Data from: Habitat connectivity is determined by the scale of habitat loss and dispersal strategy

Understanding factors that ameliorate the impact of habitat loss is a
major focus of conservation research. One key factor influencing species
persistence and evolution is the ability to disperse across increasingly
patchy landscapes. Here we ask whether interpatch distance (a proxy for
habitat loss) and dispersal strategy can interact to form thresholds where
connectivity breaks down. We assayed dispersal across a range of
interpatch distances in fruit flies carrying allelic variants of a gene
known to underlie differences in dispersal strategy. Dispersal-limited
flies experienced a distinct negative threshold in connectivity at greater
interpatch distances, and this was not observed in more dispersive flies.
Consequently, this differential response of dispersal-limited and more
dispersive flies to decreasing connectivity suggests that habitat loss
could have important implications on the evolution and maintenance of
genetic variation underlying dispersal strategy.