Microsatellite data of three carrion beetles

Habitat fragmentation and loss globally threatens biodiversity and
ecosystem functioning. Fragmentation disrupts gene flow and isolates
populations, endangering species persistence. Dispersal ability is
critical for species to maintain gene flow among populations and
colonising new habitats. However, most species' dispersal abilities
are unknown, raising the question of whether species are dispersal or
habitat limited. Carrion beetles recycle animal necromass, an important
ecosystem function. In theory, species depending on ephemeral resources
such as carrion have good dispersal abilities to colonise new habitat
patches regularly. However, little is known about the dispersal capacity
of carrion beetles. To infer such dispersal abilities, we investigated the
population Genetiv structure of three common carrion beetles (Coleoptera:
Staphylinidae: Silphinae): Nicrophorus vespilloides Herbst, Necrodes
littoralis Linnaeus and Oiceoptoma thoracicum Linnaeus. We sampled
individuals using liver‐baited pitfall traps and laid out carcasses in 47
sites in four regions in southern Germany. The distances between sampling
sites ranged from 100 m to 320 km. We used microsatellite markers to
assess population genetic structure and gene flow at local and regional
spatial scales. Markers were newly developed for N. littoralis and O.
thoracicum . Pairwise F ST , AMOVA and DAPC analyses revealed no
significant population genetic structure within all three species,
indicating no limitation in gene flow, even over long distances. Our data
suggest excellent dispersal abilities in all three species without
critical spatial limitation at the regional scale of our study. This
implies that carrion management should focus more on habitat amount rather
than spatial arrangements for the conservation of carrion insects.