10.5061/DRYAD.QB87R
Rico, Yessica
Trent University
Ethier, Danielle M.
University of Guelph
Davy, Christina
Trent University
Sayers, Josh
Central Michigan University
Weir, Rich D.
Ministry of Environment
Swanson, Bradley J.
Central Michigan University
Nocera, Joseph J.
Wildlife Research and Monitoring Section; Ministry of Natural Resources
& Forestry; Peterborough ON Canada
Kyle, Christopher J.
Trent University
Davy, Christina M.
Trent University
Weir, Richard D.
Ministry of Environment
Data from: Spatial patterns of immunogenetic and neutral variation
underscore the conservation value of small, isolated American badger
populations
Dryad
dataset
2016
Taxidea taxus
Mustelids
northern range
small and peripheral populations
2016-07-20T16:03:10Z
2016-07-20T16:03:10Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.12410
65721 bytes
1
CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
Small and isolated populations often exhibit low genetic diversity due to
drift and inbreeding, but may simultaneously harbour adaptive variation.
We investigate spatial distributions of immunogenetic variation in
American badger subspecies (Taxidea taxus), as a proxy for evaluating
their evolutionary potential across the northern extent of the species’
range. We compared genetic structure of 20 microsatellites and the Major
histocompatibility complex (MHC) to evaluate if small isolated populations
show low adaptive polymorphism relative to large and well-connected
populations. Our results suggest that gene flow plays a prominent role in
shaping MHC polymorphism across large spatial scales, while the interplay
between gene flow and selection was stronger towards the northern
peripheries. The similarity of MHC alleles within subspecies relative to
their neutral genetic differentiation suggests that adaptive divergence
among subspecies can be maintained despite ongoing gene flow along
subspecies boundaries. Neutral genetic diversity were low in small
relative to large populations, but MHC diversity within individuals was
high in small populations. Despite reduced neutral genetic variation,
small isolated populations harbour functional variation that likely
contribute to the species evolutionary potential at the northern range.
Our findings suggest that conservation approaches should focus on managing
adaptive variation across the species range rather than protecting
subspecies per se.
Taxidea taxus microsatellite genotypesMicrosatellite genotypes at 20 loci
for 236 samples from eight regions of the American badger. Storage data
format: genepop. See publication for details of sampled
regions.Taxidea_taxus_Microsatellite_data_Rico etal
2016Taxidea_taxus_MHC_binaryGenotypes_Rico et al. 2016MHC DRB-exon 2
binary-encoded genotypes of 236 samples from eight regions of the American
badger. See publication for details of the sampled regions.
Canada
Michigan