an accurate definition of thematic resolution we also showed that vegetation is better represented as continuously (versus categorically) distributed. Hence, with a non-subjective optimization framework for RS and telemetry, we were able to describe that vegetation cover, soil texture, and climatic variables influence D. merriami's functional connectivity at a microgeographic scale, patterns we could further explain based on the home range, habitat use, and activity observed between sexes. We describe the relationship between environmental features and some aspects of D. merriami's behavior and physiology.

动物所栖息的景观基质中的各类特征，可限制或促进其基因流（gene flow）。景观遗传学（landscape genetics, LG）领域中，景观通常被建模为抗性表面（resistance surfaces, RS），当前亟需能够合理赋值抗性值、有效规避主观性的新型优化方法。此外，现有LG研究对荒漠生态系统与哺乳动物的关注严重不足。本研究针对上述问题，在微地理尺度下评估了景观特征对栖息于荒漠的默里更格卢鼠（Dipodomys merriami）功能连通性的影响。本研究通过微卫星位点（microsatellite loci）表征该物种的遗传多样性与遗传结构，利用无线电遥测（telemetry）技术估算个体的家域范围与移动模式——这是针对啮齿类开展此类研究的首批案例之一——基于影响物种移动的变量假说构建了一系列单变量与复合环境表面，并评估了这些变量与基于个体的基因流之间的关联。遗传多样性与遗传结构分析结果显示，由一级亲缘个体驱动的家族聚集模式显著影响了景观遗传学的推断结果。植被覆盖与土壤抗性优化表面的归一化植被指数（Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, NDVI）模型为最优支持模型，且是个体遗传距离的显著预测因子，其次为湿度以及NDVI与湿度的组合模型。基于对主题分辨率的精准定义，本研究还证实，植被的分布以连续型（而非分类型）表征更为合理。因此，借助针对RS的非主观性优化框架与无线电遥测技术，本研究得以阐明：在微地理尺度下，植被覆盖、土壤质地与气候变量会影响默里更格卢鼠的功能连通性；而这一模式可通过两性间观察到的家域、栖息地利用与活动行为进一步解释。本研究阐明了环境特征与默里更格卢鼠行为与生理若干特征之间的关联。