Genetic effects of landscape, habitat preference, and demography on three co-occurring turtle species

Expanding the scope of landscape genetics beyond the level of single species can help to reveal how species traits influence responses to environmental change. Multispecies studies are particularly valuable in highly threatened taxa, such as turtles, in which the impacts of anthropogenic change are strongly influenced by interspecific differences in life-history strategies, habitat preferences, and mobility. We sampled approximately 1500 individuals of three co-occurring turtle species across a gradient of habitat change (including varying loss of wetlands and agricultural conversion of upland habitats) in the Midwestern USA. We used genetic clustering and multiple regression methods to identify associations between genetic structure and permanent landscape features, past landscape composition, and landscape change in each species. Two aquatic generalists (the painted turtle, Chrysemys picta, and the snapping turtle Chelydra serpentina) both exhibited population genetic structure consis...