Data from: Landscape genetic analyses of Cervus elaphus and Sus scrofa: comparative study and analytical developments

Red deer and wild boar are two major game species whose populations are
managed and live in areas impacted by human activities. Measuring and
understanding the impact of landscape features on individual movements and
spatial patterns of genetic variability in these species is thus of
importance for managers. A large number of individuals sampled across
Wallonia (Belgium) for both species have been genotyped using
microsatellite markers (respectively >1700 and >1200
genotyped individuals) and some individuals have also been followed using
a capture-mark-recapture (CMR) protocol. The combined data set represents
an unprecedented opportunity to study and compare the environmental
factors impacting the interconnectivity of these large mammals. The
present study describes and uses a landscape genetic workflow to compare
spatial patterns of genetic variability and the impact of environmental
factors on genetic differentiation. For the latter analyses, we
investigate the correlation between genetic and environmental distances
(pairwise approach) and also between local genetic dissimilarity and
environmental conditions (point approach). Preliminary analyses of CMR
data confirm that motorways act as significant barriers to dispersal.
However, analyses performed with the pairwise approach do not highlight
any evidence of an impact of motorways on genetic differentiation, which
is presumably due to their recent establishment. Complementary analyses
performed with the point approach reveal that low altitude tends to be
associated with higher genetic dissimilarity. From a methodological point
of view, the present workflow illustrates the complementary application of
both pairwise and point approaches as well as univariate and multivariate
analyses.