Data from: Adaptive divergence along environmental gradients in a climate-change-sensitive mammal

In the face of predicted climate change, a broader understanding of biotic responses to varying environments has become increasingly important within the context of biodiversity conservation. Local adaptation is one potential option, yet remarkably few studies have harnessed genomic tools to evaluate the efficacy of this response within natural populations. Here we show evidence of selection driving divergence of a climate change-sensitive mammal, the American pika (Ochotona princeps), distributed along elevation gradients at its northern range margin in the Coast Mountains of British Columbia (BC), Canada. We employed amplified fragment length polymorphism-based genomic scans to conduct genome-wide searches for candidate loci among populations inhabiting varying environments from sea-level to 1500m. Using a highly stringent approach to outlier locus detection, we identified 68 candidate loci putatively under selection (out of a total 1509 screened), 15 of which displayed significant associations with environmental variables including annual precipitation and maximum summer temperature. These candidate loci may represent important targets for predicting pika responses to climate change and informing novel approaches to wildlife conservation in a changing world.面对预估的气候变化，在生物多样性保护的框架下，更全面地理解生物对不同环境的响应机制，其重要性日益凸显。本地适应是生物应对环境变化的潜在策略之一，但目前仅有极少数研究借助基因组工具，评估自然种群中此类响应的有效性。本研究针对加拿大不列颠哥伦比亚省（British Columbia，BC）海岸山脉分布范围内、处于其分布北界沿海拔梯度的气候变化敏感哺乳动物——北美鼠兔（Ochotona princeps），揭示了选择驱动其种群分化的证据。本研究采用基于扩增片段长度多态性（amplified fragment length polymorphism, AFLP）的基因组扫描技术，对从海平面至海拔1500米不同环境下的种群开展全基因组范围的候选位点筛选。通过严格的异常位点检测方法，在总共筛选的1509个位点中，我们鉴定出68个潜在受选择的候选位点，其中15个与年降水量、夏季最高温等环境变量存在显著关联。这些候选位点可作为预测鼠兔对气候变化响应的重要靶标，同时可为变化世界中的野生动物保护创新策略提供参考依据。