Data and R scripts for: Effects of hunting on genetic diversity, inbreeding and dispersal in Finnish black grouse (Lyrurus tetrix)

While intensive hunting activities, such as commercial fishing and trophy
hunting, can have profound influences on natural populations, less
intensive recreational hunting can also have more subtle effects on animal
behaviour, habitat use and movement, with implications for population
persistence. Lekking species such as the black grouse (Lyrurus tetrix) may
be especially prone to hunting as leks are temporally and spatially
predictable, making them easy targets. Furthermore, inbreeding in black
grouse is mainly avoided through female-biased dispersal, so any
disruptions to dispersal caused by hunting could lead to changes in gene
flow, leading to an increasing risk of inbreeding. We therefore
investigated the impact of hunting on genetic diversity, inbreeding and
dispersal on a metapopulation of black grouse in Central Finland. We
genotyped 1,065 adult males and 813 adult females from twelve lekking
sites (six hunted, six unhunted) and 200 unrelated chicks from seven sites
(two hunted, five unhunted) at up to thirteen microsatellite loci. Our
initial confirmatory analysis of sex-specific fine-scale population
structure revealed little genetic structure in the metapopulation. Levels
of inbreeding did not differ significantly between hunted and unhunted
sites in both adults and chicks. However, immigration rates into hunted
sites were significantly higher among adults compared to immigration into
unhunted sites. We conclude that the influx of migrants into hunted sites
may compensate for the loss of harvested individuals, thereby increasing
gene flow and mitigating inbreeding. Given the absence of any obvious
potential barriers to gene flow in Central Finland, a spatially
heterogeneous matrix of hunted and unhunted regions may be crucial to
ensure sustainable harvests into the future.