Exploring dispersal barriers using landscape genetic resistance modelling in scarlet macaws of the Peruvian Amazon

Context

Dispersal is essential for species persistence and landscape genetic studies are valuable tools for identifying potential barriers to dispersal. Macaws have been studied for decades in their natural habitat, but we still have no knowledge of how natural landscape features influence their dispersal.

Objectives

We tested for correlations between landscape resistance models and the current population genetic structure of macaws in continuous rainforest to explore natural barriers to their dispersal.

Methods

We studied scarlet macaws (Ara macao) over a 13,000 km² area of continuous primary Amazon rainforest in south-eastern Peru. Using remote sensing imagery from the Carnegie Airborne Observatory, we constructed landscape resistance surfaces in CIRCUITSCAPE based on elevation, canopy height and above-ground carbon distribution. We then used individual- and population-level genetic analyses to examine which landscape features influenced gene flow (genetic distance between individuals and populations).

Results

Across the lowland rainforest we found limited population genetic differentiation. However, a population from an intermountain valley of the Andes (Candamo) showed detectable genetic differentiation from two other populations (Tambopata) located 20–60 km away (F _ST = 0.008, P = 0.001–0.003). Landscape resistance models revealed that genetic distance between individuals was significantly positively related to elevation.

Conclusions

Our landscape resistance analysis suggests that mountain ridges between Candamo and Tambopata may limit gene flow in scarlet macaws. These results serve as baseline data for continued landscape studies of parrots, and will be useful for understanding the impacts of anthropogenic dispersal barriers in the future.

     

Modeling population connectivity by ocean currents,a graph-theoretic approach for marine conservation

The dispersal of individuals among marine populations is of great importance to metapopulation dynamics, population persistence, and species expansion. Understanding this connectivity between distant populations is key to their effective conservation and management. For many marine species, population connectivity is determined largely by ocean currents transporting larvae and juveniles between distant patches of suitable habitat. Recent work has focused on the biophysics of marine larval dispersal and its importance to population dynamics, although few studies have evaluated the spatial and temporal patterns of this potential dispersal. Here, we show how an Eulerian advection–diffusion approach can be used to model the dispersal of coral larvae between reefs throughout the Tropical Pacific. We illustrate how this connectivity can be analyzed using graph theory—an effective approach for exploring patterns in spatial connections, as well as for determining the importance of each site and pathway to local and regional connectivity. Results indicate that the scale (average distance) of dispersal in the Pacific is on the order of 50–150 km, consistent with recent studies in the Caribbean (Cowen, et al. 2006). Patterns in the dispersal graphs highlight pathways for larval dispersal along major ocean currents and through island chains. A series of critical island ‘stepping stones’ are discovered providing potential pathways across the equatorial currents and connecting distant island groups. Patterns in these dispersal graphs highlight possible pathways for species expansions, reveal connected upstream/downstream populations, and suggest areas that might be prioritized for marine conservation efforts.

     

Landscape relatedness: detecting contemporary fine-scale spatial structure in wild populations

Context

Methods for detecting contemporary, fine-scale population genetic structure in continuous populations are scarce. Yet such methods are vital for ecological and conservation studies, particularly under a changing landscape.

Objectives

Here we present a novel, spatially explicit method that we call landscape relatedness (LandRel). With this method, we aim to detect contemporary, fine-scale population structure that is sensitive to spatial and temporal changes in the landscape.

Methods

We interpolate spatially determined relatedness values based on SNP genotypes across the landscape. Interpolations are calculated using the Bayesian inference approach integrated nested Laplace approximation. We empirically tested this method on a continuous population of brown bears (Ursus arctos) spanning two counties in Sweden.

Results

Two areas were identified as differentiated from the remaining population. Further analysis suggests that inbreeding has occurred in at least one of these areas.

Conclusions

LandRel enabled us to identify previously unknown fine-scale structuring in the population. These results will help direct future research efforts, conservation action and aid in the management of the Scandinavian brown bear population. LandRel thus offers an approach for detecting subtle population structure with a focus on contemporary, fine-scale analysis of continuous populations.

