Functional connectivity in a continuously distributed, migratory species as revealed by landscape genomics

Maintaining functional connectivity is critical for the long-term conservation of wildlife populations. Landscape genomics provides an opportunity to assess long-term functional connectivity by relating environmental variables to spatial patterns of genomic variation resulting from generations of movement, dispersal, and mating behaviors. Identifying landscape features associated with gene flow at large geographic scales for highly mobile species is becoming increasingly possible due to more accessible genomic approaches, improved analytical methods, and enhanced computational power. We characterized the genetic structure and diversity of migratory mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) using 4,051 single nucleotide polymorphisms in 406 individuals sampled across multiple habitats throughout Wyoming, USA. We then identified environmental variables associated with genomic variation within genetic groups and statewide using a stepwise approach to first evaluate nonlinear relationships of landsca...

维持功能连通性对于野生动物种群的长期保护至关重要。景观基因组学（Landscape genomics）为评估长期功能连通性提供了可行路径，其通过将环境变量与历经多代移动、扩散及交配行为所形成的基因组变异空间格局相关联。得益于愈发便捷的基因组学研究手段、优化的分析方法以及提升的计算能力，针对高度移动物种在大地理尺度下识别与基因流相关的景观特征正变得愈发可行。本研究以采自美国怀俄明州境内多个栖息地的406头迁徙骡鹿（Odocoileus hemionus）为研究对象，利用4051个单核苷酸多态性（single nucleotide polymorphisms）位点对其遗传结构与遗传多样性进行了表征。随后，本研究采用逐步分析法，首先评估景观的非线性关系（原文后续内容缺失），以此识别遗传分组内及全州范围内与基因组变异相关的环境变量。