Journal
BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
Volume 142, Issue 11, Pages 2493-2500Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2009.05.021
Keywords
Ambystoma; Geographic information systems; Isolation; Habitat fragmentation; Landcover; Salamanders
Funding
- Columbus Zoo/OSU Cooperative Research
- NSF [DGE 0086378, DEB 0343526]
- New York State 719 Biodiversity Research Institute
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Anthropogenic modification of the landscape can have important consequences for dispersal of terrestrial organisms. If certain landcover types consistently act as barriers to movement, their occurrence could serve as a proxy for population isolation. We tested the fit of a general a priori landcover model on genetically-inferred isolation in ambystomatid salamander species. The landcover model included terms for pond size, geographic isolation, and amount of surrounding agriculture. In all cases, agriculture was associated with increased population isolation, while deciduous forest was almost always associated with decreased isolation. The full model described over 70% of the variation in a genetically-inferred measure of isolation in the system for which it was developed, and 30-45% of variation in novel systems. We suggest that landscape analyses can serve as a proxy for population isolation in ambystomatid salamanders. Our findings suggest that preserving well-forested regions without substantial agriculture will protect salamanders through increased population connectivity. These results have important implications for conservation, as genetic analyses are costly and time-consuming, and decisions to purchase or preserve land must often occur quickly. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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