     

Altered functional connectivity and genetic diversity of a threatened salamander in an agroecosystem

Context

Amphibian metapopulations have become increasingly fragmented in the Midwestern United States, with wetland-breeding salamanders being especially dependent on intact, high-quality forested landscapes. However, the degree to which amphibian populations are isolated, the factors that influence dispersal and, ultimately, functional connectivity remain areas in need of investigation.

Objectives and methods

We combined population demographic and genetic approaches to assess how a landscape fragmented by agriculture influences functional connectivity and metapopulation dynamics of a locally threatened salamander (Ambystoma jeffersonianum).

Results

We found that the allelic richness and heterozygosity of this species was significantly related to the level of connectivity with other occupied breeding wetlands and that decreased connectivity resulted in increased genetic differentiation. We also found that effective population size appears to be declining and, while correlative, our focal landscape has experienced significant losses of forested upland habitats and potential wetland breeding habitats over the last 200 years.

Conclusions

By combining population and landscape genetic analyses with an assessment of regional wetland occupancy, our study has uniquely synthesized genetic and metapopulation processes, while also incorporating the effects of the landscape matrix on dispersal, connectivity, and population differentiation. The significant relationship between connectivity with heterozygosity, allelic richness, and genetic divergence observed in this study reinforces empirical observations of long distance dispersal and movements in ambystomatid salamanders. However, our results show that protection of core habitat around isolated wetlands may not sufficiently minimize genetic differentiation among populations and preserve critical genetic diversity that may be essential for the long-term persistence of local populations.

     

Modeling population connectivity by ocean currents,a graph-theoretic approach for marine conservation

The dispersal of individuals among marine populations is of great importance to metapopulation dynamics, population persistence, and species expansion. Understanding this connectivity between distant populations is key to their effective conservation and management. For many marine species, population connectivity is determined largely by ocean currents transporting larvae and juveniles between distant patches of suitable habitat. Recent work has focused on the biophysics of marine larval dispersal and its importance to population dynamics, although few studies have evaluated the spatial and temporal patterns of this potential dispersal. Here, we show how an Eulerian advection–diffusion approach can be used to model the dispersal of coral larvae between reefs throughout the Tropical Pacific. We illustrate how this connectivity can be analyzed using graph theory—an effective approach for exploring patterns in spatial connections, as well as for determining the importance of each site and pathway to local and regional connectivity. Results indicate that the scale (average distance) of dispersal in the Pacific is on the order of 50–150 km, consistent with recent studies in the Caribbean (Cowen, et al. 2006). Patterns in the dispersal graphs highlight pathways for larval dispersal along major ocean currents and through island chains. A series of critical island ‘stepping stones’ are discovered providing potential pathways across the equatorial currents and connecting distant island groups. Patterns in these dispersal graphs highlight possible pathways for species expansions, reveal connected upstream/downstream populations, and suggest areas that might be prioritized for marine conservation efforts.     

Contiguity of landscape features pose barriers to gene flow among American marten (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Martes americana</Emphasis>) genetic clusters in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan

Context

Barriers to dispersal influence the ability of individuals to expand into new areas and can ultimately define success of reintroduction programs. American marten (Martes americana) were reintroduced to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, USA, from multiple, genetically differentiated source populations from 1955 to 1992. Previous research found multiple genetic clusters near release sites with little admixing, suggesting barriers to dispersal exist.

Objectives

We sought to identify whether the contact zones between genetic clusters coincided with landscape features hypothesized to influence M. americana dispersal. We also investigated whether the degree of landscape contiguity within each genetic cluster differed among clusters.

Methods

We mapped cluster boundaries in M. americana genetic assignment probabilities and used correlation length as a measure of landscape contiguity between genetic clusters. We then evaluated the effects of land cover and roads on spatial genetic structure using a spatial autoregressive model.

