Dataset Information

Quantifying functional connectivity: The role of breeding habitat, abundance, and landscape features on range-wide gene flow in sage-grouse.

ABSTRACT: Functional connectivity, quantified using landscape genetics, can inform conservation through the identification of factors linking genetic structure to landscape mechanisms. We used breeding habitat metrics, landscape attributes, and indices of grouse abundance, to compare fit between structural connectivity and genetic differentiation within five long-established Sage-Grouse Management Zones (MZ) I-V using microsatellite genotypes from 6,844 greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) collected across their 10.7 million-km2 range. We estimated structural connectivity using a circuit theory-based approach where we built resistance surfaces using thresholds dividing the landscape into "habitat" and "nonhabitat" and nodes were clusters of sage-grouse leks (where feather samples were collected using noninvasive techniques). As hypothesized, MZ-specific habitat metrics were the best predictors of differentiation. To our surprise, inclusion of grouse abundance-corrected indices did not greatly improve model fit in most MZs. Functional connectivity of breeding habitat was reduced when probability of lek occurrence dropped below 0.25 (MZs I, IV) and 0.5 (II), thresholds lower than those previously identified as required for the formation of breeding leks, which suggests that individuals are willing to travel through undesirable habitat. The individual MZ landscape results suggested terrain roughness and steepness shaped functional connectivity across all MZs. Across respective MZs, sagebrush availability (<10%-30%; II, IV, V), tree canopy cover (>10%; I, II, IV), and cultivation (>25%; I, II, IV, V) each reduced movement beyond their respective thresholds. Model validations confirmed variation in predictive ability across MZs with top resistance surfaces better predicting gene flow than geographic distance alone, especially in cases of low and high differentiation among lek groups. The resultant resistance maps we produced spatially depict the strength and redundancy of range-wide gene flow and can help direct conservation actions to maintain and restore functional connectivity for sage-grouse.

SUBMITTER: Row JR

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6099827 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Quantifying functional connectivity: The role of breeding habitat, abundance, and landscape features on range-wide gene flow in sage-grouse.

Row Jeffrey R JR Doherty Kevin E KE Cross Todd B TB Schwartz Michael K MK Oyler-McCance Sara J SJ Naugle Dave E DE Knick Steven T ST Fedy Bradley C BC

Evolutionary applications 20180512 8

Functional connectivity, quantified using landscape genetics, can inform conservation through the identification of factors linking genetic structure to landscape mechanisms. We used breeding habitat metrics, landscape attributes, and indices of grouse abundance, to compare fit between structural connectivity and genetic differentiation within five long-established Sage-Grouse Management Zones (MZ) I-V using microsatellite genotypes from 6,844 greater sage-grouse (<i>Centrocercus urophasianus</i ...[more]

PMID: 30151042

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Project description:Mapping suitable habitat is an important process in wildlife conservation planning. Species distribution reflects habitat selection processes occurring across multiple spatio-temporal scales. Because habitat selection may be driven by different factors at different scales, conservation planners require information at the scale of the intervention to plan effective management actions. Previous research has described habitat selection processes shaping the distribution of greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; sage-grouse) at the range-wide scale. Finer-scale information for applications within jurisdictional units inside the species range is lacking, yet necessary, because state wildlife agencies are the management authority for sage-grouse in the United States. We quantified seasonal second-order habitat selection for sage-grouse across the state of Utah to produce spatio-temporal predictions of their distribution at the southern periphery of the species range. We used location data obtained from sage-grouse marked with very-high-frequency radio-transmitters and lek location data collected between 1998 and 2013 to quantify species habitat selection in relation to a suite of topographic, edaphic, climatic, and anthropogenic variables using random forest algorithms. Sage-grouse selected for greater sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) cover, higher elevations, and gentler slopes and avoided lower precipitations and higher temperatures. The strength of responses to habitat variables varied across seasons. Anthropogenic variables previously reported as affecting their range-wide distribution (i.e., roads, powerlines, communication towers, and agricultural development) were not ranked as top predictors at our focal scale. Other than strong selection for sagebrush cover, the responses we observed differed from what has been reported at the range-wide scale. These differences likely reflect the unique climatic, geographic, and topographic context found in the southern peripheral area of the species distribution compared to range-wide environmental gradients. Our results highlight the importance of considering appropriateness of scale when planning conservation actions for wide-ranging species.

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Dataset Information

Quantifying functional connectivity: The role of breeding habitat, abundance, and landscape features on range-wide gene flow in sage-grouse.

Publications

Quantifying functional connectivity: The role of breeding habitat, abundance, and landscape features on range-wide gene flow in sage-grouse.

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