Peromyscus melanophrys Phenotype or Genotype

The aim of the project was to study the population genomics of this species, distributed both in undisturbed and disturbed habitats in one of the largest protected areas of TDF in Mexico, the Sierra de Huautla Biosphere Reserve (SHBR), which is embedded within the Huautla Mountain Range (HMR), an extensive mountainous range dominated by Tropical Dry Forest vegetation. We used high-throughput sequencing to develop Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) to achieve our objectives: 1) to analyse the spatial and temporal genomic diversity and structure of P. melanophrys in a heterogeneous landscape within the Huautla Mountain Range, 2) to evaluate if density and biomass population fluctuations or different levels of habitat perturbation influenced spatially and/or temporally the distribution of neutral and non-neutral genetic variation of the species, and 3) to discuss the conservation implications of our findings and establish genetic metrics that may be used as a reference for future studies on the effects of habitat fragmentation in Tropical Dry Forests and other natural systems.