Functional connectivity and home range inferred at a microgeographic landscape genetics scale in a desert-dwelling rodent

Gene flow in animals is limited or facilitated by different features within the landscape matrix they inhabit. The landscape representation in landscape genetics (LG) is traditionally modeled as resistance surfaces (RS), where novel optimization approaches are needed for assigning resistance values that adequately avoid subjectivity. Also, desert ecosystems and mammals are scarcely represented in LG studies We addressed these issues by evaluating, at a microgeographic scale, the effect of landscape features on functional connectivity of the desert-dwelling Dipodomys merriami. We characterized genetic diversity and structure with microsatellites loci, estimated home ranges and movement of individuals using telemetry –one of the first with rodents–, generated a set of individual and composite environmental surfaces based on hypotheses of variables influencing movement, and assessed how these variables relate to individual-based gene flow. Genetic diversity and structure results evidenced ..., D. merriami genotypesMicrosatellites loci genotypes for the entire database (76 individuals)Flores-Manzanero_et_Dme-genotypes (76).csvFlores-Manzanero_et_DmeNR-genotypes(59)Microsatellites loci genotypes for the non-related individuals (59 ),动物的基因流会因其栖息的景观基质内的不同特征而受到限制或促进。 景观遗传学（Landscape Genetics, LG）中对景观的传统表征方式是将其建模为阻力表面（Resistance Surfaces, RS），目前亟需新型优化方法来赋值阻力值，以充分规避主观性。此外，景观遗传学研究中对荒漠生态系统与哺乳动物的相关研究较为匮乏。 本研究针对上述问题，以微地理尺度评估了景观特征对栖息于荒漠的梅氏更格卢鼠（*Dipodomys merriami*）功能连通性的影响。 本研究通过微卫星位点（microsatellite loci）对该物种的遗传多样性与遗传结构进行了表征；利用遥测技术——该技术在啮齿类研究中尚属较早应用的手段之一——估算了个体的家域范围与移动模式；基于影响移动的变量假说构建了一系列单一环境表面与复合环境表面，并评估了这些变量与基于个体的基因流之间的关联。 遗传多样性与遗传结构的研究结果表明…… 梅氏更格卢鼠基因型：全数据库（76个个体）的微卫星位点基因型数据，对应文件为Flores-Manzanero_et_Dme-genotypes (76).csv；非亲缘个体（59个）的微卫星位点基因型数据，对应文件为Flores-Manzanero_et_DmeNR-genotypes(59)