Data from: Fire does not strongly affect genetic diversity or structure of a common treefrog in the endangered Florida scrub

Fire regimes influence natural populations of organisms in diverse ways, via direct effects on population dynamics as well as indirect effects on habitat and ecosystem processes. Although many amphibian species have evolved to persist in fire-dependent ecosystems, the effects of fire on the genetic diversity of amphibian populations remain relatively unexplored. We examined how different aspects of fire history relate to population genetic diversity and structure of an abundant anuran, Hyla femoralis, in a large, intact area of Florida scrub containing hundreds of seasonally inundated ponds. Specifically, we assessed the overall population genetic structure and examined whether variation in time since fire, fire intensity, or historical fire frequency at breeding sites explained spatial variation in genetic diversity. Based on our sampling of 17 breeding aggregations within the 2,100-ha study area, neither recent nor frequent fire reduce genetic diversity or restrict connectivity among ponds for H. femoralis. Overall, mean effective population sizes were large (average range = 68–572). We detected a positive trend between effective population size (Ne) and average intensity of the most-recent fire, with this factor explaining 42% of the variation in Ne. Our results contrast with previous studies that consistently demonstrate strong relationships between fire history and population genetic structure of scrub-associated lizard species, suggesting that H. femoralis is resilient to a wide range of fire regimes. More generally, our study contributes to understanding the roles of life-history characteristics and environmental unpredictability in shaping organisms’ responses to fire.

火制度（fire regimes）通过对种群动态的直接影响，以及对栖息地和生态系统过程的间接影响，以多种方式作用于生物的自然种群。尽管诸多两栖动物物种已演化出在依赖火灾的生态系统中存续的能力，但火灾对两栖动物种群遗传多样性的影响尚未得到充分探索。本研究于一片包含数百个季节性淹没水塘的大型完整佛罗里达灌丛区域内，探究了火灾历史的不同维度与常见无尾目物种Hyla femoralis的种群遗传多样性及遗传结构之间的关联。具体而言，本研究评估了整体种群遗传结构，并检验了繁殖位点距末次火灾的间隔时长、火灾强度或历史火灾频率的差异，是否能够解释遗传多样性的空间变异。基于对2100公顷研究区域内17个繁殖集群的采样，本研究发现，近期火灾或高频火灾均未降低H. femoralis的遗传多样性，也未限制水塘间的种群连通性。总体而言，平均有效种群规模较大（平均值区间为68至572）。本研究发现有效种群规模（effective population size, Ne）与最近一次火灾的平均强度呈正相关趋势，该因素可解释Ne 42%的变异量。本研究结果与此前研究形成鲜明对比——此前研究均表明，火灾历史与依赖灌丛生境的蜥蜴类物种的种群遗传结构存在显著关联，这提示H. femoralis对多种火制度均具有耐受性。从更广泛的层面来看，本研究有助于深入理解生活史特征与环境不可预测性在塑造生物对火灾的响应过程中所发挥的作用。