Results

We found that gene flow was facilitated by contiguous coniferous forest and low incidence of roads. However, the strength of those relationships varied by genetic cluster. Contact zones among some genetic clusters spatially coincided with areas of high road and low conifer contiguity, compared to within-clusters.

Conclusions

In contrast to landscape genetic analyses focused on identifying barriers to gene flow, we incorporated methods that are relatively novel in landscape genetics to quantify how landscape contiguity influences spatial genetic structure. Using this method we were able to identify landscape barriers to dispersal at the genetic cluster boundaries for a reintroduced species distributed continuously across the landscape.

     

Integrating a generic focal species,metapopulation capacity,and connectivity to identify opportunities to link fragmented habitat

Context

A challenge devising revegetation strategies in fragmented landscapes is conserving for the widest spectrum of biodiversity. Habitat network reconstruction should improve landscape capacity to maintain species populations. However, the location of revegetation often fails to account for species occurrence and dispersal processes operating across spatial scales.

Objectives

Our objective was to integrate metapopulation theory with estimates of landscape capacity and dispersal pathways to highlight connectivity gaps. Maintenance of populations could thereby be facilitated through reconnecting habitat networks across regional and broader scales, with assumed benefit for the dispersal needs of less sensitive species.

Methods

Predicted occupancy and metapopulation capacity were calculated for a generic focal species derived from fragmentation-sensitive woodland birds, mammals and reptiles. A metapopulation connectivity analysis predicted regional dispersal links to identify likely routes through which individuals may move to contribute to the viability of the population. We used the revegetation programmes of the Brigalow–Nandewar Biolinks project, eastern New South Wales, Australia, to demonstrate our approach.

Results

Landscape capacity of the current landscape varied across the region. Low-value links between populations provided greatest opportunities for revegetation and improved landscape capacity. Where regional connectivity did not indicate a pathway between populations, broader scale connectivity provided guidance for revegetation.

Conclusions

The metapopulation-based model, coupled with a habitat dispersal network analysis, provided a platform to inform revegetation locations and better support biodiversity. Our approach has application for directing on-ground action to support viable populations, assess the impact of revegetation schemes or monitor the progress of staged implementations.

     

Multi-scale effects of habitat loss and fragmentation on lesser prairie-chicken populations of the US Southern Great Plains

Large-scale patterns of land use and fragmentation have been associatedwith the decline of many imperiled wildlife populations. Lesserprairie-chickens(Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) are restricted to thesouthernGreat Plains of North America, and their population and range have declined by> 90% over the past 100 years. Our objective was to examine scale-dependentrelationships between landscape structure and change and long-term populationtrends for lesser prairie-chicken populations in the southern Great Plains. Weused a geographic information system (GIS) to quantify landscape composition,pattern and change at multiple scales (extents) for fragmented agriculturallandscapes surrounding 10 lesser prairie-chicken leks. Trend analysis oflong-term population data was used to classify each population and landscape(declined, sustained). We analyzed metrics of landscape structure and changeusing a repeated measures analysis of variance to determine significant effects( = 0.10) between declining and sustained landscapes across multiplescales. Four metrics of landscape structure and change (landscape change index,percent cropland, increases in tree-dominated cover types, and changes in edgedensity) contained significant interactions between population status andscale,indicating different scaling effects on landscapes with declining and stablepopulations. Any single spatial scale that was evaluated would not have givencomplete results of the influences of landscape structure and change on lesserprairie-chicken populations. The smallest spatial scales (452, 905, and 1,810ha) predicted that changes in edge density and largest patch sizewere the only important variables, while large-scale analysis (7,238ha) suggested that the amount of cropland, increase in trees(mostly Juniperus virginiana), and general landscapechanges were most important. Changes in landscape structure over the pastseveral decades had stronger relationships with dynamics of lesserprairie-chicken populations than current landscape structure. Observed changessuggest that these local populations may be appropriately viewed from ametapopulation perspective and future conservation efforts should evaluateeffects of fragmentation on dispersal, colonization, and extinction patterns.This revised version was published online in May 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Landscape structure shapes carnivore-mediated seed dispersal kernels

Context

Seed dispersal is recognized as having profound effects on the distribution, dynamics and structure of plant populations and communities. However, knowledge of how landscape structure shapes carnivore-mediated seed dispersal patterns is still scarce, thereby limiting our understanding of large-scale plant population processes.

