title: Three-dimensional habitat structure and landscape genetics: a step forward in estimating functional connectivity.
abstract: Estimating connectivity among fragmented habitat patches is crucial for evaluating the functionality of ecological networks. However, current estimates of landscape resistance to animal movement and dispersal lack landscape-level data on local habitat structure. Here, we used a landscape genetics approach to show that high-fidelity habitat structure maps derived from Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data critically improve functional connectivity estimates compared to conventional land cover data. We related pairwise genetic distances of 128 Capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) genotypes to least-cost path distances at multiple scales derived from land cover data. Resulting β values of linear mixed effects models ranged from 0.372 to 0.495, while those derived from LiDAR ranged from 0.558 to 0.758. The identification and conservation of functional ecological networks suffering from habitat fragmentation and homogenization will thus benefit from the growing availability of detailed and contiguous data on three-dimensional habitat structure and associated habitat quality.
authors.affiliation: Swiss Ornithological Institute, Seerose 1, Sempach, 6204, Switzerland.|WSL Swiss Federal Research Institute, Zürcherstrasse 111, Birmensdorf, CH-8903, Switzerland.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Milanesi
authors.affiliation: WSL Swiss Federal Research Institute, Zürcherstrasse 111, Birmensdorf, CH-8903, Switzerland.|Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zurich, Universitätsstrasse 16, Zurich, 8092, Switzerland.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Holderegger
authors.affiliation: WSL Swiss Federal Research Institute, Zürcherstrasse 111, Birmensdorf, CH-8903, Switzerland.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bollmann
authors.affiliation: WSL Swiss Federal Research Institute, Zürcherstrasse 111, Birmensdorf, CH-8903, Switzerland.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gugerli
authors.affiliation: WSL Swiss Federal Research Institute, Zürcherstrasse 111, Birmensdorf, CH-8903, Switzerland.|Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zurich, Universitätsstrasse 16, Zurich, 8092, Switzerland.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zellweger
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017753:Ecosystem; D005828:Genetics, Population
keywords: 
  Tetrao urogallus
  ; gene flow; habitat suitability; landscape resistance; least-cost path; light detection and ranging; two-dimensional vs. three-dimensional remote sensing