title: Landscape genetics for the empirical assessment of resistance surfaces: the European pine marten (Martes martes) as a target-species of a regional ecological network.
abstract: Coherent ecological networks (EN) composed of core areas linked by ecological corridors are being developed worldwide with the goal of promoting landscape connectivity and biodiversity conservation. However, empirical assessment of the performance of EN designs is critical to evaluate the utility of these networks to mitigate effects of habitat loss and fragmentation. Landscape genetics provides a particularly valuable framework to address the question of functional connectivity by providing a direct means to investigate the effects of landscape structure on gene flow. The goals of this study are (1) to evaluate the landscape features that drive gene flow of an EN target species (European pine marten), and (2) evaluate the optimality of a regional EN design in providing connectivity for this species within the Basque Country (North Spain). Using partial Mantel tests in a reciprocal causal modeling framework we competed 59 alternative models, including isolation by distance and the regional EN. Our analysis indicated that the regional EN was among the most supported resistance models for the pine marten, but was not the best supported model. Gene flow of pine marten in northern Spain is facilitated by natural vegetation, and is resisted by anthropogenic landcover types and roads. Our results suggest that the regional EN design being implemented in the Basque Country will effectively facilitate gene flow of forest dwelling species at regional scale.
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology and Animal Cell Biology, University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain; Systematics, Biogeography and Population Dynamics Research Group, Lascaray Research Center, University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain; Conservation Genetics Laboratory, National Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, ISPRA, Ozzano dell'Emilia, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Aritz
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ruiz-González
authors.affiliation: Systematics, Biogeography and Population Dynamics Research Group, Lascaray Research Center, University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain; Department of Geography, University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain.
authors.forename: Mikel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gurrutxaga
authors.affiliation: U.S. Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Flagstaff, AZ, United States of America.
authors.forename: Samuel A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Cushman
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology and Animal Cell Biology, University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain; Systematics, Biogeography and Population Dynamics Research Group, Lascaray Research Center, University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain.
authors.forename: María José
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Madeira
authors.affiliation: Conservation Genetics Laboratory, National Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, ISPRA, Ozzano dell'Emilia, Bologna, Italy; Department 18/Section of Environmental Engineering, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark.
authors.forename: Ettore
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Randi
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology and Animal Cell Biology, University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain; Systematics, Biogeography and Population Dynamics Research Group, Lascaray Research Center, University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain.
authors.forename: Benjamin J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Gómez-Moliner
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D017753:Ecosystem; D045969:Mustelidae / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D013030:Spain