Objectives

We aim to determine how the amount and spatial configuration of forest cover impacted the relative abundance of carnivorous mammals, and how these effects cascaded through the seed dispersal kernels they generated.

Methods

Camera traps activated by animal movement were used for carnivore sampling. Colour-coded seed mimics embedded in common figs were used to know the exact origin of the dispersed seed mimics later found in carnivore scats. We applied this procedure in two sites differing in landscape structure.

Results

We did not find between-site differences in the relative abundance of the principal carnivore species contributing to seed dispersal patterns, Martes foina. Mean dispersal distance and the probability of long dispersal events were higher in the site with spatially continuous and abundant forest cover, compared to the site with spatially aggregated and scarcer forest cover. Seed deposition closely matched the spatial patterning of forest cover in both study sites, suggesting behaviour-based mechanisms underpinning seed dispersal patterns generated by individual frugivore species.

Conclusions

Our results provide the first empirical evidence of the impact of landscape structure on carnivore-mediated seed dispersal kernels. They also indicate that seed dispersal kernels generated strongly depend on the effect that landscape structure exerts on carnivore populations, particularly on habitat-use preferences.

     

Historical processes and landscape context influence genetic structure in peripheral populations of the collared lizard (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Crotaphytus collaris</Emphasis>)

Populations at the periphery of a species’ range often show reduced genetic variability within populations and increased genetic divergence among populations compared to those at the core, but the mechanisms that give rise to this core-periphery pattern in genetic structure can be multifaceted. Peripheral population characteristics may be a product of historical processes, such as founder effects or population expansion, or due to the contemporary influence of landscape context on gene flow. We sampled collared lizards (Crotaphytus collaris) at four locations within the northern Flint Hills of Kansas, which is at the northern periphery of their range, to determine the genetic variability and extent of genetic divergence among populations for ten microsatellite loci (n = 229). We found low genetic variability (average allelic richness = 3.37 ± 0.23 SE; average heterozygosity = 0.54 ± 0.05 SE) and moderate population divergence (average F_ST = 0.08 ± 0.01 SE) among our sample sites relative to estimates reported in the literature at the core of the species’ range in Texas. We also identified differences in dispersal rates among sampling locations. Gene flow within the Flint Hills was thus greater than for other peripheral populations of collared lizards, such as the Missouri glade system where most of the mesic grasslands have been converted to forest since the last glacial retreat, which appears to have greatly impeded gene flow among populations. Our findings signify the importance of considering landscape context when evaluating core-peripheral trends in genetic diversity and population structure.     

Linking vegetation patterns to environmental gradients and human impacts in a mediterranean-type island ecosystem

Vegetation patterns at the landscape scale are shaped by myriad processes and historical events, and understanding the relative importance of these processes aids in predicting current and future plant distributions. To quantify the influence of different environmental and anthropogenic patterns on observed vegetation patterns, we used simultaneous autoregressive modeling to analyze data collected by the Carnegie Airborne Observatory over Santa Cruz Island (SCI; California, USA). SCI is a large continental island, and its limited suite of species and well documented land use history allowed us to consider many potential determinants of vegetation patterns, such as topography, substrate, and historical grazing intensity. As a metric of vegetation heterogeneity, we used the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) stratified into three vegetation height classes using LiDAR (short, medium, and tall). In the SAR models topography and substrate type were important controls, together explaining 8–15 % of the total variation in NDVI, but historical grazing and spatial autocorrelation were also key components of the models, together explaining 17–21 % of the variation in NDVI. Optimal spatial autocorrelation distances in the short and medium height vegetation models (600–700 m) were similar to the home range sizes of two crucial seed dispersers on the island– the island fox (Urocyon littoralis santacruzae) and the island scrub-jay (Aphelocoma insularis)—suggesting that these animals may be important drivers of the island’s vegetation patterns. This study highlights the importance of dynamic processes like dispersal limitation and disturbance history in determining present-day vegetation patterns.     

