Landscape genetics of an endangered salt marsh endemic: identifying population continuity and barriers to dispersal

Preserving the genetic diversity of endangered species is fundamental to their conservation and requires an understanding of genetic structure. In turn, identification of landscape features that impede gene flow can facilitate management to mitigate such obstacles and help with identifying isolated populations. We conducted a landscape genetic study of the endangered salt marsh harvest mouse (Reithrodontomys raviventris), a species endemic to the coastal marshes of the San Francisco Estuary of California. We collected and genotyped >500 samples from across the marshes of Suisun Bay which contain the largest remaining tracts of habitat for the species. Cluster analyses and a population tree identified three geographically discrete populations. Next, we conducted landscape genetic analyses at two scales (the entire study area and across the Northern Marshes) where we tested 65 univariate models of landscape features and used the best supported to test multivariable analyses. Our analys...

保护濒危物种的遗传多样性是其物种保护的根本前提，而这有赖于对物种遗传结构的深入解析。反之，识别阻碍基因交流的景观特征，能够助力管理工作以缓解这类障碍，并辅助辨识隔离种群。本研究针对濒危物种盐沼收获鼠（salt marsh harvest mouse，学名*Reithrodontomys raviventris*）开展景观遗传学研究，该物种为加州旧金山河口（San Francisco Estuary）沿海沼泽的特有种。我们从拥有该物种现存最大栖息地块的苏桑湾（Suisun Bay）各沼泽中，采集了超过500份样本并完成基因分型。聚类分析与种群系统树分析共识别出3个地理上相互隔离的种群。随后，我们在两个尺度下开展景观遗传学分析（全研究区域与北部沼泽区域），共测试了65个景观特征单变量模型，并选取支持度最高的模型开展多变量分析。本研究的分析……