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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Wolverine Gene Flow Across A Narrow Climatic Niche, Michael K. Schwartz, Jeffrey P. Copeland, Neil J. Anderson, John R. Squires, Robert M. Inman, Kevin Scot Mckelvey, Kristine L. Pilgrim, Lisette P. Waits, Samuel A. Cushman
Wolverine Gene Flow Across A Narrow Climatic Niche, Michael K. Schwartz, Jeffrey P. Copeland, Neil J. Anderson, John R. Squires, Robert M. Inman, Kevin Scot Mckelvey, Kristine L. Pilgrim, Lisette P. Waits, Samuel A. Cushman
Wildlife Biology Faculty Publications
Wolverines (Guio guio) are one of the rarest carnivores in the contiguous United States. Effective population sizes in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming, where most of the wolverines in the contiguous United States exist, were calculated to be 35 (credible limits, 28 52) suggesting low abundance. Landscape features that influence wolverine population substructure and gene flow are largely unknown. Recent work has identified strong associations between areas with persistent spring snow and wolverine presence and range. We tested whether a dispersal model in which wolverines prefer to disperse through areas characterized by persistent spring snow cover produced least-cost paths among all …
Gene Flow In Complex Landscapes: Testing Multiple Hypotheses With Causal Modeling., Samuel A. Cushman, Kevin Scot Mckelvey, Jim Hayden, Michael K. Schwartz
Gene Flow In Complex Landscapes: Testing Multiple Hypotheses With Causal Modeling., Samuel A. Cushman, Kevin Scot Mckelvey, Jim Hayden, Michael K. Schwartz
Wildlife Biology Faculty Publications
Predicting population-level effects of landscape change depends on identifying factors that influence population connectivity in complex landscapes. However, most putative movement corridors and barriers have not been based on empirical data. In this study, we identify factors that influence connectivity by comparing patterns of genetic similarity among 146 black bears (Ursus americanus), sampled across a 3,000-km2 study area in northern Idaho, with 110 landscape-resistance hypotheses. Genetic similarities were based on the pairwise percentage dissimilarity among all individuals based on nine microsatellite loci (average expected heterozygosityp0.79). Landscape-resistance hypotheses describe a range of potential relationships between movement cost and land cover, slope, …