Data from: Genetic analysis of red deer (Cervus elaphus) administrative management units in a human-dominated landscape - patterns of genetic diversity, population structure and gene flow

Red deer (Cervus elaphus) throughout central Europe are impacted by
different anthropogenic activities including habitat fragmentation,
selective hunting, and translocations. This has substantial influences on
genetic diversity and the long-term conservation of local populations of
this species. Here we use genetic samples from 480 red deer individuals to
assess the genetic diversity and differentiation of the 12 administrative
management units located in Schleswig Holstein, the northernmost federal
state in Germany. We applied multiple analytical approaches and
show that the history of local populations (i.e., translocations, culling
of individuals outside of designated red deer zones, and anthropogenic
infrastructures) has led to comparably low levels of genetic diversity.
The mean expected heterozygosity was below 0.6 and we observed on average
4.2 alleles across 12 microsatellite loci. Effective population sizes
below the recommended level of 50 were estimated for multiple local
populations. Our estimates of genetic structure and gene flow show that
red deer in northern Germany are best described as a complex network of
asymmetrically connected subpopulations, with high genetic exchange among
some local populations and reduced connectivity of others. Genetic
diversity was also correlated with population densities of neighboring
management units. Based on these findings, we suggest that connectivity
among existing management units needs to be considered in the practical
management of the species, which means that some administrative management
units should be managed together, while the effective isolation of other
units needs to be mitigated.