Data from: Temporally dynamic habitat suitability predicts genetic relatedness among caribou

Landscape heterogeneity plays a central role in shaping ecological and
evolutionary processes. While species utilization of the landscape is
usually viewed as constant within a year, the spatial distribution of
individuals is likely to vary in time in relation to particular seasonal
needs. Understanding temporal variation in landscape use and genetic
connectivity has direct conservation implications. Here, we modelled the
daily use of the landscape by caribou in Quebec and Labrador, Canada and
tested its ability to explain the genetic relatedness among individuals.
We assessed habitat selection using locations of collared individuals in
migratory herds and static occurrences from sedentary groups. Connectivity
models based on habitat use outperformed a baseline isolation-by-distance
model in explaining genetic relatedness, suggesting that variations in
landscape features such as snow, vegetation productivity and land use
modulate connectivity among populations. Connectivity surfaces derived
from habitat use were the best predictors of genetic relatedness. The
relationship between connectivity surface and genetic relatedness varied
in time and peaked during the rutting period. Landscape permeability in
the period of mate searching is especially important to allow gene flow
among populations. Our study highlights the importance of considering
temporal variations in habitat selection for optimizing connectivity
across heterogeneous landscape and counter habitat fragmentation.