Divergent landscape effects on genetic differentiation in two populations of the European pine marten (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Martes martes</Emphasis>)

Context

Quantifying gene flow in natural populations is a key topic in both evolutionary and conservation biology. Understanding the extent to which the landscape matrix facilitates or impedes gene flow is becoming a high priority in a context of worldwide habitat loss and fragmentation.

Objectives

Unexpectedly, a lower genetic diversity and a higher genetic structure have been previously observed in the less fragmented and the most forested habitat across four pine marten (Martes martes) populations in France. Our aim was to quantify the effect of landscape on the spatial distribution of genetic diversity in two populations in contrasting habitats.

Methods

We conducted an individual-based landscape genetics analysis in a highly fragmented rural plain (Bresse, n = 126) and in a highly forested (50 %) mountainous area (Ariège, n = 88) in France. We tested for isolation-by-resistance using least-cost distances and used a causal modeling approach on 16,384 landscape and 104 elevation resistance scenarios.

Results

Landscape structure influenced the genetic differentiation in Bresse, with vegetation providing more genetic connectivity over the study area than open areas, while roads and human buildings showed unexpected low resistance to gene flow. In Ariège, genetic differentiation was mainly associated with changes in elevation, with an optimal elevation for gene flow of around 1700 m, likely associated with changes in vegetation structure.

Conclusions

The pine marten seems to be able to cope with human-dominated landscapes and with fragmented forest landscapes, whereas elevation is the major driver of genetic differentiation in our mountainous landscape. Additionally, we highlight the importance of spatial replication in landscape genetics for deriving reliable conservation and management measures over the species distribution.

     

Connectivity analysis as a tool for assessing restoration success

Context

Methods for measuring restoration success that include functional connectivity between species’ populations are rare in landscape ecology and restoration practices. We developed an approach that analyzes connectivity between populations of target species and their dispersal probabilities to assess restoration success based on easily accessible input data. Applying this method to landscape development scenarios can help optimize restoration planning.

Objectives

We developed an assessment for restoration success and restoration planning based on functional connectivity between species’ populations and spatially explicit scenarios. The method was used in a case study to test its applicability.

Methods

Based on data on available habitat, species’ occurrence and dispersal ranges, connectivity metrics and dispersal probabilities for target species are calculated using the software Conefor Sensinode. The metrics are calculated for scenarios that reflect possible changes in the landscape to provide a basis for future restoration planning. We applied this approach to floodplain meadows along the Upper Rhine for four plant species and three future scenarios.

Results

In the case study, habitats of the target species were poorly connected. Peucedanum officinale and Sanguisorba officinalis were more successful in recolonizing new habitats than Iris spuria and Serratula tinctoria. The scenarios showed that restoration of species-rich grassland was beneficial for dispersal of the target species. As expected in the agriculturally dominated study area, restoration of former arable land significantly increased dispersal probabilities.

Conclusions

In the case study, the developed approach was easily applicable and provided reasonable results. Its implementation will be helpful in decision-making for future restoration planning.

     

Dry-washes determine gene flow and genetic diversity in a common desert shrub

Context

In deserts, many plant species exhibit a patchy spatial distribution within a harsh habitat matrix, where the likelihood of propagule dispersal among patches is uncertain, but may be promoted by landscape corridors or dispersal vectors.

Objectives

We examine the connectivity of a representative desert plant species (Acacia (Senegalia) greggii), and the ability of three major factors (animal dispersal agents, water flow along dry-washes, and climate) to facilitate dispersal within four watersheds in the Mojave National Preserve.

Methods

We genotyped 323 individuals sampled across 22 one-hectare sites using ten nuclear microsatellite markers.

