Unravelling landscape variables with multiple approaches to overcome scarce species knowledge: a landscape genetic study of the slow worm

Article Article scientifique Article Unravelling landscape variables with multiple approaches to overcome scarce species knowledge: a landscape genetic study of the slow worm eng 2013 author Geiser Céline 674959 author Ray Nicolas 0000-0002-4696-5313 126189 author Lehmann Anthony 0000-0002-8279-8567 28253 author Ursenbacher Sylvain 783-794 10.1007/s10592-013-0474-y 1566-0621 http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10592-013-0474-y Landscape genetics was developed to detect landscape elements shaping genetic population structure, including the effects of fragmentation. Multifarious environmental variables can influence gene flow in different ways and expert knowledge is frequently used to construct friction maps. However, the extent of the migration and the movement of single individuals are frequently unknown, especially for non-model species, and friction maps only based on expert knowledge can be misleading. In this study, we used three different methods: isolation by distance (IBD), least-cost modelling and a strip-based approach to disentangle the human implication in the fragmentation process in the slow worm (Anguis fragilis), as well as the specific landscape elements shaping the genetic structure in a highly anthropized 16 km2 area in Switzerland. Friction maps were constructed using expert opinion, but also based on the combination of all possible weightings for all landscape elements. The IBD indicated a significant effect of geographic distance on genetic differentiation. Further approaches demonstrated that highways and railways were the most important elements impeding the gene flow in this area. Surprisingly, we also found that agricultural areas and dense forests seemed to be used as dispersal corridors. These results confirmed that the slow worm has relatively unspecific habitat requirements. Finally, we showed that our models based on expert knowledge performed poorly compared to cautious analysis of each variable. This study demonstrated that landscape genetic analyses should take expert knowledge with caution and exhaustive analyses of each landscape element without a priori knowledge and different methods can be recommended. Population genetics Microsatellite markers 454 Sequencing Anguis fragilis Landscape genetics Least-cost path Dewey 333.7-333.9 Dewey 550 Open Access - Licence nationale Springer 18 Institut des sciences de l'environnement 0DB 41 Département F.-A. Forel des sciences de l'environnement et de l'eau 153 false 673 Envirospace Lab 942 ISE Biodiversité 941 ISE Pôle Informatique environnementale 938 ISE Pôle Sciences 1057 TIGERS Conservation genetics 14 4 833c0241-28ee-41b1-86ed-6f76ab376cc4 Article (Published version) Public 13_Geiser_at_al_ConsGenet.pdf 793729 application/pdf openAccess Centres et instituts / Institut des sciences de l'environnement Faculté des sciences / Section des sciences de la Terre et de l'Environnement / Département F.-A. Forel des sciences de l'environnement et de l'eau

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Unravelling landscape variables with multiple approaches to overcome scarce species knowledge: a landscape genetic study of the slow worm	Conservation genetics			2013	717	280

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