Natural and anthropogenic landscape factors shape functional connectivity of an ecological specialist in urban Southern California.

ABSTRACT: Identifying how natural (i.e., unaltered by human activity) and anthropogenic landscape variables influence contemporary functional connectivity in terrestrial organisms can elucidate the genetic consequences of environmental change. We examine population genetic structure and functional connectivity among populations of a declining species, the Blainville's horned lizard (Phrynosoma blainvillii), in the urbanized landscape of the Greater Los Angeles Area in Southern California, USA. Using single nucleotide polymorphism data, we assessed genetic structure among populations occurring at the interface of two abutting evolutionary lineages, and at a fine scale among habitat fragments within the heavily urbanized area. Based on the ecology of P. blainvillii, we predicted which environmental va

SUBMITTER: Wenner SM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9826396 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature