Conservation genetics of the genus Martes: Assessing within-species movements, units to conserve, and connectivity across ecological and evolutionary time [Chapter 17]

Abstract

Understanding the physical and temporal factors that structure Martes populations is essential to the conservation and management of the 8 recognized Martes species. Recently, advances in 3 distinct subdisciplines in molecular ecology have provided insights into historical and contemporary environmental factors that have created population substructure and influenced movement patterns of several Martes species. Intraspecific phylogenetics has allowed us to understand the role of large-scale historical events, such as the last glacial maxima and their associated refugia, in the ecology of at least 5 Martes species in North America, Europe, and Asia (M. americana, the American marten; M. martes, the European pine marten; M. melampus, the Japanese marten; M. pennanti, the fisher; M. zibellina, the sable). In addition, population genetics has examined how Martes populations are connected within species across space and, in some cases, how this level of connectivity has changed over recent time. These studies have been conducted on M. americana, M. martes, and M. pennanti. More recently, several landscape genetic analyses, including graph-theoretic and least-cost-path approaches, have been used to evaluate the correlation between landscape features and genetic relatedness among individuals across a landscape. These new approaches are showing promising results for understanding the ways in which multiple habitat features at multiple scales promote or reduce connectivity. Different forms of this landscape-genetics approach have been applied to M. americana, M. martes, and M. pennanti in portions of their ranges. In this chapter, we review the intraspecific phylogenetic, population genetic, and landscape genetic studies conducted on Martes populations; discuss commonalities found among species; and identify knowledge gaps for understanding movements and substructuring in the genus Martes.

Citation

Schwartz, Michael K.; Ruiz-Gonzalez, Aritz; Masuda, Ryuchi; Pertoldi, Cino. 2012. Conservation genetics of the genus Martes: Assessing within-species movements, units to conserve, and connectivity across ecological and evolutionary time [Chapter 17]. In: Aubry, Keith B.; Zielinski, William J.; Raphael, Martin G.; Proulx, Gilbert; Buskirk, Steven W., eds. Biology and Conservation of Martens, Sables, and Fishers. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. p. 398-428.