Journal
CANADIAN JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY
Volume 99, Issue 2, Pages 131-140Publisher
CANADIAN SCIENCE PUBLISHING
DOI: 10.1139/cjz-2019-0247
Keywords
ecotone; landscape genetics; Rocky Mountains; Circuitscape; gene flow; Canada lynx; Lynx canadensis
Categories
Funding
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)
- Canada Research Chairs program
- Marie Curie Outgoing International Fellowship for Career Development
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The research found that although Canada lynx exhibited high gene flow across the region, analyses detected structuring of neutral genetic variation across the study area. Lynx gene flow was most strongly related to temperature and elevation compared with other landscape variables, indicating that genetic structure in lynx is most consistent with barrier effects created by the Rocky Mountains rather than ecological divergence. Warmer temperatures had a measurable impact on gene flow, suggesting that connectivity may further decrease in peripheral or fragmented populations as climate warms.
Mountain ecotones have the potential to cause multiple patterns in divergence, from simple barrier effects to more fundamental ecological divergence. Most work in mountain ecotones in North America has focused on reinforcement between refugial populations, making prediction of how mountains impact species that are not restricted to separate glacial refugia remains difficult. This study focused on the Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis Kerr, 1792), a highly mobile felid considered to be a habitat and dietary specialist. Specifically, we used 14 microsatellite loci and landscape genetic tools to investigate if the Rocky Mountains and associated climatic transitions influence lynx genetic differentiation in western North America. Although lynx exhibited high gene flow across the region, analyses detected structuring of neutral genetic variation across our study area. Gene flow for lynx most strongly related to temperature and elevation compared with other landscape variables (terrain roughness, percent forest cover, and habitat suitability index) and geographic distance alone. Overall, genetic structure in lynx is most consistent with barrier effects created by the Rocky Mountains rather than ecological divergence. Furthermore, warmer temperatures had a measurable impact on gene flow, which suggests connectivity may further decrease in peripheral or fragmented populations as climate warms.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available