Data from: Climate connectivity of the bobcat in the Great Lakes region

The Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River are imposing barriers for
wildlife and the additive effect of urban and agricultural development
that dominates the lower Great Lakes region likely further reduces
functional connectivity for many terrestrial species. As the climate warms
species will need to track climate across these barriers. It is important,
therefore, to investigate land cover and bioclimatic hypotheses that may
explain the northward expansion of species through the Great Lakes. We
investigated the functional connectivity of a vagile generalist, the
bobcat, as a representative generalist forest species common to the
region. We genotyped tissue samples collected across the region at 14
microsatellite loci and compared different landscape hypotheses that might
explain the observed gene flow or functional connectivity. We found that
the Great Lakes and the additive influence of forest stands with either
low or high canopy cover and deep lake-effect snow have disrupted gene
flow, whereas intermediate forest cover has facilitated gene flow.
Functional connectivity in southern Ontario is relatively low and was
limited in part by the low amount of forest cover. Pathways across the
Great Lakes were through the Niagara region and through the Lower
Peninsula of Michigan over the Straits of Mackinac and the St. Mary’s
River. These pathways are important routes for bobcat range expansion
north of the Great Lakes and are also likely pathways that many other
mobile habitat generalists must navigate to track the changing climate.
The extent to which species can navigate these routes will be important
for determining the future biodiversity of areas north of the Great Lakes.