Results

A hierarchical AMOVA revealed no significant differentiation among watersheds (F _RT = 0.00, P > 0.10), and very little genetic structure among all sites (F _ST = 0.03, P < 0.001), indicating regional connectivity. Mantel tests indicated distance along dry-washes best explained genetic distance between sites (r = 0.47, P < 0.05) when compared to Euclidean distance (P > 0.05), a distance measure based on rodent dispersal (P > 0.05), and a distance measure avoiding inhospitable climate (P > 0.05). An AIC comparison of generalized linear models found that within site genetic diversity (H _E and allelic richness) and average relatedness were best explained by slope (which increases seed dispersal potential via water flow) and area of the upstream watershed (which determines the number of potential seed donors), rather than plant density or habitat suitability.

Conclusions

Together, these findings indicate that dry-washes are key landscape features that enhance dispersal and regional connectivity in this patchy desert plant.

     

Dispersal behaviour in fragmented landscapes: Deriving a practical formula for patch accessibility

Dispersal has been shown to be a key determinant of spatially structured populations. One crucial aspect is predicting patch accessibility: the probability r_ij of a certain patch j being reached by individuals starting at another patch i. Patch accessibility r_ij depends on both the landscape structure and the individuals’ dispersal behaviour. To investigate the effects of these factors on r_ij, we developed a simulation model focusing on animal dispersal. Our model analyses show that there is an important intrinsic effect of the interplay between landscape structure and dispersal behaviour on patch accessibility: the competition between patches for migrants. We derive a formula for patch accessibility. This formula is very simple because it just takes distances into account: not only the distance between start patch and target patch, but also between the start patch and all the other patches in the landscape. Despite its simplicity, the formula is able to cover effects such as the competition for migrants. The formula was found to have high predictive power for a variety of movement behaviours (random walk with various degrees of correlation, Archimedean spirals and loops) in any given landscape. The formula can be interpreted as a generic function for patch accessibility for further population dynamics analyses. It also delivers insights into the consequences of dispersal in fragmented landscapes.     

Landscape genetics of the foundational salt marsh plant species black needlerush (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Juncus roemerianus</Emphasis> Scheele) across the northeastern Gulf of Mexico

Context

Common species important for ecosystem restoration stand to lose as much genetic diversity from anthropogenic habitat fragmentation and climate change as rare species, but are rarely studied. Salt marshes, valuable ecosystems in widespread decline due to human development, are dominated by the foundational plant species black needlerush (Juncus roemerianus Scheele) in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico.

Objectives

We assessed genetic patterns in J. roemerianus by measuring genetic and genotypic diversity, and characterizing population structure. We examined population connectivity by delineating possible dispersal corridors, and identified landscape factors influencing population connectivity.

Methods

A panel of 19 microsatellite markers was used to genotype 576 samples from ten sites across the northeastern Gulf of Mexico from the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) to the Apalachicola NERR. Genetic distances (F_ST and D_ch) were used in a least cost transect analysis (LCTA) within a hierarchical model selection framework.

Results

Genetic and genotypic diversity results were higher than expected based on life history literature, and samples structured into two large, admixed genetic clusters across the study area, indicating sexual reproduction may not be as rare as predicted in this clonal macrophyte. Digitized coastal transects buffered by 500 m may represent possible dispersal corridors, and developed land may significantly impede population connectivity in J. roemerianus.

Conclusions

Results have important implications for coastal restoration and management that seek to preserve adaptive potential by sustaining natural levels of genetic diversity and conserving population connectivity. Our methodology could be applied to other common, widespread and understudied species.

     

Population genetic structure and landscape connectivity of the Eastern Yellowbelly Racer (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Coluber constrictor flaviventris</Emphasis>) in the contiguous tallgrass prairie of northeastern Kansas,USA

