Connectivity of prairie dog colonies in an altered landscape: inferences from analysis of microsatellite DNA variation

Cassin-Sackett, Loren; Cross, Todd B.; Jones, Ryan; Johnson, Whitney C.; Ballare, Kimberly M.; Ray, Chris; Collinge, Sharon K.; Martin, Andrew P.

doi:10.1007/s10592-011-0293-y

Cited by 26 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 47 publications

(52 reference statements)

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“…Sackett et al. () report pairwise F ST estimates ranging from 0.054 to 0.133 among 10 colonies of black‐tailed prairie dog using 11 microsatellites. These estimates are much lower than the global F ST ( θ = 0.296) we report here or Meirmans and Hedrick's () corrected G” ST (= 0.383 for all colonies combined) for Utah prairie dogs.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic variation and population structure in a threatened species, the Utah prairie dog Cynomys parvidens: the use of genetic data to inform conservation actions

Brown

Peacock

Ritchie

2016

Ecology and Evolution

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The Utah prairie dog (Cynomys parvidens), listed as threatened under the United States Endangered Species Act, was the subject of an extensive eradication program throughout its range during the 20th century. Eradication campaigns, habitat destruction/fragmentation/conversion, and epizootic outbreaks (e.g., sylvatic plague) have reduced prairie dog numbers from an estimated 95,000 individuals in the 1920s to approximately 14,000 (estimated adult spring count) today. As a result of these anthropogenic actions, the species is now found in small isolated sets of subpopulations. We characterized the levels of genetic diversity and population genetic structure using 10 neutral nuclear microsatellite loci for twelve populations (native and transplanted) representative of the three management designated “recovery units,” found in three distinct biogeographic regions, sampled across the species' range. The results indicate (1) low levels of genetic diversity within colonies (H e = 0.109–0.357; H o = 0.106‐ 0.313), (2) high levels of genetic differentiation among colonies (global F ST = 0.296), (3) very small genetic effective population sizes, and (4) evidence of genetic bottlenecks. The genetic data reveal additional subdivision such that colonies within recovery units do not form single genotype clusters consistent with recovery unit boundaries. Genotype cluster membership support historical gene flow among colonies in the easternmost West Desert Recovery Unit with the westernmost Pausaugunt colonies and among the eastern Pausaugunt colonies and the Awapa Recovery unit to the north. In order to maintain the long‐term viability of the species, there needs to be an increased focus on maintaining suitable habitat between groups of existing populations that can act as connective corridors. The location of future translocation sites should be located in areas that will maximize connectivity, leading to maintenance of genetic variation and evolutionary potential.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic variation and population structure in a threatened species, the Utah prairie dog Cynomys parvidens: the use of genetic data to inform conservation actions

Brown

Peacock

Ritchie

2016

Ecology and Evolution

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“…), and urban or built areas (Tremblay & St Clair ; Sackett et al. ) are pervasive in much of North America (Fig. ) and inhibit the movement of individuals or reduce colonization success in remaining habitat patches for butterflies, toads, songbirds, and prairie dogs.…”

Section: Climate Change Range Shifts and Habitatmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Range expansion predictions for the speckled wood butterfly Pararge aegeria that included growth rates and a dispersal function accurately predicted the observed difference in range expansion rate between a habitat-rich landscape and a fragmented, habitat-poor landscape . Cropland (Janin et al 2009;Ockinger et al 2012), clearcuts in forested landscapes (Popescu et al 2012), and urban or built areas (Tremblay & St Clair 2011;Sackett et al 2012) are pervasive in much of North America (Fig. 1) and inhibit the movement of individuals or reduce colonization success in remaining habitat patches for butterflies, toads, songbirds, and prairie dogs.…”

Section: Climate Change Range Shifts and Habitatmentioning

confidence: 99%

Facilitating climate‐change‐induced range shifts across continental land‐use barriers

Robillard

Coristine

Soares

et al. 2015

Conservation Biology

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Climate changes impose requirements for many species to shift their ranges to remain within environmentally tolerable areas, but near-continuous regions of intense human land use stretching across continental extents diminish dispersal prospects for many species. We reviewed the impact of habitat loss and fragmentation on species' abilities to track changing climates and existing plans to facilitate species dispersal in response to climate change through regions of intensive land uses, drawing on examples from North America and elsewhere. We identified an emerging analytical framework that accounts for variation in species' dispersal capacities relative to both the pace of climate change and habitat availability. Habitat loss and fragmentation hinder climate change tracking, particularly for specialists, by impeding both propagule dispersal and population growth. This framework can be used to identify prospective modern-era climatic refugia, where the pace of climate change has been slower than surrounding areas, that are defined relative to individual species' needs. The framework also underscores the importance of identifying and managing dispersal pathways or corridors through semi-continental land use barriers that can benefit many species simultaneously. These emerging strategies to facilitate range shifts must account for uncertainties around population adaptation to local environmental conditions. Accounting for uncertainties in climate change and dispersal capabilities among species and expanding biological monitoring programs within an adaptive management paradigm are vital strategies that will improve species' capacities to track rapidly shifting climatic conditions across landscapes dominated by intensive human land use.

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“…), C. ludovicianus (0.54) (Sackett et al. , ; Castellanos‐Morales et al. ), and C. mexicanus (0.17) (Castellanos‐Morales et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic variation at the MHC DRB1 locus is similar across Gunnison's prairie dog (Cynomys gunnisoni) colonies regardless of plague history

Cobble

Califf

Stone

et al. 2016

Ecology and Evolution

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Yersinia pestis was introduced to North America around 1900 and leads to nearly 100% mortality in prairie dog (Cynomys spp.) colonies during epizootic events, which suggests this pathogen may exert a strong selective force. We characterized genetic diversity at an MHC class II locus (DRB1) in Gunnison's prairie dog (C. gunnisoni) and quantified population genetic structure at the DRB1 versus 12 microsatellite loci in three large Arizona colonies. Two colonies, Seligman (SE) and Espee Ranch (ES), have experienced multiple plague‐related die‐offs in recent years, whereas plague has never been documented at Aubrey Valley (AV). We found fairly low allelic diversity at the DRB1 locus, with one allele (DRB1*01) at high frequency (0.67–0.87) in all colonies. Two other DRB1 alleles appear to be trans‐species polymorphisms shared with the black‐tailed prairie dog (C. ludovicianus), indicating that these alleles have been maintained across evolutionary time frames. Estimates of genetic differentiation were generally lower at the MHC locus (F ST = 0.033) than at microsatellite markers (F ST = 0.098). The reduced differentiation at DRB1 may indicate that selection has been important for shaping variation at MHC loci, regardless of the presence or absence of plague in recent decades. However, genetic drift has probably also influenced the DRB1 locus because its level of differentiation was not different from that of microsatellites in an F ST outlier analysis. We then compared specific MHC alleles to plague survivorship in 60 C. gunnisoni that had been experimentally infected with Y. pestis. We found that survival was greater in individuals that carried at least one copy of the most common allele (DRB1*01) compared to those that did not (60% vs. 20%). Although the sample sizes of these two groups were unbalanced, this result suggests the possibility that this MHC class II locus, or a nearby linked gene, could play a role in plague survival.

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Connectivity of prairie dog colonies in an altered landscape: inferences from analysis of microsatellite DNA variation

Cited by 26 publications

References 47 publications

Genetic variation and population structure in a threatened species, the Utah prairie dog Cynomys parvidens: the use of genetic data to inform conservation actions

Genetic variation and population structure in a threatened species, the Utah prairie dog Cynomys parvidens: the use of genetic data to inform conservation actions

Facilitating climate‐change‐induced range shifts across continental land‐use barriers

Genetic variation at the MHC DRB1 locus is similar across Gunnison's prairie dog (Cynomys gunnisoni) colonies regardless of plague history

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