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Related Experiment Videos

Gene flow in complex landscapes: testing multiple hypotheses with causal modeling.

Samuel A Cushman1, Kevin S McKelvey, Jim Hayden

  • 1U.S. Department of Agriculture/U.S. Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station, Missoula, Montana 59807, USA. scushman@fs.fed.us

The American Naturalist
|September 28, 2006
PubMed
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Connectivity in black bear populations is shaped by landscape features, not barriers or distance. Contiguous forest cover at middle elevations facilitates gene flow, crucial for understanding population dynamics.

Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Genetics
  • Conservation Biology

Background:

  • Predicting landscape change impacts requires understanding population connectivity.
  • Empirical data for movement corridors and barriers are often lacking.
  • Black bears (Ursus americanus) are a key species for landscape connectivity studies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • Identify factors influencing black bear population connectivity.
  • Test 110 landscape-resistance hypotheses against genetic data.
  • Determine the primary drivers of gene flow in a complex landscape.

Main Methods:

  • Collected genetic data from 146 black bears using microsatellite loci.
  • Compared genetic similarity patterns with landscape variables (land cover, elevation, roads, etc.).

Related Experiment Videos

  • Utilized partial Mantel tests to separate influences of barriers, distance, and landscape features.

    • Main Results:

    • Genetic structure is primarily linked to land cover and elevation gradients.
    • Hypotheses regarding isolation by barriers and isolation by distance were not supported.
    • Contiguous forest cover at middle elevations emerged as the key facilitator of gene flow.

    Conclusions:

    • Landscape gradients, specifically forest cover and elevation, are critical for black bear connectivity.
    • Barriers and simple distance metrics are less important than habitat characteristics.
    • Findings inform conservation strategies by highlighting the importance of habitat continuity for gene flow.