Scale-dependent effects of landscape variables on gene flow and population structure in bats

Aim: A common pattern in biogeography is the scale-dependent effect of environmental variables on the spatial distribution of species. We tested the role of climatic and land cover variables in structuring the distribution of genetic variation in the grey long-eared bat, Plecotus austriacus, across spatial scales. Although landscape genetics has been widely used to describe spatial patterns of gene flow in a variety of taxa, volant animals have generally been neglected because of their perceived high dispersal potential.Location: England and Europe. Methods: We used a multiscale integrated approach, combining population genetics with species distribution modelling and geographical information under a causal modelling framework, to identify landscape barriers to gene flow and their effect on population structure and conservation status. Genotyping involved 23 polymorphic microsatellites and 259 samples from across the species' range. Results: We identified distinct population structure s...研究目标：生物地理学领域普遍存在一类模式，即环境变量对物种空间分布的影响具有尺度依赖性。本研究以灰长耳蝠（*Plecotus austriacus*）为研究对象，检验气候与土地覆被变量在不同空间尺度下对其遗传变异分布的塑造作用。尽管景观遗传学（landscape genetics）已被广泛用于描述诸多类群的基因流（gene flow）空间模式，但因被认为具有较高扩散潜力，飞行类动物通常被相关研究忽略。 研究区域：英格兰与欧洲。 研究方法：本研究采用多尺度整合研究框架，在因果建模范式下结合种群遗传学（population genetics）、物种分布建模（species distribution modelling）与地理信息分析，以识别阻碍基因交流的景观障碍及其对种群结构（population structure）与物种保护现状的影响。基因分型实验共使用23个多态性微卫星位点（microsatellites），样本覆盖该物种分布范围内的259份个体。 研究结果：本研究明确了显著的种群结构……