Walking in a heterogeneous landscape: Dispersal, gene flow and conservation implications for the giant panda in the Qinling Mountains.

ABSTRACT: Understanding the interaction between life history, demography and population genetics in threatened species is critical for the conservations of viable populations. In the context of habitat loss and fragmentation, identifying the factors that underpin the structuring of genetic variation within populations can allow conservationists to evaluate habitat quality and connectivity and help to design dispersal corridors effectively. In this study, we carried out a detailed, fine-scale landscape genetic investigation of a giant panda population from the Qinling Mountains for the first time. With a large microsatellite data set and complementary analysis methods, we examined the role of isolation-by-barriers (IBB), isolation-by-distance (IBD) and isolation-by-resistance (IBR) in shaping the pat

SUBMITTER: Ma T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6231463 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature