Genotype data from: Restoration of transborder connectivity for Fennoscandian brown bears (Ursus arctos)

Knowledge about the connectivity among natural populations is essential to
identify management units for effective conservation actions.
Conservation-minded management has led to the recovery of large carnivore
populations in northern Europe, possibly restoring connectivity between
the two separated, but expanding brown bear (Ursus arctos) populations on
the Scandinavian peninsula to the west and Karelia, a part of the large
Eurasian population, to the east. The degree of connectivity between these
populations has been poorly understood, therefore we investigated the
extent of connectivity between the two populations using autosomal
microsatellites and Y chromosome haplotypes in 924 male bears (the
dispersing sex), sampled during a period of 12 years (2005-2017) across
the transborder area where these two populations meet. Our results showed
that the two populations are not genetically isolated as reported in
earlier studies. We detected recent asymmetrical gene flow at a rate
(individuals per generation) of 4.6-5.5 (1%) from Karelia into
Scandinavia, whereas the rate was approximately 27.1-34.5 (8%) in the
opposite direction. We estimated historical gene flow of effective number
of migrants to be between 1.7 and 2.5 between the populations. Analyses of
Y chromosome markers supported these results. Successful recovery and
expansion of both populations led to the restoration of connectivity,
however, it is asymmetric, possibly due to different recovery histories
and population densities. By aligning monitoring between neighboring
countries, we were able to better understand the biological processes
across the relevant spatial scale.