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Movement behavior explains genetic differentiation in American black bears

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Abstract

Individual-based landscape genetic analyses provide empirically based models of gene flow. It would be valuable to verify the predictions of these models using independent data of a different type. Analyses using different data sources that produce consistent results provide strong support for the generality of the findings. Mating and dispersal movements are the mechanisms through which gene flow operates in animal populations. The best means to verify landscape genetic predictions would be to use movement data to independently predict landscape resistance. We used path-level, conditional logistic regression to predict landscape resistance for American black bear (Ursus americanus) in a landscape in which previous work predicted population connectivity using individual-based landscape genetics. We found consistent landscape factors influence genetic differentiation and movement path selection, with strong similarities between the predicted landscape resistance surfaces. Genetic differentiation in American black bear is driven by spring movement (mating and dispersal) in relation to residential development, roads, elevation and forest cover. Given the limited periods of the year when gene flow events primarily occur, models of landscape connectivity should carefully consider temporal changes in functional landscape resistance.

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Acknowledgments

Funding and support were provided by the Idaho Department of Transportation, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, US Fish and Wildlife Service, US Forest Service, and the University of Idaho. We greatly thank J. Rachlow, J. Hayden, W. Wakkinen, P. Zager, W. Kasworm, T. Radandt, M. Proctor, and T. Johnson for their invaluable guidance, support, and tremendous effort in the field. We also thank Michael Schwartz and Kevin McKelvey at the Rocky Mountain Research Station.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. U.S. Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, 2500 S. Pine Knoll Dr., Flagstaff, AZ, 86001, USA

    Samuel A. Cushman

  2. Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA

    Jesse S. Lewis

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  1. Samuel A. Cushman
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  2. Jesse S. Lewis
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Correspondence to Samuel A. Cushman.

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Cushman, S.A., Lewis, J.S. Movement behavior explains genetic differentiation in American black bears. Landscape Ecol 25, 1613–1625 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-010-9534-6

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