Genetic diversity and population structure of wolverine (Gulo gulo) populations at the southern edge of their current distribution in North America with implications for genetic viability

Cegelski, Christine C.; Waits, Lisette P.; Anderson, Neil J.; Flagstad, Øystein; Strobeck, Curtis; Kyle, Christopher J.

doi:10.1007/s10592-006-9126-9

Cited by 47 publications

(72 citation statements)

References 50 publications

(55 reference statements)

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“…All three amalgamated haplotype pairs differed by one base pair. We compared all haplotypes to reports in the literature [45], [48], [49], [51], [55], [59]. Although multiple studies identified identical haplotypes, naming was inconsistent among publications.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phylogeography and Post-Glacial Recolonization in Wolverines (Gulo gulo) from across Their Circumpolar Distribution

Zigouris

Schaefer

Fortin³

et al. 2013

PLoS ONE

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Interglacial-glacial cycles of the Quaternary are widely recognized in shaping phylogeographic structure. Patterns from cold adapted species can be especially informative - in particular, uncovering additional glacial refugia, identifying likely recolonization patterns, and increasing our understanding of species’ responses to climate change. We investigated phylogenetic structure of the wolverine, a wide-ranging cold adapted carnivore, using a 318 bp of the mitochondrial DNA control region for 983 wolverines (n = 209 this study, n = 774 from GenBank) from across their full Holarctic distribution. Bayesian phylogenetic tree reconstruction and the distribution of observed pairwise haplotype differences (mismatch distribution) provided evidence of a single rapid population expansion across the wolverine’s Holarctic range. Even though molecular evidence corroborated a single refugium, significant subdivisions of population genetic structure (0.01< ΦST <0.99, P<0.05) were detected. Pairwise ΦST estimates separated Scandinavia from Russia and Mongolia, and identified five main divisions within North America - the Central Arctic, a western region, an eastern region consisting of Ontario and Quebec/Labrador, Manitoba, and California. These data are in contrast to the nearly panmictic structure observed in northwestern North America using nuclear microsatellites, but largely support the nuclear DNA separation of contemporary Manitoba and Ontario wolverines from northern populations. Historic samples (c. 1900) from the functionally extirpated eastern population of Quebec/Labrador displayed genetic similarities to contemporary Ontario wolverines. To understand these divergence patterns, four hypotheses were tested using Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC). The most supported hypothesis was a single Beringia incursion during the last glacial maximum that established the northwestern population, followed by a west-to-east colonization during the Holocene. This pattern is suggestive of colonization occurring in accordance with glacial retreat, and supports expansion from a single refugium. These data are significant relative to current discussions on the conservation status of this species across its range.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phylogeography and Post-Glacial Recolonization in Wolverines (Gulo gulo) from across Their Circumpolar Distribution

Zigouris

Schaefer

Fortin³

et al. 2013

PLoS ONE

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“…Within these heavily sampled counties, proximate pairs of individuals were often collected as roadkilled animals, making it difficult to determine whether individuals were killed within suitable habitat or during dispersal though matrix habitat. Regardless of the mechanism, positive spatial autocorrelations at fine scales is a fairly ubiquitous factor influencing spatial patterns of genetic variation in other highly mobile carnivores (for example, Cegelski et al, 2006;Zalewski et al, 2009;Croteau et al, 2010), so it is not surprising to find that geographic distance exhibits a strong influence on gene flow in badgers as well.…”

Section: Landscape Genetics Of Badgers In Wisconsinmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fine-scale landscape genetics of the American badger (Taxidea taxus): disentangling landscape effects and sampling artifacts in a poorly understood species

Kierepka

Latch

2015

Heredity

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Landscape genetics is a powerful tool for conservation because it identifies landscape features that are important for maintaining genetic connectivity between populations within heterogeneous landscapes. However, using landscape genetics in poorly understood species presents a number of challenges, namely, limited life history information for the focal population and spatially biased sampling. Both obstacles can reduce power in statistics, particularly in individual-based studies. In this study, we genotyped 233 American badgers in Wisconsin at 12 microsatellite loci to identify alternative statistical approaches that can be applied to poorly understood species in an individual-based framework. Badgers are protected in Wisconsin owing to an overall lack in life history information, so our study utilized partial redundancy analysis (RDA) and spatially lagged regressions to quantify how three landscape factors (Wisconsin River, Ecoregions and land cover) impacted gene flow. We also performed simulations to quantify errors created by spatially biased sampling. Statistical analyses first found that geographic distance was an important influence on gene flow, mainly driven by fine-scale positive spatial autocorrelations. After controlling for geographic distance, both RDA and regressions found that Wisconsin River and Agriculture were correlated with genetic differentiation. However, only Agriculture had an acceptable type I error rate (3-5%) to be considered biologically relevant. Collectively, this study highlights the benefits of combining robust statistics and error assessment via simulations and provides a method for hypothesis testing in individual-based landscape genetics.

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“…STRUCTURE has also been used to inform management and conservation decisions. For instance, STRUCTURE has been used to provide advice on how best to partition the wolverine (Gulo gulo) harvest in Montana (Cegelski et al 2003(Cegelski et al , 2006 and to mitigate the influence of roads and natural barriers on bobcats (Lynx rufus) in Michigan (Millions and Swanson 2007) and California (Riley et al 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why sampling scheme matters: the effect of sampling scheme on landscape genetic results

2008

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There has been a recent trend in genetic studies of wild populations where researchers have changed their sampling schemes from sampling pre-defined populations to sampling individuals uniformly across landscapes. This reflects the fact that many species under study are continuously distributed rather than clumped into obvious ''populations''. Once individual samples are collected, many landscape genetic studies use clustering algorithms and multilocus genetic data to group samples into subpopulations. After clusters are derived, landscape features that may be acting as barriers are examined and described. In theory, if populations were evenly sampled, this course of action should reliably identify population structure. However, genetic gradients and irregularly collected samples may impact the composition and location of clusters. We built genetic models where individual genotypes were either randomly distributed across a landscape or contained gradients created by neighbor mating for multiple generations. We investigated the influence of six different sampling protocols on population clustering using program STRUCTURE, the most commonly used model-based clustering method for multilocus genotype data. For models where individuals (and their alleles) were randomly distributed across a landscape, STRUCTURE correctly predicted that only one population was being sampled. However, when gradients created by neighbor mating existed, STRUCTURE detected multiple, but different numbers of clusters, depending on sampling protocols. We recommend testing for fine scale autocorrelation patterns prior to sample clustering, as the scale of the autocorrelation appears to influence the results. Further, we recommend that researchers pay attention to the impacts that sampling may have on subsequent population and landscape genetic results.

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Genetic diversity and population structure of wolverine (Gulo gulo) populations at the southern edge of their current distribution in North America with implications for genetic viability

Cited by 47 publications

References 50 publications

Phylogeography and Post-Glacial Recolonization in Wolverines (Gulo gulo) from across Their Circumpolar Distribution

Phylogeography and Post-Glacial Recolonization in Wolverines (Gulo gulo) from across Their Circumpolar Distribution

Fine-scale landscape genetics of the American badger (Taxidea taxus): disentangling landscape effects and sampling artifacts in a poorly understood species

Why sampling scheme matters: the effect of sampling scheme on landscape genetic results

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