Spatial replication is important for developing landscape genetic inferences for a wetland salamander

Habitat fragmentation is one of the most pressing threats to wildlife populations. Maintenance of sustained dispersal and gene flow between populations is essential and often the end goal of conservation action. Use of resistance surfaces has emerged as an important strategy for developing conservation management strategies to mitigate the effects of habitat fragmentation (e.g., corridor design). However, recent studies have noted inconsistencies across study sites in the factors most strongly associated with genetic connectivity. Thus, replication of genetically based resistance surface optimization across landscapes may be necessary for making robust and generalizable conclusions about the influence of environmental variables on gene flow and for generating comprehensive predictions that can then be used by conservation practitioners in their focal landscape. In this study, we conducted replicated landscape genetic analyses across five sampling areas in Tennessee and Kentucky for a th..., , , # Spatial replication is important for developing landscape genetic inferences for a wetland salamander

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.9kd51c5v6](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.9kd51c5v6)

## Description of the data and file structure

To assess the influence of different landscape features on four-toed salamander gene flow, we generated genome-wide SNP data and used the R package radish. We assessed five different predictors at four different spatial resolutions using empirically generated FST matrices in a replicated landscape design, which included five study areas (Catoosa WMA [CWMA], the Great Smoky Mountains National Park [GSMNP], the Oak Ridge Reservation [ORR], Prentice Cooper State Forest [PCSF], and the Red River Gorge [RRG]).

### **Files and variables**

#### SampleMetadata.csv:

Data associated with each four-toed salamander sample used in landscape genetic analyses

-Variables

* ID: identification code for the sample
* SiteCode: identification code from the sampling site
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