The tallgrass prairie of North America has undergone widespread habitat loss and fragmentation (<4% remains). The Flint Hills region of Kansas and Oklahoma is the largest tallgrass prairie remaining and therefore provides an opportunity to study the population genetic structure of grassland species in a relatively contiguous landscape and set a baseline for evaluating changes when the habitat is fragmented. We adopted a landscape genetics approach to identify how landscape structure affected dispersal, population genetic structure, and landscape connectivity of the Eastern Yellowbelly Racer (Coluber constrictor flaviventris) across a 13,500-km² landscape in northeastern Kansas, USA. The racer population had high allelic diversity, high heterozygosity, and was maintaining migration-drift equilibrium. Autocorrelation between genetic and geographic distance revealed that racers exhibited restricted dispersal within 3 km, and isolation-by-distance. Significant isolation-by-distance occurred at broad regional scales (>100 km), but because of sufficient gene flow between locations, we were unable to define discrete subpopulations using Bayesian clustering analyses. Resistance distance, which considers the permeability of habitats, did not explain significant variation in genetic distance beyond Euclidean distance alone, suggesting that racers are not currently influenced by landscape composition. In northeastern Kansas, racers appear to be an abundant and continuously distributed snake that perceives the landscape as well connected with no cover type currently impeding snake dispersal or gene flow.     

A multi-scale assessment of population connectivity in African lions (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Panthera leo)</Emphasis> in response to landscape change

Context

Habitat loss and fragmentation are among the major drivers of population declines and extinction, particularly in large carnivores. Connectivity models provide practical tools for assessing fragmentation effects and developing mitigation or conservation responses. To be useful to conservation practitioners, connectivity models need to incorporate multiple scales and include realistic scenarios based on potential changes to habitat and anthropogenic pressures. This will help to prioritize conservation efforts in a changing landscape.

Objectives

The goal of our paper was to evaluate differences in population connectivity for lions (Panthera leo) across the Kavango-Zambezi Trans-frontier Conservation Area (KAZA) under different landscape change scenarios and a range of dispersal distances.

Methods

We used an empirically optimized resistance surface, based on analysis of movement pathways of dispersing lions in southern Africa to calculate resistant kernel connectivity. We assessed changes in connectivity across nine landscape change scenarios, under each of which we explored the behavior of lions with eight different dispersal abilities.

Results

Our results demonstrate that reductions in the extent of the protected area network and/or fencing protected areas will result in large declines in the extent of population connectivity, across all modeled dispersal abilities. Creation of corridors or erection of fences strategically placed to funnel dispersers between protected areas increased overall connectivity of the population.

Conclusions

Our results strongly suggest that the most effective means of maintaining long-term population connectivity of lions in the KAZA region involves retaining the current protected area network, augmented with protected corridors or strategic fencing to direct dispersing individuals towards suitable habitat and away from potential conflict areas.

     

Butterfly dispersal in farmland: a replicated landscape genetics study on the meadow brown butterfly (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Maniola jurtina</Emphasis>)

Context

Anthropogenic activities readily result in the fragmentation of habitats such that species persistence increasingly depends on their ability to disperse. However, landscape features that enhance or limit individual dispersal are often poorly understood. Landscape genetics has recently provided innovative solutions to evaluate landscape resistance to dispersal.

Objectives

We studied the dispersal of the common meadow brown butterfly, Maniola jurtina, in agricultural landscapes, using a replicated study design and rigorous statistical analyses. Based on existing behavioral and life history research, we hypothesized that the meadow brown would preferentially disperse through its preferred grassy habitats (meadows and road verges) and avoid dispersing through woodlands and the agricultural matrix.

Methods

Samples were collected in 18 study landscapes of 5 × 5 km in three contrasting agricultural French regions. Using circuit theory, least cost path and transect-based methods, we analyzed the effect of the landscape on gene flow separately for each sex.

Results

Analysis of 1681 samples with 6 microsatellites loci revealed that landscape features weakly influence meadow brown butterfly gene flow. Gene flow in both sexes appeared to be weakly limited by forests and arable lands, whereas grasslands and grassy linear elements (road verges) were more likely to enhance gene flow.

Conclusion

Our results are consistent with the hypothesis of greater dispersal through landscape elements that are most similar to suitable habitat. Our spatially replicated landscape genetics study allowed us to detect subtle landscape effects on butterfly gene flow, and these findings were reinforced by consistent results across analytical methods.